^^iy^^^  INTRODUCTIO 

HWl'QUJ^  •rtyn»1V>-v>lM'>A.'KK'UH3-iU  TO    THE 

.Kijxy^t'^.y^KjK  LITERATURE 

C<^«'it5*jyiv'»'v»>)  TQ»tJ'rtilH<vViy>^i«/'Jn   OF    THE 

rOLD    TESTA 

r  •!♦ 

^'^t/  H  -rtnvi  •ty\i< ^M  Vki\  •v^jK  t^vj  •  f  * 

T<>  Km  K-rt-wv  fJ''''^*'^  y^J  "^^  ^^y Ky  i         •i« 

'^WH  •vK<j»vj  VflyyA  >n*>iy  tjv^y  Tttyj)         'T* 

AKiUnN^^i^si^  S.  R.  DRIVER 

W'\  )^>;9y<^Y>w^  ^.^  'iUA^'i»-A'«  *  •  * 

^f^iy^^y^i-D  MERIDIAN  BOOKS 


I 


An  Introduction  to 
the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament 


AN   INTRODUCTION   TO 

the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament 


by  S.  R.  DRIVER 


MERIDIAN  BOOKS    New  York 


RENTAL 

5.  R.  Driver 

Samuel  Rolles  Driver  was  born  in  1846  in  England  of 
Quaker  parents.  A  fellowship  and  then  a  tutorship  followed 
his  undergraduate  years  at  New  College,  Oxford.  The  first 
attempt  in  English  to  expound  principles  of  Hebrew  syntax 
in  philosophical  and  scientific  terms  was  his  Use  of  the 
Tenses  in  Hebrew  (1874),  the  foundation  for  all  modern 
study  of  Hebrew.  His  reputation  as  a  Hebraist  gained  him 
a  seat  on  the  Old  Testament  revision  committee  (1875- 
1884).  His  numerous  scholarly  works  include  commen- 
taries on  nearly  one-half  of  the  Old  Testament.  For  thirty- 
one  years  he  was  Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew  and  Canon 
of  Christ  Church,  Oxford.  He  died  in  1914. 


IVE 


Pubhshed  by  Meridian  Books,  Inc.  October  1956 

First  printing  September  1956 

Second  printing  January  1957 

Third  printing  December  1957 

Fourth  printing  December  1958 

Fifth  printing  January  1960 

Sixth  printing  July  1960 

Library  of  Congress  Catalog  Card  Number:  56-10898 
Manufactured  in  the  United  States  of  America 


PREFACE. 


The  aim  of  the  present  volume  is  to  furnish  an  account,  at  once 
descriptive  and  historical,  of  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament. 
It  is  not,  I  ought  perhaps  to  explain,  an  Introduction  to  the 
Theology^  or  to  the  History^  or  even  to  the  Study^  of  the  Old 
Testament :  in  any  of  these  cases,  the  treatment  and  contents 
would  both  have  been  very  different.  It  is  an  Introduction  to 
the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  what  I  conceived  this 
to  include  was  an  account  of  the  contents  and  structure  of  the 
several  books,  together  with  such  an  indication  of  their  general 
character  and  aim  as  I  could  find  room  for  in  the  space  at  my 
disposal*  [xiii]  The  treatment  of  the  material  has  been  deter- 
mined by  the  character  of  the  different  books.  The  contents  of 
the  prophetical  and  poetical  books,  for  instance,  which  are 
less  generally  known  than  the  history,  properly  so  called,  have 
been  stated  more  fully  than  those  of  the  historical  books  :  the 
legislative  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  have  also  been  described  with 
tolerable  fulness.  A  comparative  study  of  the  writings  of  the  Old 
Testament  is  indispensable,  if  their  relation  to  one  another  is 
to  be  rightly  apprehended :  accordingly  the  literary  and  other 
characteristics  which  connect,  or  distinguish,  as  the  case  may  be, 
particular  groups  of  writings  have  been  indicated  with  some  care. 
Distinctive  types  of  style  prevail  in  different  parts  of  the  Old 
Testament ;  and  as  these — apart  from  the  interest  independently 
attaching  to  them — have  frequently  a  bearing  upon  questions 
of  date  or  authorship,  or  throw  light  upon  the  influences  under 

*  The  Theology  of  the  Old  Testament  forms  the  subject  of  a  separate 
volume  in  the  present  series,  which  has  been  entrusted  to  the  competent 
hands  of  Professor  A.  B.  Davidson,  ofcthe  New  College,  Edinburgh. 


IV  PREFACE 

which  particular  books  (or  parts  of  books)  were  composed,  I 
have  been  at  pains  to  illustrate  them  as  fully  as  space  permitted. 
Especial  care  has  been  bestowed  upon  the  lists  of  expressions 
characteristic  of  different  writers.  It  was  impossible  to  avoid 
altogether  the  introduction  of  Hebrew  words  ;  nor  indeed,  as  the 
needs  of  Hebrew  students  could  not  with  fairness  be  entirely 
neglected,  was  it  even  desirable  to  do  so ;  but  an  endeavour  has 
been  made,  by  translation,  to  make  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
used  intelligible  to  the  English  reader. 

Completeness  has  not  been  attainable.  Sometimes,  indeed, 
the  grounds  for  a  conclusion  have  been  stated  with  approximate 
completeness  ;  but  generally  it  has  been  found  impossible  to 
mention  more  than  the  more  salient  or  important  ones.  This 
is  especially  the  case  in  the  analysis  of  the  Hexateuch.  A  full 
statement  and  discussion  of  the  grounds  for  this  belongs  to  a 
Commentary.  Very  often,  however,  it  is  believed,  when  the 
relation  of  different  passages  to  each  other  has  been  pointed  out 
briefly,  a  comparative  study  by  the  reader  will  suggest  to  him 
additional  grounds  for  the  conclusion  indicated.  A  word  should 
also  be  said  on  the  method  followed.  A  strict  inductive  method 
would  have  required  a  given  conclusion  to  be  preceded  by  an 
[xiv]  enumeration  of  all  the  facts  upon  which  it  depends.  This 
would  have  been  impossible  within  the  limits  at  the  writer's 
disposal,  as  well  as  tedious.  The  method  pursued  has  thus  often 
been  to  assume  (on  grounds  not  fully  stated,  but  which  have 
satisfied  the  author)  the  conclusion  to  be  established,  and  to  point 
to  particular  salient  facts,  which  exemplify  it  or  presuppose  its  truth. 
The  argument  in  the  majority  of  cases  is  cumulative — a  species  of 
argument  which  is  often  both  the  strongest  and  also  the  most 
difficult  to  exhaust  within  reasonable  compass. 

In  the  critical  study  of  the  Old  Testament,  there  is  an  im- 
portant distinction,  which  should  be  kept  in  mind.  It  is  that  of 
degrees  of  probability.  The  probability  of  a  conclusion  depends 
upon  the  nature  of  the  grounds  on  which  it  rests ;  and  some 
conclusions  reached  by  critics  of  the  Old  Testament  are  for  this 
reason  more  probable  than  others  :  the  facts  at  our  disposal 
being  in  the  former  case  more  numerous  and  decisive  than  in 
the  latter.  It  is  necessary  to  call  attention  to  this  difference, 
because  writers  who  seek  to  maintain  the  traditional  view  of  the 
structure  of  the  Old  Testament  sometimes  point  to  conclusions 


PREFACE  V 

which,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  are  uncertain,  or  are  pro- 
pounded avowedly  as  provisional,  with  the  view  of  discrediting 
all,  as  though  they  rested  upon  a  similar  foundation.  But  this  is 
very  far  from  being  the  case.  It  has  been  no  part  of  my  object 
to  represent  conclusions  as  more  certain  than  is  authorized  by 
the  facts  upon  which  they  depend ;  and  I  have  striven  (as  I  hope 
successfully)  to  convey  to  the  reader  the  differences  in  this 
respect  of  which  I  am  sensible  myself.  Where  the  premises 
satisfy  me,  I  have  expressed  myself  without  hesitation  or  doubt ; 
where  the  data  do  not  justify  (so  far  as  I  can  judge)  a  confident 
conclusion,  I  have  indicated  this  by  some  qualifying  phrase.  I 
desire  what  I  have  just  said  to  be  applied  in  particular  to  the 
analysis  of  the  Hexateuch.  That  the  "  Priests'  Code  "  formed 
a  clearly  defined  document,  distinct  from  the  rest  of  the  Hexa- 
teuch, appears  to  me  to  be  more  than  sufficiently  established  by 
a  multitude  of  convergent  indications;  and  I  have  nowhere 
signified  any  doubt  on  this  conclusion.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
the  remainder  of  the  narrative  of  Gen. -Numbers  and  of  Joshua, 
though  there  are  facts  which  satisfy  me  that  this  also  is  not 
homogeneous,  I  believe  that  the  analysis  (from  the  nature  of 
[xv]  the  criteria  on  which  it  depends)  is  frequently  uncertain,* 
and  will,  perhaps,  always  continue  so.  Accordingly,  as  regards 
"  JE,"  as  I  have  more  than  once  remarked,  I  do  not  desire  to 
lay  equal  stress  upon  all  the  particulars  of  the  analysis,  or  to 
be  supposed  to  hold  that  the  line  of  demarcation  between  its 
component  parts  is  at  every  point  as  clear  and  certain  as  it  is 
between  P  and  other  parts  of  the  Hexateuch. 

Another  point  necessary  to  be  borne  in  mind  is  that  many 
results  can  only  be  approximate.  Even  \vhere  there  is  no  ques- 
tion of  the  author,  we  can  sometimes  determine  the  date  within 
only  comparatively  wide  limits  {e.g.  Nahum) ;  and  even  where 
the  limits  are  narrower,  there  may  still  be  room  for  difference  of 
opinion,  on  account  of  the  different  aspects  of  a  passage  which 
most  strongly  impress  different  critics  {e.g.  in  some  of  the 
acknowledged  prophecies  of  Isaiah).  Elsewhere,  again,  grounds 
may  exist  sufficient  to  justify  the  negative  conclusion,  that  a 
writing  does  not  belong  to  a  particular  age  or  author,  but  not 

*  See  pp.  i6,  17,  19,  39,  ii6f.,  &c.  The  same  admission  is  constantly 
made  by  Wellhausen,  Kuenen,  and  other  critics  :  see,  for  instance,  p.  xi  of 
the  edition  of  Genesis  by  Kautzsch  ai^  Socin,  mentioned  below,  p.  I4«, 


VI  PREFACE 

definite  enough  to  fix  positively  the  age  to  which  it  does  belong, 
except  within  broad  and  general  limits.  In  all  such  cases  we 
must  be  content  with  approximate  results. 

It  is  in  the  endeavour  to  reach  definite  conclusions  upon  the 
basis  either  of  imperfect  data^  or  of  indications  reasonably  sus- 
ceptible of  divergent  interpretations,  that  the  principal  disagree- 
ments between  critics  have  their  origin.  Language  is  sometimes 
used  implying  that  critics  are  in  a  state  of  internecine  conflict 
with  one  another,  or  that  their  conclusions  are  "  in  a  condition 
of  perpetual  flux."*  Such  statements  are  not  in  accordance 
with  the  facts.  There  is  a  large  area  on  which  the  data  are 
clear :  here,  accordingly,  critics  are  agreed,  and  their  conclusions 
are  not  likely  to  be  ever  reversed.  And  this  area  includes  many 
of  the  most  important  results  which  criticism  has  reached.  There 
is  an  area  beyond  this,  where  the  data  are  complicated  or  am- 
biguous ;  and  here  it  is  not  more  than  natural  that  independent 
judges  should  differ.  Perhaps  future  study  may  reduce  this 
margin  of  uncertainty.  I  make  no  claim  to  have  admitted  into 
the  present  volume  only  those  conclusions  on  which  all  critics 
are  agreed ;  for  naturally  [xvi]  I  have  followed  the  guidance  of 
my  own  judgment  as  to  what  was  probable  or  not ;  but  where 
alternative  views  appeared  to  me  to  be  tenable,  or  where  the 
opinion  towards  which  I  inclined  only  partially  satisfied  me,  I 
have  been  careful  to  indicate  this  to  the  reader.  I  have,  more- 
over, made  it  my  aim  to  avoid  speculation  upon  slight  and 
doubtful  data ;  or,  at  least,  if  I  have  been  unable  absolutely  to 
avoid  it,  I  have  stated  distinctly  of  what  nature  the  data  are. 

Polemical  references,  with  very  few  exceptions,  I  have  avoided. 
It  must  not,  however,  be  thought  that,  because  I  do  not  more 
frequently  discuss  divergent  opinions,  I  am  therefore  unacquainted 
with  them.  I  have  been  especially  careful  to  acquaint  myself 
with  the  views  of  Keil,  and  of  other  writers  on  the  traditional 
side.  I  have  also  constantly,  both  before  and  since  writing  the 
present  volume,  followed  closely  the  course  of  archaeological 
research ;  and  I  am  aware  of  no  instance  in  which  its  results  are 
opposed  to  the  conclusions  which  I  have  expressed.     Upon  no 

*  It  may  not  be  superfluous  to  remark  that  both  the  principles  and  the 
results  of  the  critical  study  of  the  Old  Testament  are  often  seriously  mis- 
represented, especially  on  the  part  of  writers  opposed  to  it,  including  even 
such  as  might  from  their  position  be  supposed  to  be  well  informed. 


PREFACE  VIl 

occasion  have  I  adopted  what  may  be  termed  a  critical  as 
opposed  to  a  conservative  position,  without  weighing  fully  the 
arguments  advanced  in  support  of  the  latter,  and  satisfying 
myself  that  they  were  untenable. 

Naturally  a  work  like  the  present  is  founded  largely  on  the 
labours  of  previous  scholars.  Since  Gesenius,  in  the  early  years 
of  this  century,  inaugurated  a  new  epoch  in  the  study  of  Hebrew, 
there  has  been  a  succession  of  scholars,  of  the  highest  and  most 
varied  ability,  who  have  been  fascinated  by  the  literature  of 
ancient  Israel,  and  have  dedicated  their  lives  to  its  elucidation. 
Each  has  contributed  of  his  best :  and  those  who  come  after 
stand  upon  the  vantage-ground  won  for  them  by  their  pre- 
decessors. In  exegesis  and  textual  criticism,  not  less  than  in 
literary  criticism,  there  has  been  a  steady  advance."*  The  his- 
torical significance  of  different  parts  of  the  Old  Testament — the 
aim  and  drift  of  individual  prophecies,  for  instance,  or  the 
relation  to  one  another  of  parallel  groups  of  laws — has  been  far 
more  carefully  observed  than  was  formerly  the  case.  While  in 
fairness  to  myself  I  think  it  right  to  state  that  my  volume 
embodies  the  results  of  much  independent  work, — for  I  accept 
conclusions,  not  on  the  authority  of  the  critic  who  affirms  them, 
but  because  I  have  satisfied  myself,  by  personal  study,  that  the 
grounds  alleged  in  their  support  are  adequate, — I  desire  at  the 
same  time  to  acknowledge  gratefully  my  [xvii]  indebtedness  to 
those  who  have  preceded  me,  and  facilitated  my  labours.  The 
references  will  generally  indicate  who  the  authorities  are  that 
have  been  principally  of  service  to  me  j  naturally  they  vary  in 
different  parts  of  the  Old  Testament. 

It  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  present  volume  to 
deal  with  either  the  Theology  or  the  History  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, as  such :  nevertheless  a  few  words  may  be  permitted  on 
them  here. 

It  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  the  main  conclusions  of  critics 
with  reference  to  the  authorship  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment rest  upon  reasonings  the  cogency  of  which   cannot   be 

*  The  progress  in  the  two  former  may  be  measured  approximately  by  the 
Revised  Version,  or  (in  some  respects,  more  adequately)  by  the  notes  in  the 
"Variorum  Bible"  of  Eyre  &  Spottiswoode.  See  also  the  translation  and 
notes  {Beilao^en,  pp.  1-98)  in  Kautzsch's  Die  Heilige  Schrift  des  AT.s 
(below,  p.  3).  ^ 


VIII  PREFACE 

denied  without  denying  the  ordinary  principles  by  which  history 
is  judged  and  evidence  estimated.  Nor  can  it  be  doubted  that 
the  same  conclusions,  upon  any  neutral  field  of  investigation, 
would  have  been  accepted  without  hesitation  by  all  conversant 
with  the  subject :  they  are  opposed  in  the  present  instance  by 
some  theologians,  only  because  they  are  supposed  to  conflict 
with  the  requirements  of  the  Christian  faith.  But  the  history  of 
astronomy,  geology,  and,  more  recently,  of  biology,*  supplies  a 
warning  that  the  conclusions  which  satisfy  the  common  un- 
biassed and  unsophisticated  reason  of  mankind  prevail  in  the 
end.  The  price  at  which  alone  the  traditional  view  can  be  main- 
tained is  too  high.f  Were  the  difficulties  which  beset  it  isolated 
or  occasional,  the  case,  it  is  true,  would  be  different :  it  could 
then,  for  instance,  be  reasonably  argued  that  a  fuller  knowledge 
of  the  times  might  afford  the  clue  that  would  solve  them.  But 
the  phenomena  which  the  traditional  view  fails  to  explain  are  too 
numerous  for  such  a  solution  to  be  admissible ;  they  recur  so 
systematically  that  some  cause  or  causes,  for  which  that  view 
makes  no  allowance,  must  be  postulated  to  account  for  them. 
The  hypothesis  of  glosses  and  marginal  additions  is  a  superficial 
remedy  :  the  fundamental  distinctions  upon  which  the  main  con- 
clusions of  critics  depend  remain  untouched.  % 

The  truth,  however,  is  that  apprehensions  of  the  character 
[xviii]  just  indicated  are  unfounded.  It  is  not  the  case  that 
critical  conclusions,  such  as  those  expressed  in  the  present 
volume,  are  in  conflict  either  with  the  Christian  creeds  or  with 
the  articles  of  the  Christian  faith.  Those  conclusions  affect 
not  the  fact  of  revelation,  but  only  its  form.  They  help  to 
determine  the  stages  through  which  it  passed,  the  different 
phases  which  it  assumed,  and  the  process  by  which  the  record 
of  it  was  built  up.  They  do  not  touch  either  the  authority  or 
the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament.     They 

*  Comp.  the  luminous  and  able  treatment  of  this  subject,  on  its  theological 
side,  by  the  late  lamented  Aubrey  L.  Moore  in  Science  and  the  Faith  (1889), 
esp.  pp.  xi-xlvii,  and  pp.  163-235. 

+  Of  course  there  are  many  points  at  which  tradition  is  not  affected  by 
criticism.     I  allude  naturally  to  those  in  which  the  case  is  different. 

X  The  same  may  be  said  of  Bishop  Ellicott's  "  rectified  traditional  view." 
The  distinctions  referred  to,  it  ought  to  be  understood,  in  works  written  in 
defence  of  the  traditional  position,  are,  as  a  rule,  very  imperfectly  stated, 
even  where  they  are  not  ignored  altogether. 


PREFACE  IX 

imply  no  change  in  respect  to  the  Divine  attributes  revealed  in 
the  Old  Testament ;  no  change  in  the  lessons  of  human  duty  to 
be  derived  from  it ;  no  change  as  to  the  general  position  (apart 
from  the  interpretation  of  particular  passages)  that  the  Old 
Testament  points  forward  prophetically  to  Christ.*  That  both 
the  religion  of  Israel  itself,  and  the  record  of  its  history  embodied 
in  the  Old  Testament,  are  the  work  of  men  whose  hearts  have 
been  touched,  and  minds  illumined,  in  different  degrees,!  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  is  manifest :  |  but  the  recognition  of  this  truth 
does  not  decide  the  question  of  the  author  by  whom,  or  the  date 
at  which,  particular  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  were  committed 
to  writing ;  nor  does  it  determine  the  precise  literary  character 
of  a  given  narrative  or  book.  No  part  of  the  Bible,  nor  even 
the  Bible  as  a  whole,  is  a  logically  articulated  system  of  theology : 
the  Bible  is  a  "  library,"  showing  how  men  variously  gifted  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  cast  the  truth  which  they  received  into  many  dif- 
ferent literary  forms,  as  genius  permitted  or  occasion  demanded, 
— into  poetry  of  various  kinds,  sometimes  national,  sometimes 
individual,  sometimes  even  developing  a  truth  in  a  form  ap- 
proaching that  of  the  drama ;  into  prophetical  [xix]  discourses, 
suggested  mostly  by  some  incident  of  the  national  life;  into 
proverbs,  prompted  by  the  observation  of  life  and  manners ;  into 
laws,  prescribing  rules  for  the  civil  and  religious  government  of 
the  nation;  into  narratives,  sometimes  relating  to  a  distant  or 
a  nearer  past,  sometimes  autobiographical ;  and  (to  include  the 
New  Testament)  into  letters,  designed,  in  the  first  instance,  to 
meet  the  needs  of  particular  churches  or  individuals.  It  is 
probable  that  every  form  of  literary  composition  known  to  the 

*  Comp.  Prof.  Sanday's  words  in  The  Oracles  of  G"^^  (1891),  p.  7 — a  volume 
which,  with  its  counsels  of  wisdom  and  sobriety,  I  would  gladly,  if  I  might, 
adopt  as  the  Preface  to  my  own.  See  also  the  admirable  work  of  Prof. 
A.  F.  Kirkpatrick,  The  Divine  Library  of  the  Old  Testament. 

t  I  say,  in  different  degrees  ;  for  no  one  would  attribute  to  the  authors  of 
some  of  the  Proverbs,  or  of  the  Books  of  Esther  or  Ecclesiastes,  the  same 
degree  of  spiritual  perception  displayed  e.g.  in  Isa.  40-66,  or  in  the  Psalms. 

+  So,  for  instance,  Riehm,  himself  a  critic,  speaking  of  the  Pentateuch  as 
a  record  of  revelation,  remarks  on  the  "  immediate  impression "  of  this 
character  which  it  makes,  and  continues :  "  Every  one  who  so  reads  the 
Pentateuch  as  to  allow  its  contents  to  work  upon  his  spirit,  must  receive  the 
impression  that  a  consciousness  of  God  such  as  is  here  expressed  cannot  be 
derived  from  flesh  and  blood  "  {Einleitung,  §  28,  **  Der  Pentateuch  als  Offen- 
barungsurkunde  "). 


X  PREFACE 

ancient  Hebrews  was  utilised  as  a  vehicle  of  Divine  truth,  and  is 
represented  in  the  Old  Testament.*  Hence  the  character  of  a 
particular  part  of  the  Old  Testament  cannot  be  decided  by  an 
d  priori  argument  as  regards  what  it  must  be ;  it  can  only  be 
determined  by  an  application  of  the  canons  of  evidence  and 
probability  universally  employed  in  historical  or  literary  investi 
gation.  None  of  the  historians  of  the  Bible  claim  supernatural 
enlightenment  for  the  materials  of  their  narrative  :t  it  is  reason- 
able, therefore,  to  conclude  that  these  were  derived  by  them 
from  such  human  sources  as  were  at  the  disposal  of  each  par- 
ticular writer ;  in  some  cases  from  a  writer's  own  personal  know- 
ledge, in  others  from  earlier  documentary  sources,  in  others, 
especially  in  those  relating  to  a  distant  past,  from  popular 
tradition.  It  was  the  function  of  inspiration  to  guide  the  indi- 
vidual writer  in  the  choice  and  disposition  of  his  material,  and  in 
liis  use  of  it  for  the  inculcation  of  special  lessons.  And  in  the 
production  of  some  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  different  hands 
co-operated,  and  have  left  traces  of  their  work  more  or  less 
clearly  discernible.  The  whole  is  subordinated  to  the  con- 
trolling agency  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  causing  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  Testament  to  be  profitable  [xx]  "for  teaching,  for 
reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction,  which  is  in  righteous- 
ness " :  but  under  this  presiding  influence  scope  is  left  for  the 
exercise,  in  different  modes  and  ways,  of  the  faculties  ordinarily 

*  IIoXv/iepcDs  KoX  iroXvTpdTTCJs  irdXai  6  Oebs  XaX^tras  tois  iraTpd<riv  iv 
Toh  7r/)o0T)rats,  Heb.  i^.  On  the  manifold  Voice  of  God  as  heard  in  the  Old 
Testament,  the  writer  may  be  permitted  to  refer  to  the  sixth  of  his  Sermons 
on  Subjects  connected  with  the  OT.  (1892).  In  the  seventh  Sermon  in  the 
same  volume  he  has  developed  more  fully  the  view  taken  by  him  of  Inspiration 
(cf.  the  Contemp.  Review,  Feb.  1890,  p.  229  f.).  He  has  pleasure  also,  in 
the  same  connexion,  in  referring  to  the  very  lucid  and  helpful  "  Bampton 
Lectures"  for  1893  (ed.  3,  1896)  on  Inspiration,  by  his  colleague,  Prof. 
Sanday,  especially  Lectures  ii.-v. 

t  The  preface  to  St.  Luke's  Gospel  (Luke  i^-*)  is  instructive  in  this 
respect.  St.  Luke  only  claims  for  his  narrative  that  he  has  used  in  its  com- 
position the  care  and  research  of  an  ordinary  historian.  Comp.  Sanday, 
Oracles  of  God,  pp.  72-75  :  "  In  all  that  relates  to  the  Revelation  of  God 
and  of  His  Will,  the  writers  [of  the  Bible]  assert  for  themselves  a  definite 
inspiration  ;  they  claim  to  speak  with  an  authority  higher  than  their  own. 
But  in  regard  to  the  narrative  of  events,  and  to  processes  of  literary  com- 
position, there  is  nothing  so  exceptional  about  them  as  to  exempt  them  from 
the  conditions  to  which  other  works  would  be  exposed  at  the  same  place  and 
time." 


PREFACE  XI 

employed  in  literary  composition.  There  is  a  human  factor  in 
the  Bible,  which,  though  quickened  and  sustained  by  the  inform- 
ing Spirit,  is  never  wholly  absorbed  or  neutralized  by  it;  and 
the  limits  of  its  operation  cannot  be  ascertained  by  an  arbitrary 
a  priori  determination  of  the  methods  of  inspiration ;  the  only 
means  by  which  they  can  be  ascertained  is  by  an  assiduous 
and  comprehensive  study  of  the  facts  presented  by  the  Old 
Testament  itself."^ 

*  Two  principles,  once  recognized,  will  be  found  to  solve  nearly  all  the 
difficulties  which,  upon  the  traditional  view  of  the  historical  books  of  the  Old 
Testament,  are  insuperable,  viz. — (i)  that  in  many  parts  of  these  books  we 
have  before  us  traditions^  in  which  the  original  representation  has  been 
insensibly  modified,  and  sometimes  (especially  in  the  later  books)  coloured  by 
the  associations  of  the  age  in  which  the  author  recording  it  lived ;  (2)  that 
some  freedom  was  used  by  ancient  historians  in  placing  speeches  or  dis- 
courses in  the  mouths  of  historical  characters.  In  some  cases,  no  doubt, 
such  speeches  agreed  substantially  with  what  was  actually  said  ;  but  often 
they  merely  develop  at  length,  in  the  style  and  manner  of  the  narrator,  what 
was  handed  down  only  as  a  compendious  report,  or  what  was  deemed  to  be 
consonant  with  the  temper  and  aim  of  a  given  character  on  a  particular 
occasion.  No  satisfactory  conclusions  with  respect  to  the  Old  Testament 
will  be  arrived  at  without  due  account  being  taken  of  these  two  principles. 
Should  it  be  feared  that  the  first  of  these  principles,  if  admitted,  might 
imperil  the  foundations  of  the  Christian  faith,  it  is  to  be  pointed  out  that  the 
records  of  the  New  Testament  were  produced  under  very  different  historical 
conditions ;  that  while  in  the  Old  Testament,  for  example,  there  are 
instances  in  which  we  can  have  no  assurance  that  an  event  was  recorded 
until  many  centuries  after  its  occurrence,  in  the  New  Testament  the  interval 
at  most  is  not  more  than  30-50  years.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  the  unique 
personality  of  Christ,  as  depicted  both  in  the  common  tradition  embodied  in 
the  Synoptic  Gospels  and  in  the  personal  reminiscences  underlying  the  fourth 
Gospel,  and  also  as  presupposed  by  the  united  testimony  of  the  Apostolic 
writers  belonging  almost  to  the  same  generation,  the  circumstances  are  such 
as  to  forbid  the  supposition  that  the  facts  of  our  Lord's  life  on  which  the 
fundamental  truths  of  Christianity  depend  can  have  been  the  growth  of  mere 
tradition,  or  are  anything  else  than  strictly  historical.  The  same  canon  of 
historical  criticism  which  authorizes  the  assumption  of  tradition  in  the  Old 
Testament,  forbids  it — except  within  the  narrowest  limits,  as  in  some  of  the 
divergences  apparent  between  the  parallel  narratives  of  the  Gospels — in  the 
case  of  the  New  Testament. 

It  is  an  error  to  suppose,  as  appears  sometimes  to  be  done,  that  topo- 
graphical exploration,  or  the  testimony  of  Inscriptions,  supplies  a  refutation 
of  critical  conclusions  respecting  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  The 
Biblical  records  possess  exactly  that  degree  of  historical  and  topographical 
accuracy  which  would  be  expected  from  the  circumstances  under  which  all 
reasonable  critics  hold  that  the^  were  composed.     The  original  sources  of 


XII  PREFACE 

[xxi]  It  is  objected,  however,  that  some  of  the  conclusions 
of  critics  respecting  the  Old  Testament  are  incompatible  with 
the  authority  of  our  blessed  Lord,  and  that  in  loyalty  to  Him 
we  are  precluded  from  accepting  them.  That  our  Lord  appealed 
to  the  Old  Testament  as  the  record  of  a  revelation  in  the  past, 
and  as  pointing  forward  to  Himself,  is  undoubted;  but  these 
aspects  of  the  Old  Testament  are  perfectly  consistent  with  a 
critical  view  of  its  structure  and  growth.  That  our  Lord  in  so 
appealing  to  it  designed  to  pronounce  a  verdict  on  the  author- 
ship and  age  of  its  different  parts,  and  to  foreclose  all  future 
inquiry  into  these  subjects,  is  an  assumption  for  which  no  suffi- 
cient ground  can  be  alleged.  Had  such  been  His  aim,  it  would 
have  been  out  of  harmony  with  the  entire  method  and  tenor  of 
His  teaching.  In  no  single  instance,  so  far  as  we  are  aware, 
did  He  anticipate  the  results  of  scientific  inquiry  or  historical 
research.  The  aim  of  His  teaching  was  a  religious  one  ;  it  was 
to  set  before  men  the  pattern  of  a  perfect  life,  to  move  them  to 
imitate  it,  to  bring  them  to  Himself.  He  accepted,  as  the  basis 
of  His  teaching,  the  opinions  respecting  the  Old  Testament 
current  around  Him  :  He  assumed,  in  His  allusions  to  it,  the 
premises  which  His  opponents  recognised,  and  which  could  not 
have  been  questioned  (even  had  it  been  necessary  to  question 
them)  without  raising  issues  for  which  the  time  was  not  yet  ripe, 
and  which,  had  they  been  raised,  would  have  interfered  seriously 
with  the  paramount  purpose  of  His  life.*  There  is  no  record  of 
Samuel  and  Kings,  for  instance,  being  the  work  of  men  familiar  with 
Palestine,  describe  localities  there  with  precision  :  the  chronology,  being 
(in  many  cases)  added  subsequently,  is  in  several  respects  in  irreconcilable 
conflict  with  contemporary  Inscriptions  (cf.  Sanday,  I.e.  p.  9  ;  or  the  note  in 
the  writer's  Isaiah^  p.  13).  Mr.  Girdlestone,  in  The  Foundations  of  the 
Bible  (1890),  partly  from  an  inexact  knowledge  of  the  facts,  partly  through 
misapprehension  of  what  critics  really  hold,  employs  himself  largely  in 
beating  the  air. 

*  On  Ps.  1 10,  see  the  note,  p.  384  f. ;  and  especially  the  discussion  of  our 
Lord's  reference  to  this  Psalm  in  the  seventh  of  Mr.  Gore's  "  Bampton 
Lectures."  It  does  not  seem  requisite  for  the  present  purpose,  as,  indeed, 
within  the  limits  of  a  Preface  it  would  not  be  possible,  to  consider  whether 
our  Lord,  as  man,  possessed  all  knowledge,  or  whether  a  limitation  in  this,  as 
in  other  respects, — though  not,  of  course,  of  such  a  kind  as  to  render  Him 
fallible  as  a  teacher, — was  involved  in  that  gracious  act  of  condescension,  in 
virtue  of  which  He  was  willing  "in  all  things  to  be  made  like  unto  His 
brethren"  (Heb.  2").  On  this  subject  a  reference  to  the  sixth  of  the 
Lectures  just  mentioned  must  suffice.     The  questions  touched  upon  in  the 


PREFACE  XIII 

the  question,  whether  a  particular  portion  of  the  Old  Testament 
was  written  by  Moses,  or  David,  or  Isaiah,  having  been  ever 
submitted  to  [xxii]  Him;  and  had  it  been  so  submitted,  we 
have  no  means  of  knowing  what  His  answer  would  have  been. 
The  purposes  for  which  our  Lord  appealed  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, its  prophetic  significance,  and  the  spiritual  lessons 
deducible  from  it,  are  not,  as  has  been  already  remarked  above, 
affected  by  critical  inquiries.*  Criticism  in  the  hands  of  Chris- 
tian scholars  does  not  banish  or  destroy  the  inspiration  of  the 
Old  Testament ;  it  presupposes  it ;  it  seeks  only  to  determine 
the  conditions  under  which  it  operates,  and  the  literary  forms 
through  which  it  manifests  itself ;  and  it  thus  helps  us  to  frame 
truer  conceptions  of  the  methods  which  it  has  pleased  God  to 
employ  in  revealing  Himself  to  His  ancient  people  of  Israel, 
and  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  fuller  manifestation  of  Himself 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

Six  years  have  elapsed  since  the  first  edition  of  the  present 
work  was  published,  and  the  preceding  preface  written,  sub- 
stantially as  it  still  stands.  The  favourable  reception  which  the 
volume  has  received  has  much  exceeded  what  I  had  ventured 
to  anticipate ;  and  many  gratifying  indications  have  reached  me 
of  the  assistance  which  it  has  afforded  to  students  of  the  Old 
Testament,  in  other  countries,  as  well  as  at  home.  It  has  been 
a  particular  satisfaction  to  me  to  know  that  it  has  so  largely  won 
present  paragraph  of  the  Preface  are  also  thoughtfully  handled  by  Bishop 
Moorhouse  in  his  volume  entitled,  The  Teaching  of  Christ  (1891),  Sermons 
i.  and  ii.  And  since  this  note  was  originally  written,  there  have  appeared  two 
essays,  one  by  A.  Plummer,  D.D.,  in  the  Expositor  iox '^vXy  1 891,  on  "  The 
Advance  of  Christ  in  2o0£a,"  the  other  An  Inqiciry  into  the  Nature  of  our 
Lord's  knowledge  as  man,  by  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Swayne,  with  a  Preface  by  the 
Bishop  of  Salisbury,  each  meriting  calm  and  serious  consideration.  The 
subject  of  our  Lord's  attitude  towards  the  Old  Testament  is  also  discussed 
suggestively  by  J.  Meinhold,  fesus  nnd  das  Alte  Testament  (1896), 

*  In  support  of  this  statement,  the  writer  may  be  allowed  to  refer  to  his 
Sermons  on  Subjects  connected  with  the  Old  Testament  (1892),  to  which  is 
prefixed  a  paper  read  by  him  at  the  Church  Congress  at  Folkestone  (1892), 
"  On  the  Permanent  Moral  and  Devotional  Value  of  the  Old  Testament  for 
the  Christian  Church."  For  proof  also  that  a  spiritual  appreciation  of  the 
Old  Testament  is  fully  compatible  with  a  critical  view  of  it,  see  Cheyne's 
Covwientary  on  the  Psalms,  and  the  Sermons  on  the  Psalms  in  his  Aids  to 
the  Devout  Study  of  Criticism  (1892),  Kirkpatrick's  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets, 
Sanday's  "  Bampton  Lectures  "41893),  etc.  (cf.  below,  p.  xvi). 


XIV  PREFACE 

the  approval  of  those  who  have  been  workers  themselves  upon 
the  same  field,  and  who  possess  consequently  a  practical  acquaint- 
ance with  the  ground  which  it  traverses. ■**■  The  study  of  the  Old 
Testament  does  not,  however,  stand  still ;  and  since  1891  many 
important  books,  or  articles,  dealing  with  different  parts  of  it, 
have  appeared.  In  the  2nd,  3rd,  and  4th  editions,  such  notices 
of  these  works  as  seemed  needful  were  incorporated  in  the 
Addenda  or  elsewhere;  in  the  5th  edition  (1894)  an  Appendix 
of  twenty-one  pages  (which  was  also  published  separately)  was 
added.  Meanwhile  it  had  been  felt,  by  Prof.  Kautzsch  of  Halle, 
and  other  scholars  whose  judgment  possessed  weight,  that  the 
lines  upon  which  my  Introduction  was  written  were  such  as  to 
render  it  valuable  even  in  Germany:  accordingly,  in  1895,  I  was 
invited  to  sanction  its  translation  into  German.  The  translation 
was  executed  by  the  competent  and  practised  hand  of  Prof 
J.  W.  Rothstein  of  Halle, — the  translator  of  Prof  Robertson 
Smith's  Old  Testament  in  the  Jewish  Church, — and  appeared  in 
1896.  For  the  translation  I  naturally  incorporated  into  the  text 
the  material  collected  in  the  Appendix  of  the  5  th  English 
edition,  and  also  added  notes,  taking  account  of  the  principal 
critical  and  exegetical  literature  which  had  appeared  between 
1 89 1  and  1896  :  the  translator,  also,  in  several  cases,  added 
notes  of  his  own.  When  a  sixth  English  edition  was  called  for, 
it  seemed  to  me  that  the  new  material  had  now  outgrown  the 
limits  of  an  Appendix,  and  (though  I  regretted  the  disadvantage 
at  which  possessors  of  the  previous  editions  would  in  conse- 
quence be  placed)  that  there  was  no  alternative  but  to  have  the 
work  reset,  and  to  introduce  into  the  text,  at  the  proper  places, 
such  additions  as  might  be  necessary.  This  has  accordingly 
now  been  done.  In  all  its  main  conclusions  the  present  edition 
does  not  differ  from  the  preceding  ones,  and  the  text  is,  as  a 
rule,  unchanged.  I  have,  however,  revised  the  work  through- 
out; and  I  have,  in  particular — (i)  introduced  from  time  to 
time  verbal,  and  even,  occasionally,  slight  material,  improve- 
ments into  the  text ;  t  (2)  brought  the  bibliographical  notices, 

*  In  support  of  this  statement,  notices  by  Professors  A.  B,  Davidson, 
T.  K.  Cheyne,  II.  E.  Ryle,  A.  R.  S.  Kennedy,  and  G.  A.  Smith,  as  well  as 
reviews  in  the  Times  and  Giiardian  newspapers,  were  referred  to  in  the 
Prefaces  to  the  2nd-5th  editions. 

t  As  pp.  5 iff.  (where  I  have  sought  to  distinguish,  more  exactly  than 
before,  between  H  and  the  priestly  additions),  71,  91,  93  f.,  96 f.,  98,  149- 


PREFACE  XV 

as  far  as  possible,  up  to  date ;  (3)  given  some  account  of  the 
principal  critical  views  which  have  been  propounded,  with 
reference  to  various  parts  of  the  OT.,  since  1891.^'  If  I  have 
seldom  found  myself  able  to  accept  definitely  these  newer  views, 
it  is  because  they  have  seemed  to  me  to  be  based  too  largely 
either  upon  merely  subjective  criteria,  or  upon  data  of  that 
imperfect  or  ambiguous  kind  alluded  to  above  (p.  vi),  from 
which  assured  inferences  cannot  be  drawn.  Nevertheless,  in 
spite  of  my  own  attitude  towards  the  views  in  question,  I  have 
deemed  it  only  proper  to  notice  and  describe  them,  so  far  as 
space  permitted  :  for  in  a  work  dealing  with  the  many  problems 
which  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament  presents,  the  student 
has  a  right  to  find  some  account  of  what  the  best  and  ablest 
thinkers  of  the  day  are  saying  about  them  :  and  even  provisional 
or  tentative  solutions  are  not  without  their  value,  as  indicating 
the  directions  along  which  a  subject  may  be  advantageously 
studied,  and  perhaps  pointing  the  way  towards  truer  solutions 
in  the  future. 

The  progress  which  critical  opinion  has  made  during  recent 
years,  especially  in  this  country  and  in  America,  is  remarkable. 
At  first  even  the  slightest  concessions  were  viewed  with  alarm ; 
and  though  the  same  attitude  is  still  maintained  in  some 
quarters,  it  has  on  the  whole  been  largely  overcome.  The 
cogency  of  the  reasonings  upon  which  at  least  the  broader  and 
more  important  critical  conclusions  rest,  is  seen  to  be  irresistible; 
and  the  truth  of  what  was  urged  above,  that  critical  conclusions 
are  not  really  in  conflict  with  the  claims  and  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity, has  been  widely  recognized.  So  far  as  the  Anglican 
Church  is  concerned,  the  Essay  of  Mr.  (now  Canon)  Gore  in 
Lux  Mundi  was  one  of  the  first  indications  of  a  change  of  front 
on  the  part  of  those  who  were  not,  so  to  say,  critics  by  pro- 
fession. The  sympathetic  review  of  the  present  work  in  the 
Guardian  f  was  another  significant  symptom   of  the   changed 

151,  163,  215,  221  f.,  271  f.,  337  f.,  349-35i»  390  f.,  410,  474,  498-500,  534> 
538,  539f.,&c.^ 

*  The  additional  matter  in  the  present  edition  does  not  correspond  exactly 
to  that  in  the  German  translation.  Much  of  it  is  the  same,  but  some  of 
the  notes  are  altered  in  form,  and  there  are  also  considerable  additions. 

For  convenience  of  reference,  the  pagination  of  the  previous  editions  is 
inserted  within  square  brackets. 

t  Nov.  18  and  Dec.  2,  1891. 


XVI  PREFACE 

times.  Other  indications  are  not  far  to  seek.  In  the  Expositor^ 
the  Expository  Times^  and  other  theological  periodicals,  critical 
opinions  are  openly  advocated  and  discussed.  Scotland,  which 
twenty  years  ago  removed  Prof.  W.  Robertson  Smith  from  his 
chair,  is  now  amongst  the  foremost  to  honour  those  upon 
whom  it  has  devolved  to  carry  on  and  develop  his  teaching.  In 
America,  a  daily  increasing  number  of  the  leading  theological 
Professors  avow  their  adhesion  to  the  critical  cause.  In  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  Abb^  Loisy,  and  (in  this  country) 
Baron  von  Hiigel,  have  urged  that  it  is  only  the  theological 
sense  of  Scripture  which  was  defined  by  the  Council  of  Trent, 
and  that  consequently  in  its  critical  and  historical  interpretation 
the  theologian  is  free  to  follow  the  best  guidance  which  modern 
research  has  provided  for  him.*  And  to  mention  but  three 
representative  names  from  among  ourselves.  Prof.  Kirkpatrick, 
Prof.  Sanday,  and,  most  recently,  Mr.  R.  L.Ottley,  Bampton Lecturer 
for  the  present  year,  all  men  of  cautious  and  well-balanced  judg- 
ment, have  signified,  with  the  reservations  which,  considering 
the  nature  of  the  subject-matter,  are  only  reasonable,  but  at  the 
same  time  quite  unambiguously,  their  acceptance  of  the  critical 
position.!  Mr.  Ottley,  in  particular,  has  demonstrated,  what  many 
had  before  been  conscious  of,  but  had  not  developed  upon  the 
same  comprehensive  scale,  the  entire  compatibility  of  a  critical 

*  See  the  Abbe  Loisy's  two  instructive  brochures,  Les  Etudes  Bibliques 
(Amiens,  1894),  and  Les  Mythes  Chaldeens  de  la  Creation  et  du  Diluge 
(Amiens,  1892) ;  and  the  Baron  von  Hiigel's  articles  in  the  Dublin  Review^ 
Oct.  1894,  April  and  Oct.  1895.     Cf.  the  Academy,  Oct.  17,  1896,  p.  275  f. 

t  Kirkpatrick,  The  Divine  Library  of  the  OT.  1891,  p.  41  (cf.  pp.  46, 
99,  100,  108  f.,  &c.) ;  Sanday,  Bampton  Lectures,  pp.  116,  121  f.  I  am 
unable  to  quote  specific  passages  from  Mr.  Ottley's  Lectures,  as  they  have 
not  yet  been  published.  A  full  consideration  of  these  aspects  of  the  subject 
is  beyond  the  scope  of  the  present  volume  ;  but  it  can  hardly  be  doubted 
that  to  many  minds  the  new  historical  setting  in  w^hich  criticism  places 
many  parts  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  correlation  which  it  establishes 
between  the  religious  history  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  principle  of  a 
*'  progressive  revelation,"  constitute  a  strong  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  the 
critical  position.  On  Prof.  J.  Robertson's  Early  Religion  of  Israel,  comp 
the  review  by  C.  G.  Montefiore  in  \ht.  Jewish  Quarterly  Review,  Jan.  1893, 
p.  302  fF.  The  fact  that  the  critical  view  of  the  literature  and  history  of  the 
OT.  may  be  presented  in  an  extreme  and  vulnerable  form,  is  not  evidence 
that  it  is  unsound  in  itself,  or  that  it  cannot  be  presented  with  such  limitations 
as  free  it  from  reasonable  objection. 


PREFACE  XVII 

position  with  the  truest  and  warmest  spiritual  perceptions,  and 
with  the  fullest  loyalty  to  the  Christian  creed.  At  the  present 
moment,  two  new  Dictionaries  of  the  Bible,  differing  somewhat 
in  scale  and  design,  but  both  representing  an  avowedly  critical 
standpoint,  are  in  progress,  and  will,  it  is  probable,  be  published 
shortly."^  And  even  as  I  write,  the  Committee  appointed  to 
report  upon  the  subject  by  the  Conference  of  Bishops  of  the 
Anglican  Communion,  held  at  Lambeth  in  July  1897,  while 
naturally  passing  no  verdict  itself  upon  critical  questions,  affirms 
distinctly  both  the  right  and  the  duty  "  of  the  critical  study 
of  every  part  of  the  Bible  "  on  the  part  of  "  those  Christian 
teachers  and  theologians  who  are  capable  of  undertaking  it " ; 
and  anticipates  no  disparagement  of  Scripture,  but  rather  "an 
increased  and  more  vivid  sense  of  the  Divine  revelation "  con- 
tained in  it,  from  the  careful  and  reverent  application  to  it  of 
critical  methods. 

The  consensus  of  so  many  acute  and  able  scholars,  of  dif- 
ferent countries,  of  different  communions,  trained  independently 
in  different  schools,  and  approaching  the  subject  with  different 
theological  and  intellectual  prepossessions,  cannot,  as  some 
would  have  us  believe,  rest  upon  illusion :  it  can  rest  only 
upon  the  fact  that,  whatever  margin  of  uncertainty  there  may 
be,  within  which,  as  explained  above,  critics  differ,  there  is  an 
area  within  which  their  conclusions  are  deduced,  by  sound  and 
legitimate  logical  processes,  from  a  groundwork  of  solid  fact.t 

*  By  Messrs.  A.  &  C.  Black  and  Messrs.  T.  &  T.  Clark  respectively. 

t  It  is  remarkable  how  inexact  and  undiscriminating  is  the  knowledge  of 
the  critical  position  displayed  frequently  by  those  who  come  forward  to 
oppose  it ;  and  how  largely  even  the  more  prominent  of  its  recent  opponents 
appear  to  rely  upon  rhetorical  depreciation  and  invective.  It  is  difficult  to 
understand  what  force  such  weapons  can  be  supposed  to  possess.  No  serious 
issue  has  ever  yet  been  decided  by  their  aid ;  and  the  present  one,  it  is 
certain,  will  form  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

Readers  of  Maspero's  Struggle  of  the  Nations,  and  of  Hommel's  Ancient 
Hebrew  Tradition,  published  by  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Christian 
Knowledge,  ought  to  be  aware  that  in  the  former  the  author's  conclusions  on 
the  history  of  Israel,  and  on  critical  questions  connected  with  it,  have  been 
systematically  suppressed  or  altered,  and  that  in  the  latter  many  of  the  terms 
of  disparagement  and  offence  applied  to  certain  scholars  have  been  gratuitously 
introduced :  in  both  cases,  without  any  notification  being  given  of  the  liberties 
taken  by  the  translators.  See  particulars  in  the  Athenceu?n,  Jan.  2,  1897  ;  or 
the  Church  Quarterly  Review,  July  1897,  pp.  462-473 ;  and  the  Athencsum, 
Aug.  28,  1897,  p.  285  ;  or  the  Expository  Times ^  Sept,  1S97,  p.  557. 


XVIII  PREFACE 

The  attempt  to  refute  the  conclusions  of  criticism  by  means 
of  archaeology  has  signally  failed.  The  archaeological  dis- 
coveries of  recent  years  have  indeed  been  of  singular  interest 
and  value :  they  have  thrown  a  flood  of  light,  sometimes  as  sur- 
prising as  it  was  unexpected,  upon  many  a  previously  dark  and 
unknown  region  of  antiquity.  But,  in  spite  of  the  ingenious 
hypotheses  which  have  been  framed  to  prove  the  contrary,  they 
have  revealed  nothing  which  is  in  conflict  with  the  generally 
accepted  conclusions  of  critics.*  I  readily  allow  that  there  are 
some  critics  who  combine  with  their  literary  criticism  of  the  Old 
Testament  an  historical  criticism  which  appears  to  me  to  be  un- 
reasonable and  extreme ;  and  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that 
isolated  instances  do  not  exist,  in  which  opinions  expressed  by 
one  or  another  of  these  critics  may  have  to  be  reconsidered  in 
the  light  of  recent  discoveries ;  t  but  the  idea  that  the  monu- 
ments furnish  a  refutation  of  the  general  critical  position,  is  a 
pure  illusion.  By  an  irony  of  fate,  the  only  two  positions 
adopted  in  the  first  edition  of  the  present  work,  which,  if  Prof. 
Sayce's  Verdict  of  the  Monuments  be  taken  as  the  standard,  must 
be  deemed  inconsistent,  the  one  certainly,  the  other  very  prob- 
ably, with  the  evidence  of  the  inscriptions,  are  not  critical,  but 
conservative  positions  :  the  possibility,  viz.  that  there  may  have 
been  a  ruler,  such  as  Darius  the  Mede  is  represented  as  having 
been  in  the  Book  of  Daniel,  and  a  date  as  early  as  c.  586  B.C. 
for  Ohy^-^^.X  A  more  conclusive  proof  of  the  unreality  of  the 
supposed  "  refutation  "  could  not  be  desired. 

S.  R.  D. 

September  1897. 

*  Comp.  the  remarks  below,  pp.  3f.,  158  f. 

t  Critics  are,  however,  not  unfrequently  credited  with  opinions  contra- 
dicting the  evidence  of  archaeology,  which  the  present  writer,  at  any  rate, 
has  never  been  able  to  discover  that  they  have  really  expressed. 

%  See  below,  pp.  320  f.,  499  note  J, 


CONTENTS 


Additions  and  Corrections  xxi 

Abbreviations  xxii 
Introduction  (The  Origin  of  the  Books  of  the  Old  Teslament,  and 

the  Growth  of  the  Canon,  according  to  the  Jews)  i 

CHAPTER  I 

The  Hexateuch  i 

§  I.  Genesis  5 

§  2.  Exodus  22 

§  3.  Leviticus  42 

§  4.  Numbers  60 

§  5.  Deuteronom)'  69 

§  6.  Joshua  103 
§  7.  The  Prophetical  Narrative  of  the  Hexateuch  (character   and 

probable  date)  116 
The  Priestly  Narrative  of  the  Hexateuch  (character  and  prob- 
able date)  126 
Synopsis  of  the  Priests'  Code  159 

CHAPTER  n 

Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings  160 

§  I.  The  Book  of  Judges  160 

§  2.   1-2  Samuel  172 

§  3.   1-2  Kings  185  .* 

CHAPTER  HI. 

Isaiah  204 

CHAPTER  IV 

Jeremiah  247 

CHAPTER  V 

EZEKIEL  278 


XX 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VI 


The  Minor  Prophets 
§    I.  Hosea 
§    2.  Joel 
§    3.  Amos 
§    4.  Obadiah 
§    5.  Jonah 
§    6.  Micah 
§    7.   Nahum 
§    8.  Habakkuk 
§    9.  Zephaniah 
§  10.  Haggai 
§  II.  Zechariah 
§  12.  Malachi 


PAGE 
299 
300 

318 
321 
325 

334 
337 
340 
343 
344 
355 


The  Psalms 


CIIAPIER  VII 


359 


CHAPTER  VIII 


The  Book  of  Proverbs 


392 


The  Book  of  Job 


CHAPTER  IX 


408 


CHAPTER  X 


The  Five  Megilloth 

§  I .  The  Song  of  Songs 

§  2.  Ruth 

§  3.  The  Lamentations 

§  4.  Ecclesiastes  (Qoheleth) 

§  5.  Esther 


436 
436 
453 
456 
465 
478 


CHAPTER  XI 


Daniel 


CHAPTER  XII 


Chronicles,  Ezra,  and  Nehemiah 
§  I.  Chronicles 
§  2.   Ezra  and  Nehemiah 


516 

516 
540 


Index     I.  (Subjects)  555 

Index    II.  (Select  list  of  words  or  phrases  commented  on  or  cited)  560 

Index  III.  (Texts)  567 


ADDITIONS  AND  CORRECTIONS. 

Preface,  p.  xvi,  note*.  Add  Pere  Lagrange's  article  in  the  Revue 
Biblique,  Jan.  1898,  on  "  Les  Sources  du  Pentateuque"  (summarised  in  the 
Expos.  Times,  June  1898,  p.  405  f.). 

Preface,  p.  xvii,  1.  5-6.  The  first  volume  of  the  Dictionary  published  by 
Messrs.  Clark,  extending  as  far  as  Feasts,  has  appeared. 

Preface,  p.  xvii,  note  t-  The  liberties  taken  in  the  translation  of 
Maspero  have  been  acknowledged  by  the  General  Literature  Committee  of 
the  S.P.C.K.,  who  have  issued  a  leaf,  containing  corrections  of  several 
(though  by  no  means  of  all),  together  with  a  note  by  the  author,  in  which  he 
expresses  his  Surprise  "que  le  traducteur  ait  altere  de  parti  pris  le  texte  qu'il 
voulut  rendre  en  anglais."  It  appears  now,  from  official  statements,  that 
the  alterations  in  question  were  made  without  the  knowledge  or  sanction 
either  of  the  Committee  or  of  the  author.  Cf.  the  Expos.  Times,  1898, 
pp.  147-149,  201,  434. 

P.  I.  Dillmann's  Ex.  Lev.  appeared  in  a  new  edition,  revised  by  V. 
Ryssel,  in  1897. 

P.  I.  A  "Kurzer  Hand-Commentar  zum  A.T.,"  edited  by  K.  Marti 
(somewhat  briefer  than  Nowack's),  has  recently  (1897)  been  commenced: 
Genesis  by  II.  Holzinger,  Judges  by  K.  Budde,  Ezekiel  by  A.  Bertholet, 
Proverbs  by  G.  Wildeboer,  Job  by  B.  Duhm,  and  the  Megilloth  (Song  of 
Songs  and  Lam.  by  Budde,  Ruth  by  Bertholet,  Eccl.  and  Esther  by  Wilde- 
boer) have  appeared  already. 

P.  I,  end  of  first  paragraph.  Add:  The  Cosmogony  of  Genesis  and  its 
Reconcilers,  by  President  Henry  Morton,  of  the  Stevens  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology, Hoboken,  N.J.  (comparing  the  note  in  the  Expositor,  June  1898,  pp. 
464-469) ;  and  Principal  Whitehouse's  art.  Cosmogony,  in  Clark's  Dictionary 
of  the  Bible. 

P.  2.  Add :  W.  E.  Addis,  The  Documents  of  the  Hexateuch,  translated 
and  arranged  in  chronological  order,  with  introduction  and  notes,  vol.  i. 
1892,  vol.  ii.  1898. 

P.  2.  A  second  and  enlarged  edition  of  Dr.  Briggs'  Higher  Criticism  of 
the  Hexateuch  appeared  in  1897  ;  and  a  fourth  edition  of  his  Biblical  Study, 
with  many  additions,  under  the  title,  A  General  Introduction  to  the  Study  of 
the  Bible,  is  expected  shortly. 

P.  3.  In  Haupt's  '*  Sacred  Books  of  the  O.T."  (also  known  as  the  **  Poly- 
chrome Bible  ")  the  English  editions  of  Leviticus  (Driver  and  White),  Judges 
(Moore),  Isaiah  (Cheyne),  and  the  Psalms  (Wellhausen)  have  appeared.    The 


XXII  ADDITIONS  AND  CORRECTIONS 

illustrations,  designed  for  these  volumes  by  the  editor,  form  an  instructive 
addition;  and  at  the  end  of  Wellhausen's  PsahnSy  the  appendix  on  the 
Music  of  the  Ancient  Hebrews  (pp.  217-234),  also  with  numerous  illustra- 
tions, deserves  notice. 

P.  3  f.  On  the  critical  bearings  of  Sayce's  Early  History  of  the  Hebrews , 
see  G.  B.  Gray  in  the  Expositor ,  May  1898,  pp.  337-355. 

P.  22.  Add:  R.  Klopfer,  "Zur  Quellenscheidung  in  Exod.  19,"  in  the 
ZATW,  1898,  p.  197  ff. 

Pp.  15,  159.  With  regard  to  Gen.  14,  substantially  the  same  judgement 
is  expressed  by  the  Assyriologist  Zimmern  in  the  Theol.  Rundschau,  for  May 
1898  (see  the  abstract  in  the  Expos.  Times,  June  1898,  p.  448  f. ) :  the  names 
of  the  four  kings  mentioned  in  v.  ^  are  historical ;  but  at  present  nothing  is 
proved  from  the  monuments  as  to  the  historical  character  of  the  campaign 
described  in  the  rest  of  the  chapter. 

P.  47.  Add:  L.  B.  Paton,  "The  Original  form  of  Lev.  xvii.-xix.,"  in 
JBLit.  1897,  pp.  31-77  (also  separately,  Marburg,  1897). 

P.  70.  Add:  C.  Steuernagel  (in  Nowack's  " Handkommentar "),  1898. 

P.  130  note**.  See  further,  on  the  types  of  Hebrew  laws,  Briggs,  Higher 
Criticism  of  the  Hexateuch  (ed.  2),  App.  x.  p.  242  ff. 

P.  172.  Add:  M.  Lohr  (in  the  Kgf.  Exeg.  Hattdb.),  1898;  K.  P.  Smith 
(in  the  International  Critical  Commentary),  1898  (shortly). 

P.  204.  Add :  J.  Skinner  (in  the  Camb.  Bible  for  Schools)^  1898  (on 
c.  40-66).  Dillmann's  Commentary  has  also  appeared  in  a  new  edition, 
revised  by  R.  Kittel  (1898). 

P.  205.  Add  :  F.  Giesebrecht,  Die  Berufsbegabung  der  Alttestamentlichen 
Propheten,  1897  (on  the  predictive  element  in  prophecy). 

P.  299.  Add :  W.  Nowack,  Die  Kleinen  Propheten,  1897  (very  complete 
and  useful.  In  the  conclusion  that  many  passages  in  these  prophets  are  later 
additions,  the  author  agrees  largely  vv^ith  Wellhausen).  Add  also  G.  A. 
Smith,  vol.  ii.  1898. 

P.  318.  Giesebrecht,  also  {I.e.  p.  107  f.),  finds  himself  obliged  to  agree, 
though  reluctantly  ("schweren  Herzens"),  that  Am.  9^-^^  is  a  post-exilic 
appendix  to  the  genuine  prophecies  of  Amos. 

P.  320  f.  G.  A.  Smith  comes  to  the  conclusion*  that  Ob.  is  the  work  of  a 
prophet  writing  during  the  exile,  who  in  v.^'^'  ^'^^  incorporated  portions  of  an 
older,  pre-exilic  prophecy  on  Edom.  He  thinks  (p.  176)  that  the  Sephared 
of  V.21  may  be  the  Median  Shaparda,  mentioned  by  Sargon  (cf.  KAT-  ad  loc. 
p.  447) ;  or,  if  this  should  be  shown  to  be  impossible,  that  the  word  (or 
clause)  may  be  a  later  addition  to  the  prophecy. 

P.  330.  Nowack  now  (in  his  Commentary)  assigns  to  Micah  in  c.  4-5 
only  49-"  (without  the  Babylon-clause),  5^  (Heb.  a^%  5i«-i-*  (Heb.  o-i^). 

P*  337'  Nowack,  following,  and  in  some  cases  improving  upon,  Gunkel 
and  Bickell,  seeks  also  to  restore  the  supposed  acrostich  in  Neh.  i  :  but  the 
textual  changes  which  his  restoration  in  parts  postulates,  especially  the 
inversions  and  transpositions,  are  violent,  and  decidedly  in  excess  of  what 
a  comparison  of  such  parallel  texts  as  Ps.  14  and  53,  Ps.  40^^'!^  and  Ps.  70, 
or  Ps.  18  and  2  Sam.  22,  would  lead  us  to  expect.  (Cf.  the  present  writer's 
notice  in  the  Expos.  Times,  Dec.   1897,  p.  119.)     Mr.  G.  B.  Gray  (in  the 


ADDITIONS  AND  CORRECTIONS  XXIII 

Expositor,  Sept.  1898,  p.  207  ff.).  while  less  ambitious,  is  more  convincing; 
and  has  certainly  restored  Nan.  i^"^  with  probability  in  an  acrostich  form. 

P.  342.  In  Zeph.  2-3,  Nowack  rejects  2'^-  ^-S""-  ^^  39-10.  i4-20^  q.  A. 
Smith  suspects  strongly  Zeph.'s  authorship  of  2^'" ;  and  regards  S^^"^*^  as  an 
epilogue,  added  during,  or  immediately  after,  the  exile. 

Pp.  349-351.  Nowack  also  is  of  opinion  that  Zech.  9-11,  I3''''  belongs  to 
the  Greek  age  ;  but  remarks  justly  that  the  necessa.ry  materials  do  not  exist 
for  fixing  its  date  more  closely.  G.  A.  Smith  (who  also  treats  13^'^  as  the 
sequel  to  c.  9-1 1)  thinks  (p.  463)  that  Zech.  9-14  consists  of  "a  number  of 
separate  oracles,  which  their  language  and  general  conceptions  lead  us  on  the 
whole  to  believe  were  put  together  by  one  hand";  and  agrees  that,  "with 
the  possible  exception  of  some  older  fragments  [as  9^'^],  they  reflect  the  troubled 
times  in  Palestine  that  followed  the  invasion  of  Alexander  the  Great."  G.  L. 
Robinson,  in  an  elaborate  study,  The  Prophecies  of  Zechariah  (Chicago,  1896, 
— reprinted  from  the  American  Jotim.  of  Sem.  Languages,  Oct.  1895 — ^Jan. 
1896),  seeks  to  show  that  Zech.  9-14  is  by  the  same  author  as  Zech.  1-8. 

P.  359.  Add :  S.  R.  Driver,  The  Parallel  Psalter,  being  the  Prayer- Book 
Version  of  the  Psalms  and  a  new  Version,  arranged  on  opposite  pages,  with  an 
Introduction  and  Glossaries,  1898;  B.  Jacob,  ZATW,  1897,  p.  263  ff.  (the 
Psalms  and  the  Temple-worship),  1898,  p.  99  ff.  (the  order  of  the  Psalms). 

P.  393.  Add:  W.  Frankenberg  (in  Nowack's  "Handkommentar"),  1898. 

P.  401.  On  Pr.  30^^'  cf.  Cheyne's  Jewish  Religious  Life  after  the  Exile 
(1898),  p.  i73ff. 

P.  408.  Add  :  G.  Beer,  ZATW,  1898,  p.  257 ff.  (ending  the  "Studien"). 

P.  436.  Add:  C.  Siegfried  (in  Nowack's  "Handkommentar"),  1898. 

P.  452  f.  Budde,  in  his  Commentary  in  Marti's  series,  mentioned  above 
(note  on  p.  i),  develops  in  detail  the  view  of  the  Song  of  Songs  here  described. 
He  regards  the  book  as  a  collection  of  songs,  the  unity  of  which  he  finds  not 
in  the  consistent  development  of  a  plot,  but  in  the  unity  oi place  and  occasion, 
which  they  all  display:  the  songs  were  essentially  "  Volkslieder,"  of  a  kind 
that  might  be  heard  at  any  Hebrew  wedding,  though  naturally  the  poet  to 
whom  we  owe  this  collection  was  a  gifted  one,  who  selected,  or  adapted,  the 
choicest  that  he  knew :  all  spring  out  of  the  festivities  accompanying  a  wedding, 
and  all  depict,  in  an  imaginative,  poetical  form,  different  phases,  or  stages,  in 
the  happiness  of  a  single  (tj'pical)  wedded  pair,  represented  hyperbolically  by 
"  Solomon,"  and  the  Shulamite :  as  it  is  the  poet's  aim  to  delineate  this  as 
forcibly  and  vividly  as  possible,  the  poem,  not  unnaturally,  assumes  in  parts 
a  dramatic  character.  Siegfried  takes  substantially  the  same  view  of  the  book. 
The  identification  of  Solomon  with  a  shepherd,  which  (below,  p.  444)  is  a 
serious  difficulty,  if  the  poem  is  understood  literally,  disappears,  if  "  Solomon" 
be  merely  the  typical  name  of  the  bridegroom,  founded  on  the  Syrian  village- 
custom,  explained  on  p.  452.  Budde  quotes  as  analogous,  though  they  are 
briefer,  two  collections  of  old  Egyptian  love-poems,  published  recently  by 
G.  Maspero  in  his  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  i.  217 ff.,  and  by  Spiegelberg  in 
ALgyptiaca  (Festschrift  fiir  G.Ebers),  p.  117  ff.,  the  resemblance  of  the  former 
of  which,  in  particular,  to  the  Song  of  Songs  had  been  pointed  out  (p.  258  f. ) 
by  the  translator. — It  is  true,  no  interpretation  of  the  poem  can  be  said  to  be 
entirely  free  from  difficulty.     Ewald's  view,  attractive  though  it  is,  certainly 


XXIV  ADDITIONS  AND  CORRECTIONS 

requires  a  good  deal  to  be  read  between  the  lines,  which  is  not  expressed. 
Budde  presents  his  view  forcibly  and  cleverly  :  but  the  reader,  before  accept- 
ing it,  should  satisfy  himself  that  it  does  proper  justice  to  the  dialogue,  and 
other  dramatic  elements  which  the  poem  undoubtedly  contains,  and  that  the 
hyperbole  involved  in  passages  such  as  3''^**  58. 9d.  e  jg  ^ot  greater  than  is 
probable. 

P.  458,  note*.  See,  however,  now,  his  Commentary  (in  Marti's  series). 

P.  464,  lines  3-1  from  bottom.  Budde  now  (in  his  Commentary^  pp.  75-77> 
ascribes  c.  2  and  c.  4  to  a  poet  writing  very  shortly  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem 
{c.  580  B.C.),  c.  I,  with  Ivohr,  on  the  ground,  chiefly,  of  apparent  literary 
dependence  (v.''-  *•  ^°-  ^'*)  upon  II  Isaiah,  to  a  second  poet  writing  c.  530,  or 
somewhat  later  [430  must  be  a  misprint :  see  Lohr,  p.  xvii],  and  c.  5,  in 
contents  a  kind  of  sequel  to  c.  2.  4,  to  c.  550  :  c.  3  he  considers  to  have  been 
written  much  later,  in  the  3rd  cent.  B.C.,  e  persona  JeremicB,  for  the  purpose 
of  supplementing  the  other  poems  by  giving  expression  to  the  feelings  which 
an  individual  Israelite  might  be  supposed  to  have  experienced  at  the  time  of 
his  country's  great  disaster. 

P.  465.  Add:  C.  Siegfried  (in  Nowack's  *  Handkommentar '),  1898. 

P.  485,  note.  Jensen,  as  quoted  by  Wildeboer  (in  Marti's  series),  pp. 
173-175,  adopts  Zimmem's  view  of  the  origin  of  the  Feast  of  Purim  (though 
not  his  explanation  of  the  word).  See,  further,  the  discriminating  article  by 
C.  H.  Toy,  in  the  New  World,  March  1898,  p.  130  ff. 

P.  498,  lines  4,  3  from  bottom.  Ed.  Meyer  (Z^ 7"^,  1898,  p.  339 ff.) 
adduces  strong  reasons  for  believing  that,  in  the  passage  (1.  12)  fixing  the 
month  in  which  Sippar  was  taken,  and  Gubaru  entered  Babylon,  Tammuz 
(June)  is  an  error  for  Tishri  (September) :  notice,  especially,  that  Elul 
(August)  has  just  preceded  (1.  10).  If  this  conclusion  be  correct,  the  "four 
months"  of  p.  499,  1.  13,  will  be  reduced  to  17  or  18  days. 

P.  501,  note.  The  Persian  prototype  of  inm,  ddtabdri,  occurs  frequently  in 
the  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  the  reigns  of  Artaxerxes  i.  (B.C.  465-425),  and 
Darius  11.  (424-405),  found  by  the  Pennsylvania  Expedition  at  Nippur  (Hil- 
precht,  in  the  Fal.  ExpL  Fund  Quarterly  Statement ^  Jan.  1898,  p.  55). 


t 


ABBREVIATIONS. 

CIS.-=-Corpus  Inscriptionum  Semiticarum  (Parisiis,  i88l  ff.), 
^rBLit.  =  Journal  of  Biblical  Literature  (Boston,  U.  S.  A. ). 
JPTh.  =Jahrbuch  filr  Protestantische  Theologie. 
JQR.  =^ Jewish  Quarterly  Review. 

Ji^AT.^  =  (Eh.  Schrader)  Die  Keilinschriften  und  das  AT.  (ed.  2,  1883), 
— translated  under  the  title  The  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  and  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, London,  1885,  1888  (the  standard  work  on  the  subject). 

KB.=Keilinschriftlichte  Bibliothek  (translations  of  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonian Inscriptions),  edited  by  Eb.  Schrader. 

OTjC^^iy^.  R.  Smith)  The  Old  Testament  in  the  Jewish  Church  (ed. 
2,  1892). 

QPB.^=Queen^s  Printers'  ^2(5/<2  (otherwise  called  the  Variorttm  Bible), 
ed.  3,  1889,  published  by  Eyre  and  Spottiswoode  :— the  01c  Testament 
edited  by  Prof.  T.  K.  Cheyne  and  the  present  writer. 

KV.  =  Revised  Version  of  the  Old  Testament  (1885). 

5j56>7'.  =  (Haupt's)  Sacred  Books  of  the  Old  Testament  (see  p.  3). 

ThT.  —  Theologisch  Tijdschrift  (Leiden). 

ZATW.  =  Zeitschrift fiir  die  Alt-test.  Wissenschaft,  edited  by  B.  Stade. 

ZDMG.  =  Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen  Morgenldndischen  Gesellschaft. 

ZKWL.=  Zeitschrift fUr  kirchlfche  Wissenschaft  und kirchliches  Leben. 

The  symbol  P  is  explained  on  p.  10;  J,  E,  and  JE  on  p.  13  ;  H  on  p. 
48  ;  D  and  D^  on  pp.  72,  104. 

The  arrow  (|),  attached  to  a  list  of  passages,  indicates  that  it  includes 
all  instances  of  the  word  or  phrase  referred  to,  occurring  in  the  OT. 

In  citations,  the  letters  *  and  ^  denote  respectively  the  first  and  second 
halves  of  the  verse  cited.  Where  the  verse  consists  of  three  or  more  members, 
the  letters  *,  ^  **,  ^,  %  are  employed  sometimes  to  denote  them  similarly  (as 
pp.  364  f.,  439,  440).  The  Greek  letters  «. /3  denote  the  first  and  second 
parts,  respectively,  of  the  clauses  indicated  by  *  or  ''. 

A  small  '  *  superior "  figure,  attached  to  the  title  of  a  book,  or  to 
an  author's  name,  indicates  the  edition  of  the  work  referred  to  (as  KAT^., 
above). 

The  citations  of  Biblical  passages  are  accommodated  throughout  to  the 
English  version,  except  sometimes  where  the  reference  is  more  particularly 
to  a  Hebrew  term.  (The  division  of  chapters  is  occasionally  not  the  same  in 
the  Hebrew  as  in  the  English  Bible  ;  and  the  title  to  a  Psalm,  where  it  con- 
sists of  more  than  two  words,  is  usually  reckoned  in  the  Hebrew  as  v.  ^ ) 


An  Introduction  to 
the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT^  AND 
THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  CANON,  ACCORDING  TO  THE  JEWS. 

It  is  sometimes  supposed  that  conclusions  such  as  those 
expressed  in  the  present  volume  on  the  age  and  authorship 
of  certain  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  are  in  conflict  with  trust- 
worthy historical  statements  derived  from  ancient  Jewish  sources. 
This,  however,  is  not  the  case.  On  the  authorship  of  the  Books 
of  the  OT.,  as  on  the  completion  of  the  Canon  of  the  OT.,  the 
Jews  possess  no  tradition  worthy  of  real  credence  or  regard, 
but  only  vague  and  uncertain  reminiscences,  intermingled  often 
with  idle  speculations. 

Of  the  steps  by  which  the  Canon  of  the  Old  Testament  was 
formed,  little  definite  is  known.*  It  is,  however,  highly  probable 
that  the  tripartite  division  of  the  books,  current  from  antiquity 
among  the  Jews,  has  an  historical  basis,  and  corresponds  to 
three  stages  in  the  process ;  and  it  has  accordingly  been  adopted 
in  the  present  volume.  It  ought  only  to  be  stated  that,  though 
the  books  belonging  to  one  division  are  never  (by  the  Jews) 
transferred  to  another,  in  the  case  of  the  Prophets  and  the 
"  Kethubim  "  (Hagiographa),  certain  differences  of  arrangement 
have  sometimes  prevailed.     In  the  Talmud  {Bdba  bdthra  14^) 

*  For  further  information  on  the  subject  of  the  following  pages,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  the  learned  and  elaborate  article  by  St'rack,  "  Kanon  des  Alten 
Testaments,"  in  Herzog's  £nc}/kt.  (ed.  2)  vol.  vii.  (1880).  See  also  Dillmann, 
"  IJber  die  Bildung  u.  Sammlung  heiliger  Schriften  des  AT.,"  in  \h&Jahrb.f. 
Deutsche  Theol.  1858,  pp.  419-491  ;  Jul.  Furst,  Der  Kanon  des  AT.s  nach 
Talmud  u.  Midrash,  1868;  G.  Wildeboer,  Die  Entstehung  des  Alttest. 
Kanons,  1891  (tr.  by  B.  W.  Bacon,  1895)  J  F.  Buhl,  Kanon  u.  Text  des 
/4  7".  J  (translated)  ;  and  esp.  Prof.  H.  E.  Ryle's  valuable  essay.  The  Canon 
of  the  OT.y  1892  (published  sinip  the  followicg  page?  were  written),  *  1895, 


ii  GROWTH  OF  THE  CANON 

the  arrangement  of  the  "  Latter  "  Prophets  is  Jer.  Ez.  Isa.  the  XII ; 
and  this  order  is  commonly  observed  in  German  and  French 
[xxviii]  MSS.  The  Massoretic  scholars  (7-9  cent.)  placed 
Isaiah  first;  and  the  order  sanctioned  by  them  is  adopted  in 
the  ancient  MS.,  now  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  bearing  a  date  = 
A.D.  916,  in  Spanish  MSS.,  and  in  the  printed  editions  of  the 
Hebrew  Bible.  The  Talmudic  arrangement  of  the  Hagiographa 
is  Ruth,  Ps.  Job,  Prov.  Eccl.  Song  of  Songs,  Lam.  Dan.  Est. 
Ezr.-Neh.  Chr. ;  and  this  order  is  found  in  MSS. ;  the  Massorites, 
followed  (as  a  rule)  by  Spanish  MSS.,  adopted  the  order  Chr. 
Ps.  Job,  Prov.  Ruth,  Song  of  Songs,  Eccl.  Lam.  Est.  Dan.  Ezr.- 
Neh.  :  German  MSS.  have  generally  the  order  followed  in  printed 
editions  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  (and  in  the  present  volume),  Ps. 
Prov.  Job,  the  5  Megilloth,'^  Dan.  Ezr.-Neh.  Chr.  Other  variations 
in  the  arrangement  of  the  Hagiographa  are  also  to  be  found  in 
MSS.t  The  following  are  the  earliest  and  principal  passages 
bearing  on  the  subject : — 

I.  The  Proverbs  of  Jesus,  the  son  of  Sirach  {c.  200  B.C.), 
were  translated  into  Greek  by  the  grandson  of  the  author,  c.  130 
B.C.,  who  prefixed  to  them  a  preface,  in  which  he  speaks  of  "  the 
law  and  the  prophets,  and  the  others,  who  followed  upon  them  " 
(xat  Toiv  aXkdiV  tcov  Kar*  avrovs  r]KoXov6'r}K6Tiiiv\  to  the  Study  of 
whose  writings  his  grandfather  had  devoted  himself,  "  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  and  the  other  books  of  our  fathers  {koL  ra 
aXAa  irarpia  /3t/3Ata),"  "  the  law,  the  prophets,  and  the  rest  of 
the  books  {koI  ra  Xolttcl  Toiv  ySt^Aicov)."  This  passage  appears 
to  recognise  the  threefold  division  of  the  Jewish  Canon,  the 
indefinite  expression  following  "  the  prophets "  representing 
(presumably)  the  miscellaneous  collection  of  writings  known 
now  as  the  Hagiographa.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  tripartite 
division  was  afterwards  generally  recognised  by  the  Jews,  and 
that  two  of  the  names  are  the  same,  it  may  be  taken  as  a 
tolerably  decisive  indication  that  this  division  was  established 
c.  130  B.C.,  if  not  in  the  days  of  the  translator's  grandfather  him- 
self. It  does  not,  however,  show  that  the  Hagiographa  was 
already  completed,  as  we  now  have  it ;  it  would  be  entirely  con- 
sistent with  the  terms  used,  for  instance,  if  particular  books,  as 

*  In  the  order  in  which  they  are  read  in  the  synagogue  (p.  436  n. ),  viz. 
Song  of  Songs,  Ruth,  Lam.  Eccl.  Est. 

t  See  more  fully  Ryle,  pp.  219-234,  281  f.  (^pp.  230-246,  293  ff.). 


ACCORDING  TO  THE  JEWS  iii 

Esther,  or  Daniel,  or  Ecclesiastes,  were  only  added  to  the  collec- 
tion subsequently. 

2.  The  Second  Book  of  Maccabees  opens  with  two  letters 
(ii_2i8)j  [xxix]  purporting  to  have  been  sent  by  the  Palestinian 
Jews  in  B.C.  144  to  their  brethren  in  Egypt.  The  second  of 
these  letters,  after  the  mention  of  certain  apocryphal  anecdotes 
connected  with  Jeremiah  and  Nehemiah,  continues  as  follows  : — 

"The  same  things  were  also  reported  in  the  public  archives  and  in  the 
records  relating  to  Nehemiah  ;  and  how,  founding  a  library,  he  gathered 
together  the  things  concerning  the  kings  and  prophets,  and  the  (writings)  of 
David,  and  letters  of  kings  about  sacred  gifts.*  And  in  like  manner  Judas 
also  gathered  together  for  us  all  those  writings  that  had  been  scattered  (tA 
dioTeTTUKdra)  by  reason  of  the  war  that  we  had ;  and  they  remain  with  us. 
If,  therefore,  ye  have  need  thereof,  send  some  to  fetch  them  unto  you " 

(213-15). 

These  letters,  whether  they  were  prefixed  to  what  follows  by 
the  author  of  the  rest  of  the  book,  or  by  a  later  hand,  are  allowed 
on  all  hands  to  be  spurious  and  full  of  untrustworthy  matter  ;  f 
and  the  source  referred  to  in  the  extract  just  cited — probably 
some  pseudepigraphic  writing — is  in  particular  discredited  by 
the  legendary  character  of  the  other  statements  for  which  it  is 
quoted  as  an  authority.  The  passage  may^  however,  contain 
an  indistinct  reminiscence  of  an  early  stage  in  the  formation  of 
a  canon, — "  the  things  relating  to  the  kings  and  prophets " 
being  a  general  designation  of  the  writings  (or  some  of  them), 
now  known  as  the  "Former"  and  "Latter"  Prophets,  ra  rov 
AavciS  being  some  part  of  the  Psalter,  and  the  "  letters  of  kings 
respecting  offerings  "  being  (possibly)  documents,  such  as  those 
excerpted  in  the  Book  of  Ezra,  respecting  edicts  issued  by  the 
Persian  kings  in  favour  of  the  Temple.  But  even  though  the 
statement  be  accepted  as  historical,  manifestly  the  greater  part 
of  the  Hagiographa  would  not  be  included  in  Nehemiah's  collec- 
tion. And  from  the  expression  "  founding  a  library ^^  it  would 
naturally  be  inferred  that  Nehemiah's  aim  was  the  collection  and 
preservation  of  ancient  national  literature  generally,  rather  than 

*  i^riyovuTO  8^  Kal  iv  tolls  avaypacpais  Kal  iv  toi$  VTro/xv7]fjiaTi(r/j.ocs  to?s  Kara 
rbv  lUeefiiav  tcl  avra,  Kal  ws  /carajSaXXo/uei'OS  pi^Xiodi^Krjv  iirLcrvv-qyaye  rh  irepl 
Tuip  ^aaCK^wv  koX  irpocpTjTiou  Kal  ra  tov  Aaveld  Kal  diriaToXas  ^affCkiojv  irepl 
avadr]  fioLTUP. 

t  T/ie  Speaker's  Comin.  on  the  Apocrypha,  ii.  p.  541  ;  cf.  Schiirer,  Gesch. 
lies  Jiid.   Volkes  im  Zeitalter  Jesxi  Christi,  ii.  p.  741. 


iv  GROWTH  OF  THE  CANON 

the  determination,  or  selection,  of  such  books  as  deserved  the 
authority  which  we  now  express  by  the  term  "  canonical."  The 
utmost  that  follows  from  the  passage  is  that,  according  to  the 
[xxx]  unknown  author  of  the  documents  quoted,  the  books 
(or  some  of  them)  now  constituting  the  second  division  of  the 
Canon  (the  "  Prophets "),  and  certain  writings  attributed  to 
David,  were  collected  together  under  Nehemiah,  and  that  they 
formed  part  of  a  larger  collection  founded  by  him.  But  the 
origin  of  the  statement  is  too  uncertain,  and  its  terms  are  too 
indefinite,  for  any  far-reaching  conclusion  to  be  founded  upon  it. 

3.  The  Fourth  Book  of  Ezra.  In  this  apocryphal  book, 
written,  as  is  generally  agreed,  towards  the  close  of  the  ist 
cent.  A.D.,*  Ezra,  shordy  before  his  death,  is  represented  as 
lamenting  to  God  that  the  Law  is  burnt,  and  as  craving  from 
Him  the  ability  to  re-write  it,  in  order  that  after  his  decease  men 
may  not  be  left  destitute  of  Divine  instruction — "  But  if  I  have 
found  grace  in  Thy  sight,  send  the  Holy  Ghost  into  me,  and  I 
shall  write  all  that  hath  been  done  in  the  world  since  the 
beginning,  even  the  things  which  were  written  in  Thy  law,  that 
men  may  find  Thy  path,  and  that  they  which  will  live  in  the 
latter  days  may  live"  (i4^^^-)-  ^^d  grants  Ezra's  request:  he 
prepares  writing  materials  and  five  skilled  scribes ;  the  next  day 
he  hears  a  voice  saying  to  him,  "  Ezra,  open  thy  mouth,  and 
drink  that  I  give  thee  to  drink  "  [cf.  Ezek.  3^],  after  which  we 
read  :— 

**  Then  opened  I  my  mouth,  and,  behold,  He  reached  me  a  full  cup, 
which  was  full,  as  it  were,  with  water,  but  the  colour  of  it  was  like  fire. 
And  I  took  it  and  drank ;  and  when  I  had  drunk  of  it,  my  heart  uttered 
understanding,  and  wisdom  grew  in  my  heart,  for  my  spirit  strengthened  my 
memory  ;  and  my  mouth  was  opened,  and  shut  no  more.  The  Highest  gave 
understanding  unto  the  five  men,  and  they  wrote  by  course  the  things  that 
were  told  them,  in  characters  which  they  knew  not,t  and  they  sat  forty  days ; 
they  wrote  in  the  daytime,  and  at  night  they  ate  bread.     As  for  me,  I  spake 

*  Speaker's  Comni.  on  the  Apocrypha,  i.  p.  81  ;  Schiirer,  ii.  656  f. 

t  So  the  Syriac  Version  (the  original  text  of  4  Ezr,  is  not  extant) : 
similarly  the  Ethiopic,  Arabic,  and  Armenian  (Hilgenfeld,  Messias  Judceoruvi , 
1869,  pp.  260,  321,  376,  432).  The  allusion  is  to  the  change  of  character, 
from  the  old  type,  known  from  the  Siloam  inscription  and  Phoenician  inscrip- 
tions, to  the  so-called  "square"  type,  which  was  attributed  by  tradition  to 
Ezra.  In  point  of  fact,  the  transition  was  a  gradual  one,  and  not  completed 
till  long  after  Ezra's  time.     See  the  writer's  Notes  on  Samttel,  p.  ix  ff. 


ACCORDING  TO  THE  JEWS  v 

in  the  day,  and  by  night  I  held  not  my  tongue.  In  forty  days  they  wrote 
94  *  books.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  forty  days  were  fulfilled,  that  the 
[xxxi]  Highest  spake,  saying,  The  first  that  thou  hast  written  f  publish 
openly,  that  the  worthy  and  the  unworthy  may  read  it :  but  keep  the  70  last 
that  thou  mayest  deliver  them  only  to  such  as  be  wise  among  the  people  ;  for 
in  them  is  the  spring  of  understanding,  the  fountain  of  wisdom,  and  the 
stream  of  knowledge.     And  I  did  so  "  {ib.  v.^*^). 

The  same  representation  is  frequently  alluded  to  by  the 
Fathers,!  being  derived  in  all  probability  from  the  passage  of 
4  Ezra  just  quoted.  The  point  to  be  observed  is  that  it  contains 
no  statement  respecting  either  a  completion  of  the  Canon,  or 
even  a  collection,  or  redaction,  of  such  sacred  books  as  were 
extant  in  Ezra's  time :  according  to  the  representation  of  the 
writer,  the  books  were  actually  destroyed,  and  Ezra  re-wrote 
them  by  Divine  inspiration.  Moreover,  not  only  did  he  re-write 
the  24  canonical  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  he  re-wrote  70 
apocryphal  books  as  well,  which  are  placed  upon  an  equal,  or, 
indeed  (v.^*^^-),  upon  a  higher  level  than  the  Old  Testament 
itself !  No  argument  is  needed  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that 
this  legend  is  unworthy  of  credit :  the  crudely  mechanical  theory 
of  inspiration  which  it  implies  is  alone  sufficient  to  condemn  it. 
Nor  can  it  be  determined  with  any  confidence  what  germ  of  fact, 
if  any,  underlies  it.  It  is,  however,  observable  that  there  are 
traces  in  the  passage  of  a  twofold  representation :  according  to 

*  So  the  Syr.  Eth.  Arab.  Arm.  The  Vulgate  has  "204."  Comp.  W. 
R.  Smith,  OT/C.  (ed.  i)  p.  407  f.  (more  briefly,  ed.  2,  p.  151). 

t  Le.  the  24  canonical  books  of  the  OT.,  according  to  the  regular  Jewish 
computation  (Strack,  p.  434),  viz.  Gen.  Ex.  Lev.  Num.  Dt.  Josh.  Jud.  Sam. 
Kings,  Jer.  Ez.  Isa.  the  XII,  Ruth,  Ps.  Job,  Prov.  Eccl,  Song  of  Songs, 
Lam.  Dan.  Est.  Ezr.-Neh.  (below,  p.  516),  Chr. 

It:  E.g.  Iren.  adv.  hcer.  iii.  21.  2  {ap.  Euseb.  5,  8) ;  Clem.  Al.  i.  21,  p.  392. 
See  other  references  in  Strack,  p.  415.  That  the  passage  in  Irenaeus  has  no 
reference  to  a  completion  of  the  Canon  by  Ezra,  and  is  based  upon  no  inde- 
pendent source,  is  shown  clearly  by  Strack,  p.  415,  from  the  context:  after 
speaking  of  the  marvellous  manner  in  which,  according  to  the  legend,  the 
LXX  translators,  working  independently,  agreed  verbally  in  their  results, 
wore  KoX  to.  irapbura  ^dvq  7;'t!;j'ai  6'rt  /car'  iirlirvoLav  rod  deoO  eialv  ijpfiTjvev/x^pai 
ai  ypacpai,  Irenseus  continues:  "Nor  is  there  anything  remarkable  in  God's 
having  thus  acted  ;  for,  affer  the  sacred  writings  had  been  destroyed  {5ia(f>dap- 
eiaQv  tG)v  ypacpCov)  in  the  exile  under  Nebuchadnezzar,  when  the  Jews  after 
70  years  had  returned  to  their  own  country,  He,  in  the  days  of  Artaxerxes, 
inspired  Ezra  the  priest,  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  to  rearrange  {dvaTa^aadai.)  all 
the  words  of  the  prophets  who  had  gone  before,  and  to  restore  {diroKaTa- 
<TTT]aai)  to  the  people  the  legislation  of  Moses,"    Cf.  Ryle,  p.  239  ff,  (-25off,). 


vi  GROWTH  OF  THE  CANON 

one  (v.20-s2)j  Ezra  is  regarded  only  as  the  restorer  of  the  Law ; 
according  to  the  other  (v.^^),  he  is  regarded  as  the  restorer  of 
the  entire  Old  Testament  (and  of  the  70  apocryphal  books 
besides),  [xxxii]  The  first  of  these  representations  agrees  with 
a  tradition  recorded  elsewhere  in  Jewish  literature,  though  ex- 
pressed in  much  less  extravagant  language  {Succah  20*) :  "  The 
Law  was  forgotten  out  of  Israel :  Ezra  came  up  [Ezr.  7^],  and 
established  it."  *  Whether  this  statement  is  simply  based  upon 
the  phrase  in  Ezr.  7^,  that  Ezra  was  "  a  ready  scribe  in  the  law 
of  Moses"  (cf.  v.ii- 21),  or  whether  it  embodies  an  independent 
tradition,  may  be  uncertain  :  there  exists  no  ground  whatever 
for  questioning  the  testimony  of  the  compiler  of  the  Book  of 
Ezra,  which  brings  Ezra  into  connexion  with  the  Law.  This,  no 
doubt,  is  the  historical  basis  of  the  entire  representation :  Ezra, 
the  priest  and  scribe,  was  in  some  way  noted  for  his  services  in 
connexion  with  the  Law,  the  recollection  of  which  was  preserved 
by  tradition,  and  (in  4  Ezr.)  extended  to  the  entire  Old  Testa- 
ment. What  these  services  were,  we  do  not  certainly  know; 
they  may  have  been  merely  directed  towards  promoting  the 
observance  of  the  law  (cf.  Neh.  8-10);  but  the  term  "scribe," 
and  the  form  of  the  representation  in  4  Ezr.  (in  so  far  as  this 
may  be  supposed  to  rest  upon  an  historical  foundation),  would 
suggest  that  they  were  of  a  literary  character  :  it  would  not,  for 
instance,  be  inconsistent  with  the  terms  in  which  he  is  spoken  of 
in  the  OT.  to  suppose  that  the  final  redaction  and  completion  of 
the  Priests'  Code,  or  even  of  the  Pentateuch  generally,  was  his 
work.  But  the  passage  supplies  no  historical  support  for  the 
supposition  that  Ezra  had  any  part  either  in  the  collection  (or 
editing)  of  the  OT.  books  generally,  or  in  the  completion  of  the 
OT.  Canon. 

4.  The  Talmud.  Here  the  celebrated  passage  is  in  the  Baba 
bathra  14^  which,  after  describing  the  order  of  the  books  of  the 
OT.,  as  cited  above,  continues  thus  : — 

"And  who  wrote  them?  Moses  wrote  his  own  book  and  the  section 
concerning  Balaam,!  and  Job.  Joshua  wrote  his  own  book  and  eight  verses 
of  the  Law.:|:     Samuel  wrote  his  own  book  and  Judges  and  Ruth.     David 

*  Comp,  Delitzsch,  Z.  fiir  Ltith.  Theol.  1877,  p.  446. 

t  Nu.  22^-25^.  Named  specially,  as  it  seems,  on  account  of  its  not 
being  directly  connected  with  the  subject  of  the  law  (so  Rashi  [nth  cent.]  in 
his  commentary  on  the  passage). 

X  Dt.  34^-^^'. 


ACCORDING  TO  THE  JEWS  vii 

wrote  the  Book  of  Psalms,  at  the  direction  of*  ten  elders,  viz.  Adani,t 
Melchizedek,^:  Abraham,§  Moses,  Heman,  Jeduthun,  Asaph,  and  the  three 
sons  of  Korah.  Jeremiah  wrote  his  own  book  and  the  Book  of  Kings  and 
Lamentations.  Hezekiah  and  his  college  wrote  Isaiah,  Proverbs,  the  Song 
of  Songs,  and  Qoheleth  (Ecclesiastes).  The  Men  of  the  Great  Synagogue 
wrote  Ezekiel,  the  XII  (Minor  Prophets),  Daniel,  and  Esther.  Ezra  wrote 
his  own  book  and  the  genealogies  of  the  Book  of  Chronicles  as  far  as  him- 
self." || 

By  the  college,  or  company  (ny^D),  of  Hezekiah,  are  meant, 
no  doubt,  the  literary  associates  of  the  king  mentioned  in  Prov. 
25I.  The  "  Great  Synagogue,"  according  to  Jewish  tradition, 
was  a  permanent  council,  established  by  Ezra,  which  continued 
to  exercise  authority  in  religious  matters  till  about  B.C.  300.  But 
the  statements  respecting  it  are  obscure  and  vague ;  already 
critics  of  the  last  century  doubted  whether  such  a  permanent 
body  ever  really  existed ;  and  in  the  opinion  of  many  modern 
scholars  all  that  is  told  about  it  is  fiction,  the  origin  of  which  lies 
in  the  (historical)  narrative  in  Neh.  8-10  of  the  convocation 
which  met  at  Jerusalem  and  subscribed  the  covenant  to  observe 
the  law. IF  Into  the  further  discussion  of  this  question  it  is  not 
necessary  for  our  present  purpose  to  enter.  The  entire  passage 
is  manifestly  destitute  of  historical  value.     Not  only  is  it  late  in 

*  n'  "jy.     See  p.  538,  No.  34.  t  Ps.  92,  139.  X  Ps.  no. 

§  Ps.  89.  Jewish  exegesis  understood  (falsely)  the  "righteous  man  from 
the  East  (miDD)  "  in  Isa.  41  ^  of  Abraham :  Ps.  89  is  ascribed  by  the  title  to 
Ethan  the  Ezrahite  ('mmn)  ;  and  upon  the  supposition  that  the  word  'mTK 
is  connected  with  miD  "east"  in  Isa.  41^,  the  Jews  identified  Ethan  with 
Abraham!  Ps.  89^  Targ.:  "Spoken  by  Abraham,  who  came  from  the 
east."  (There  are  other  slightly  different  enumerations  of  the  supposed 
authors  of  Psalms  :  see  the  Midrash  on  Qoheleth,  7^^,  p.  105  f.  of  Wiinsche's 
translation,  or  on  Cant.  4^  (substantially  the  same  passage),  ap.  Neubauer, 
Sttidia  Biblica,  vol.  ii.  p.  6  f. ,  where  Melchizedek  is  not  named,  and  Ezra  is 
included  ;  also  G.  H.  Dalman,  Traditio  Rabbinormn  veterrima  de  Libr. 
V.T.  or  dine  atque  origine,  1891,  p.  44  f.). 

I1 1*?  ly.  Supposed  to  mean  as  far  as  the  genealogies  in  i  Ch.  6  (which 
recites  Ezra's  ancestors,  v.^^,  though  not  including  himself).  See  especially 
on  this  passage  Dalman,  I.e.  pp.  14,  22  f.,  41  ff . ;  Ryle,  p.  273  ff.  (2  284ff.). 

IF  See  J.  E.  Rau,  Diatribe  de  Synagoga  Magna,  1726 ;  and  esp.  Kuenen, 
"  Over  de  Mannen  der  Groote  Synagoge,"  tr.  in  his  Ges.  Abhandhingen,  p. 
125  ff.;  W.  R.  Smith,  07 JC.  p.  156 f.  (^  p.  169 f.);  Buhl,  §  9;  Ryle,  pp. 
250-272  (2  261-283) ;  and  on  the  other  side,  J.  Derenbourg,  Essai  sur 
Vhist.  et  la  geogr.  de  la  Palestine  d^aprh  les  Thalmuds  (1867),  p.  29 ff.;  C. 
H.  H.  Wright,  Ecclesiastes,  pp.  5  ff.,  475  ff.  Cf.  also  Taylor,  Sayings  of  the 
Jewish  Fathers  (the  Mishnic  treatise  gi3K  'pis),  1877,  p.  124  f. 


viii  GROWTH  OF  THE  CANON 

date;  it  is  discredited  by  the  character  of  its  contents  them- 
selves, [xxxiv]  What  are  we  to  think  of  the  statement  respect- 
ing the  authorship  of  the  Psalms  ?  What  opinion  can  we  form 
of  the  judgment  of  men  who  argue  that  because  a  person 
(Melchizedek)  happens  to  be  mentioned  in  a  particular  poem, 
he  was  therefore  in  some  way  connected  personally  with  its  com- 
position ?  *  or  of  the  reasoning  by  which  Abraham  is  brought 
into  relation  with  Ps.  89  ?  Moreover,  the  word  "  wrote "  f 
(ariD)  must  plainly  bear  the  same  meaning  throughout;  what 
sense  then  is  to  be  attached  to  the  statements  about  the  college 
of  Hezekiah  and  the  Men  of  the  Great  Synagogue  ?  In  what 
sense  can  it  be  said  that  they  "wrote"  different  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  ?  The  fact  of  so  much  of  the  passage  being  thus 
unworthy  of  regard,  discredits  the  whole.  It  is  an  indication 
that  it  is  not  the  embodiment  of  any  genuine  or  trustworthy 
tradition.  In  so  far  as  the  passage  yields  an  intelligible  sense, 
it  merely  expresses  inferences  of  the  most  superficial  order  : 
it  assigns  books  to  prominent  characters  living  at,  or  shortly 
after,  the  times  with  which  they  deal.|  The  origin  of  the  state- 
ments about  the  other  books  is  uncertain.  If  any  book  bears  the 
impress  of  its  author's  hand,  both  in  matter  and  in  arrangement, 
it  is  the  Book  of  Ezekiel ;  and  yet  it  is  said  here  to  have  been 
"  written  "  by  the  members  of  a  body  which  {ex  hyp.)  did  not 
come  into  existence  till  a  century  after  its  author's  death.  If 
some  tradition  of  the  manner  in  which  the  books  referred  to 

*  It  is  right,  however,  to  mention  that,  according  to  some  scholars  (see 
Wright,  I.e.  p.  453  ;  Dalman,  Der  Gottesname  Adonaj,  1889,  p.  79),  n'  hv 
means  here  on  behalf  of ',  but  even  so,  it  w^ill  still  be  implied  that  the  persons 
named  were  in  some  sense  the  inspirers  of  the  Psalms  in  question  :  for  the 
Jewish  view,  absurd  as  it  may  seem  to  be,  is  that  the  Psalms  were  composed 
(lit.  "spoken  ")  by  ten  authors  (a^^nn  "i3D  iidn  dik  ':n  mi^y),  though  in  some 
undefined  way  David  gave  form  to  their  words  (see  the  passages  cited  on  p. 
vii,  note  §,  and  similar  statements  elsewhere). 

t  Not  "  arranged,"  or  edited,"  or  even  "  inserted  in  the  Canon."  Rashi's 
explanation  (Strack,  p.  418;  Wright,  p.  455  f.)  is  anything  but  satisfactory. 
The  supposition  that  the  term  means  "  wrote  down"  or  "  reduced  to  writing 
what  had  previously  been  transmitted  orally "  is  not  probable,  considering 
the  nature  of  the  books  referred  to  ;  such  a  sense  might  be  suitable  in  con- 
nexion with  a  body  of  law,  or  a  system  of  traditional  exegesis,  perpetuated  in 
a  school,  but  hardly,  for  instance,  with  reference  to  a  volume  of  prophecies. 

X  Dalman,  Tradiiio  Rabbinoruniy  Sec,  p.  58,  expresses  a  similar  judg- 
ment. 


ACCORDING  TO  THE  JEWS  ix 

were  edited,  or  made  generally  available,  for  popular  use  under- 
lies these  statements,  its  character  and  source  are  far  too  doubtful 
for  any  weight  to  be  attached  to  it,  where  it  [xxxv]  conflicts 
with  the  irrefragable  testimony  supplied  by  the  books  themselves 
respecting  their  authorship  or  date."*^ 

5.  Josephus  (i  cent.  a.d.).  In  his  work  against  Apion, 
written  to  establish,  against  detractors,  the  antiquity  of  the  Jews 
and  the  trustworthiness  of  their  history,  Josephus,  after  remark- 
ing that  the  prophets  were  the  only  historians,  continues  (i.  8)  : — 

"  For  we  have  not  myriads  of  discordant  and  conflicting  books,  but 
twenty- two  only,  comprising  the  record  of  all  time,  and  justly  accredited  as 
Divine.  Of  these,  five  are  the  books  of  Moses,  which  embrace  the  laws  and 
the  traditions  of  the  origin  of  mankind,  until  his  own  death,  a  period  of 
almost  3000  years.  From  the  death  of  Moses  to  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes 
[B.C.  465-425]  the  prophets  who  followed  Moses  narrated  the  events  of  their 
own  time  in  thirteen  books,  f  The  remaining  four  books  J  consist  of  hymns 
to  God,  and  maxims  of  conduct  for  men.  From  Artaxerxes  to  our  own  age, 
the  history  has  been  written  in  detail ;  but  it  is  not  esteemed  worthy  of  the 
same  credit,  on  account  of  the  exact  succession  of  the  prophets  having  been 
no  longer  maintained." 

Josephus  is  dealing  here  primarily  with  the  history,  the 
superior  trustworthiness  of  which,  as  compared  with  that  of  the 
Greeks,  he  desires  to  establish.  He  holds  the  prophets  to  be 
the  authors  of  the  contemporary  history :  to  the  time  of 
Artaxerxes  they  form  an  unbroken  series,  hence  to  that  date 
the  history  is  credible;  in  the  period  which  follows,  the  suc- 
cession ceases,  and  the  narratives  relating  to  it  are  not  equally 
trustworthy.  Upon  what  grounds  this  opinion  rests  does  not 
appear.  Josephus  appeals  to  no  authority  earlier  than  him- 
self His  statements  would  be  sufficiently  accounted  for  by  the 
supposition  that  they  rested  upon  a  basis  of  fact,  or  reasonable 
probability,  in  some  cases  {e.g.  Hosea,  Ezekiel,  Kings),  and  were 

*  It  should  never  be  forgotten  that,  with  regard  especially  to  antiquity,  the 
Talmud  and  other  late  Jewish  writings  abound  with  idle  conjectures  and 
unauthenticated  statements. 

'\  I.e.  Joshua,  Judges  and  Ruth,  Sam.,  Kings,  Chr.,  Ezra  and  Neh., 
Esther,  Job,  the  Twelve  Minor  Prophets,  Isaiah,  Jer.  and  Lam.,  Ezek., 
Daniel. 

X  I.e.  Psalms,  Prov.,  Eccl.,  Song.  Josephus  disregards  the  more 
historical  tripartite  division  of  the  OT.  accepted  in  Palestine,  and  follows 
both  the  arrangement  and  the  computation  current  in  Alexandria  (S  track, 
p.  435f.).  • 


X  GROWTH  OF  THE  CANON 

inferred  to  be  true  in  other  cases  on  the  strength  of  assumed 
propriety,  or  of  analogy :  thus  the  books  of  Job,  Joshua,  and 
Daniel,  for  instance,  would  be  written  by  men  contemporary 
with  the  occurrences  related  in  them.  This  inference,  or  theory, 
is  the  same  as  that  drawn  in  the  Talmud  (p.  viii),  except  that 
[xxxvi]  it  is  applied  more  consistently.  Josephus  bears  witness 
probably,  to  an  opinion  more  or  less  current  at  the  time :  but 
the  ultimate  source  of  this  opinion  is  not  sufficiently  certain  for 
its  authority  to  be  regarded  as  decisive.  "'^ 

For  the  opinion,  often  met  with  in  modern  books,  that  the 
Canon  of  the  OT.  was  closed  by  Ezra,  or  his  associates,  there  is 
no  foundation  in  antiquity  whatever.  As  has  been  shown  above, 
all  that  can  reasonably  be  treated  as  historical  in  the  accounts  of 
Ezra's  literary  labours  is  limited  to  the  Law.  The  Men  of  the 
Great  Synagogue — in  so  far  as  their  services  to  Biblical  literature 
may  be  accepted  as  historical — were  a  permanent  body,  which 
continued  to  act  for  more  than  a  century  after  Ezra's  time. 
The  opinion  referred  to  is  not  a  tradition  at  all :  it  is  a  conjecture^ 
based  no  doubt  upon  the  passages  that  have  been  just  cited,  but 
inferring  from  them  more  than  they  actually  express  or  justify. 
This  conjecture  was  first  distinctly  propounded  in  the  i6th 
century  by  Elias  Levita,  a  learned  Jew,  the  author  of  a  work  on 
the  origin  and  nature  of  the  Massorah,  entitled  Massoreth  ha- 
Massoreth,  written  in  1538.!  The  reputation  of  Elias  Levita 
caused  this  opinion  to  be  adopted  by  the  Protestant  divines  of 
the  17th  and  i8th  centuries,  Hottinger,  Leusden,  Carpzov,  &c. ; 
and  it  has  thus  acquired  general  currency.  But  it  is  destitute 
of  historical  foundation  ;  and  the  authority  of  Ezra  cannot,  any 
more  than  that  of  the  Great  Synagogue,  be  invoked  against  the 
conclusions  of  critical  investigation.  The  Canon  of  the  Old 
Testament,  in  Loescher's  words  (quoted  by  Strack,  p.  424),  was 
"non  uno,  quod  dicunt,  actu  ab  hominibus,  sed  paulatim  a  Deo, 
animorum   temporumque   rectore,    productus."      The   age   and 

*  See  further  Wildeboer,  pp.  40-43;  Buhl,  §§  7,  9,  12;  Ryle,  p.  158  ff. 
(2i69ff.). 

t  Edited,  with  an  English  translation  and  notes,  by  C.  D.  Ginsburg, 
London,  1867.  See  p.  120:  *'  In  Ezra's  time  the  24  books  of  the  OT.  were 
not  yet  united  in  a  single  volume ;  Ezra  and  his  associates  united  them 
together,  and  divided  them  into  three  parts,  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and 
the  Hagiographa. "  See  further  Strack,  p.  416;  Ryle,  pp.  250-252 
(2  261-264). 


ACCORDING  TO    THE  JEWS  xi 

authorship  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  can  be  deter- 
mined (so  far  as  this  is  possible)  only  upon  the  basis  of  the 
internal  evidence  supplied  by  the  books  themselves,  by  methods 
such  as  those  followed  in  the  present  volume :  no  external 
evidence  worthy  of  credit  exists. 


AN    INTRODUCTION 


TO  THE 


LITERATURE    OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT. 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE  HEXATEUCH. 

(Pentateuch  and  Joshua.) 

Literature.* — a.  Commentaries: — A.  Dillmann  (in  the  Kurzgefasstes 
Exegetisches  Handbuch  zum  AT.),  Die  Genesis^,  1892;  Ex.  und  Lev.  1880; 
Numeri  Deut.  und  Josua,  1886;  F.  Delitzsch,  Neuer  Commentar  iiber  die 
Genesis,  1887  (translated :  T.  &  T.  Clark)  ;  C.  F.  Keil  (in  the  Biblischer 
Commentar  uber  das  AT.,  edited  by  himself  and  DeHtzsch),  Gen.  und  Ex.^ 
1878;  Lev.  Num.  und  Deut.^  1870;  Josua,  Richter  und  Ruth'^,  1874; 
M.  Kalisch,  Hist,  and  Crit.  Comm.  on  the  OT,  viz.  Genesis,  1858;  Exodus, 
1855  ;  Leviticus,  1867,  1872  (with  much  illustration  from  Jewish  sources)  ; 
Fr.  Tuch,  Commentar  iiber  die  Gejtesis^,  1871  ;  G.  J.  Spurrell,  Azotes  on  the 
Hebrew  Text  of  Genesis^,  Oxford,  1896  ;  H.  L.  Strack  (in  Strack  and  Zockler's 
Kurzgefasster  Kommentar),  1892-94  (Gen. — Numbers :  Dt.  and  Josh,  by 
S.  Oetth) ;  G.  A.  Wade,  The  Book  of  Genesis,  1896 ;  C.  J.  Ball  in  Haupt's 
Sacred  Books  of  the  OT.  (see  below)  1896.  On  the  Cosmogony  of  Gen.  i.  (in 
its  relation  both  to  science  and  to  the  cosmogony  of  Babylonia)  see  Dillm. 
pp.  1-16  ;  Riehm,  Der  Biblische  Schdpfungsbericht  {o.'Ltcixxxe),  1881 ;  articles  by 
the  present  writer  in  the  Expositor,  Jan.  1886  (where  other  literature  is  referred 
to),  and  the  Andover  (U.S.A.)  Review,  1887,  p.  639 ff.  (a  criticism  of  Prof. 
Dana's  theory) ;  C.  Pritchard,  Occas.  Notes  of  an  Astronomer,  1890,  p.  257fF.  ; 
Abbe  Loisy,  Les  Mythes  Chaldeens  de  la  Creation  et  du  Deluge  (Amiens, 
1892);  H.  E.  Ryle,  The  Early  Narratives  of  Genesis  (1892)5  H.  Gunkel, 
Schopfungu.  Chaos,  1895. 

b.  Criticism : — H.  Hupfeld,  Die  Quellen  der  Genesis,  1853  ;  H.  Ewald, 
History  of  Israel^  (i864ff.  :  translated,  Longmans,  i869ff.),  i.  pp.  63-132; 

*  Only  the  more  important  works  can  be  named.  The  older  literature, 
which  has  been  largely  superseded  by  more  recent  works,  is  of  necessity  omitted 
altogether 


2  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

K.  H.  Graf,  Die  geschichtlichen  Bilcher  des  AT.s,  1866;  Th.  Noldeke,  Die 
Altteslamentliche  Literatur,  1868;  Unterstichtingen  zur  Kritik  des  AT.s, 
1869  (on  the  limits  and  characteristics  of  the  document  now  generally  styled 
P) ;  J.  Welihausen,  Die  Composition  des  Hexateuchs  und  der  hist.  Biicker  des 
A  T.s,  1889  (the  first  part  published  originally  in  Xh^Jahrb.f.  Deutsche  Theol. 
1876,  1877;  the  second  part  in  the  same  author's  1878*  edition  of  Bleek's 
Einleitung)^  Gesch.  Israels ^  i.  1878,  ^  under  the  title  Prolegomena  zur  Gesch. 
Israels,  1883  C  1 895),  translated  under  the  title  History  of  Israel,  1885  ;  Ed. 
Reuss,  La  Bible  (translation  [2]  with  notes  and  Introductions),  vol.  i.  1879, 
pp.  I -27 1  ;  F.  Delitzsch,  12  Pent.-kritische  Studien  in  the  ZKWL.  1880,  and 
Urmosdisches  hn  Pent.,  ib.  1882,  p.  1 13  ff.  (on  Nu.  622-7),  p.  226  ff.  (Nu.  i<^-^), 
p.  281  flf.  (the  Decalogue),  p.  337  ff.  (Nu.  2ii^-),  P-  449  ff-  (Nu.  21"'-), 
p.  561  ff.  (Nu  2127-30);  also  ib.  1888,  p.  Ii9ff  (Balaam);  A.  Kuenen, 
Bijdragen  tot  de  critiek  van  Pent,  enjosuam  the  Theol.  Tijdschrift  xi.-xviii. 
(1877-84)  [see  the  titles  in  Wellh.  Comp.  p.  312] ;  W.  R.  Smith,  The  01.  in 
the  Jewish  Church  (21892),  esp.  Lect.  viii.-xiii. ;  David  Castelli,  La  Legge  del 
Popolo  Ebreo  nel  suo  svolgimento  storico,  1884 ;  W.  H.  Green,  The  Hebrew 
Feasts,  1886 ;  R.  Kittel,  Gesch.  der  Hebraer,  i.  (Quellenkunde  u.  Geschichte 
der  Zeit  bis  zum  Tode  Josuas  [translated  :  follows  Dillmann  largely]),  1888  ; 
Vuilleumier  in  the  Pev.  de  Theol.  et  de  Philos.  1882  (pts.  i,  5,  7,  9,  11), 
1883  (pts.  I,  3),  1884  (pt.  5) ;  Prof.  W.  R.  Harper's  papers  in  Hebraica,  v. 
(1888)  I,  4,  vi.  I,  4,  with  Prof.  W.  H.  Green's  criticisms,  ib.  v.  2-3,  vi. 
2,  3,  vii.  I,  2,  viii.  1-2;  the  commentaries  of  Delitzsch  [pp.  1-38  on  the 
Hexateuch  generally]  and  Dillmann  (esp.  the  Schlussabhandlung,  in  NDJ. 
pp.  593-690),  mentioned  above ;  W.  W.  Graf  Baudissin,  Die  Gesch.  des 
Alttest.  Priesterthums  (1889),  with  Kautzsch's  review  in  the  Stud.  u.  Krit. 
1890,  p.  767 ff.,  and  Kuenen's  in  the  Theol.  T.  1890,  p.  iff.  (  =  Kuenen's 
Gesammelte  Abhandlungen,  tr.  by  Budde,  1894,  p.  465 ff.) ;  C.  G.  Montefiore 
in  the  Jewish  Quarterly  Review,  Jan.  1891,  and  "  Hibbert  Lectures"  on  The 
Religion  of  the  Ancient  Hebrews  (1892) ;  C.  A.  Briggs,  The  Higher  Crit.  of 
the  Hex.  (New  York,  1893) ;  Ed.  Konig  in  the  Sttid.  u.  Krit.  1893,  pp.  445- 
479,  and  the  Expositor,  Aug.  1896  (on  the  critical  value  of  the  argument 
from  language) ;  and  the  following  "  Introductions"  : — Eb.  Schrader's  edition 
(the  8th)  of  De  Wette's  Einleitung,  1869 ;  Keil's  Einleitung,  1873 ;  E.  C. 
Bissell,  The  Pentateuch,  its  origin  and  structure,  1885  ;  Ed.  Reuss,  Die 
Gesch.  der  Heiligen  Schriften  AT.s^,  1890;  the  very  thorough  work  of  A. 
Kuenen,  Hist. -crit.  Onderzoek  naar  het  Ontstaan  en  de  Verzameling  van  de 
Boeken  des  Ouden  Verbonds^,  i.-iii.  I  (1885- 1893  :  the  first  part  tr.  under  the 
title  The  Hexateuch,  1886 ;  and  all  tr.  into  German  by  Weber  and  Miiller, 
1887-1894;  Ed.  Riehm,  Einl.  in  das  AT.  (published  posthumously), 
1889-90;  C.  H.  Cornill,  Einleitung  in  das  AT.  1891,8  1896;  Ed.  Konig, 
Einleitung  in  das  A  T.  mit  Einschluss  der  Apokryphen  und  der  Pseudepigraphen 
Alt  en  Testaments,  1893  ;  G.  Wildeboer,  De  Letterkunde  des  Ouden  Verbonds 
naar  de  Tijdsorde  van  haar  Ontstaan,  1893  (tr.  into  German  by  F.  Risch) ; 

*  In  the  editions  of  1886  and  1893  Bleek's  treatment  of  the  OT.  books  men- 
tioned  is  reprinted ;  and  the  only  part  written  by  Welihausen  is  that  relating 
to  the  Text  and  Versions. 


THE  HEXATEUCH  3 

Al.  Westphal,  Les  Sources  du  Pentateiique,  1888,  1892 ;  H.  Holzinger, 
Einleitung  in  den  Hexateuch,  1893;  R.  G.  Moulton,  The  Literary  Study  of 
the  Bible,  1896. 

In  Die  Heilige  Schrift  des  AT.s,  translated  and  edited  by  Em.  Kautzsch, 
in  conjunction  with  other  scholars,  the  sources  of  the  different  books  are 
marked  by  letters  on  the  margin ;  the  Beilagen,  also,  contain  many  useful 
notes  on  the  criticism  of  the  text,  together  with  a  synoptic  chronological  table, 
and  a  masterly  '*  Abriss"  of  the  history  of  OT.  literature.  A  more  elaborate 
work,  designed  for  the  same  end,  is  The  Sacred  Books  of  the  OT.  (in  parallel 
volumes,  Hebrew  and  English),  now  in  course  of  pubhcation,  under  the 
editorship  of  Paul  Haupt,  consisting  of  a  critically  revised  text,  with  short 
critical  and  exegetical  notes,  the  structure  of  such  books  as  are  composite 
being  indicated  by  the  use  of  colours. 

Books  or  articles  dealing  with  special  parts  of  the  Hexateuch  will  be  re- 
ferred to  as  occasion  arises.  Of  the  works  named,  the  most  important  (even 
for  those  who  but  partially  accept  its  conclusions)  is  Wellhausen's  essay  On 
the  Composition  of  the  Hexateuch,  partly  on  account  of  its  lucid  exposition  of 
the  subject,  and  partly  on  account  of  its  forming  the  basis  of  all  subsequent 
investigation  and  discussion.  Next  in  importance  come  the  writings  of  Dill- 
mann,  Delitzsch,  and  Kuenen.  In  Dillmann's  commentaries,  especially, 
details  and  references  will  usually  be  found,  for  which  it  has  been  impossible 
to  find  a  place  in  the  present  volume.  KLittel's  work  contains  a  useful  synopsis 
and  comparison  of  different  views.  The  style  and  characteristics  of  the  various 
sources  of  which  the  Hexateuch  is  composed  are  most  abundantly  illustrated 
in  the  papers  of  Prof.  Harper,  and  in  Holzinger's  Einleitung.  The  chief 
question  in  dispute  among  critics  concerns,  not  the  limits  of  the  several 
sources,  but  their  relative  dates  (see  below,  §  7).  Keil,  Green,  and  Bissell 
represent  the  traditional  view  of  the  origin  and  structure  of  the  Hexateuch. 
The  reason  why  this  cannot  be  maintained  is,  stated  briefly,  the  presence  in 
the  Hexateuch  (and  in  other  parts  of  the  Old  Testament)  of  too  many  facts 
which  conflict  with  it. 

On  the  history  of  the  critical  study  of  the  OT.,  see  Cheyne,  Founders  of 
OT.  Criticism  (1893);  Briggs,  Biblical  Study,  chap.  vii. :  and  with  special 
reference  to  the  Hexateuch,  Westphal,  I.e.  i.  pp.  45-228  ;  Holzinger,  pp. 
25-70 ;  Briggs,  The  Higher  Crit.  of  the  Hex.  chaps,  iv.  vi.  ;  Cornill,  Einl. 
§§2,  6;  Kuenen,  Hex.  pp.  xi-xl  (since  i860).  The  term  "higher 
criticism  "  appears  to  have  been  first  used  in  connexion  with  Biblical  literature 
by  Eichhorn  ;  see  the  quotation  from  the  2nd  ed.  of  his  Einleitung  (1787)  in 
Dr.  Briggs'  Biblical  Study,  p.  204.  The  province  of  the  "higher  criticism" 
is  to  determine  the  origin,  date,  and  literary  structure  of  a  writing :  sometimes 
it  is  understood  also  to  include  the  consideration  of  its  historical  value  and 
credibility  as  well ;  but  this  is  rather  the  work  of  the  historical  critic.  The 
adjective  (the  sense  of  which  is  often  misunderstood)  has  reference  merely  to 
the  higher  and  more  difficult  class  of  problems,  with  which,  as  opposed  to  the 
"lower,"  or  textual,  criticism,  the  higher  criticism  deals  (comp.  Briggs,  I.e. 
pp.  24,  86-92).  Prof.  Sayce,  in  his  '■''Higher  Criticism"  and  the  Verdict  of 
the  Monuments,  as  well  as  in  other  recent  writings,  polemizes  much  against 
the  "higher  critics";   but  his  ^tements  are  often  very  inexact,  and  the 


4  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

defeats  which  he  represents  critics  as  constantly  sustaining  at  the  hands  of 
archaeology  are  purely  imaginary,  being  obtained  either  by  attributing  to  them 
opinions  which  they  do  not  hold,  or  by  basing  upon  the  monuments  more  than 
they  legitimately  prove  (see  the  articles  by  the  present  writer  in  the  Contenip. 
Rev.  March  1894,  and  the  Gtcardian,  Nov.  13,  1895,  March  ii  and  Apr.  8, 
1896).  In  point  of  fact,  the  general  critical  position  has  in  no  respect  been 
affected  unfavourably  by  recent  archaeological  discovery,  and  in  some  cases  it 
has  been  materially  confirmed  by  it.  The  standard  work  illustrating  the  OT. 
from  Assyrian  sources  is  Schrader's  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  and  the  OT. 
(translated,  1885,  1888:  a  new  ed.  of  the  German  in  preparation).  On  some 
other  aspects  in  which  archaeology  has  a  bearing  on  the  OT.,  see  W.  R. 
Smith,  Contemp.  Rev.  Apr.  and  Oct.  1887.  The  statements  on  biblical 
matters  contained  in  Sir  J.  W.  Dawson's  Modern  Science  in  Bible  Lands,  are 
to  be  received  with  distrust ;  see  the  Contemp.  Rev.  March  1889,  p.  399  fF. 

On  the  Texts  and  Versions  of  the  OT. ,  the  most  recent  information  is  to  be 
found  in  Wellhausen's  edition  of  Bleek's  Einleitung,  1878,  p.  563  ff.  ;  1886 
and  1893,  p.  523 ff.;  or  in  Konig's  Einleittmg,  pp.  14-133.  See  also  the 
present  writer's  Notes  on  the  Hebrew  Text  of  Samuel,  1890,  p.  xxxviff.,  with 
the  references.  Of  more  general  works,  C.  A.  Briggs,  Biblical  Study,  its 
principles,  methods,  and  history,  together  with  a  Catalogue  of  books  of  reference 
(31891);  and  G.  T.  Ladd,  What  is  the  Bible?  (New  York,  1890)  may  be 
recommended. 

The  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  form  two  series : 
[3]  one  consisting  of  the  books  from  Genesis  to  2  Kings,*  em- 
bracing the  period  from  the  creation  to  the  release  of  Jehoiachin 
from  his  imprisonment  in  Babylon,  B.C.  562  ;  the  other,  com- 
prising the  Books  of  Chronicles,  Ezra,  and  Nehemiah,  beginning 
with  Adam  and  ending  with  the  second  visit  of  Nehemiah  to 
Jerusalem  in  B.C.  432.!  Though  differing  from  each  other 
materially  in  scope  and  manner  of  treatment,  these  two  series 
are  nevertheless  both  constructed  upon  a  similar  plan ;  no  entire 
book  in  either  series  consists  of  a  single,  original  work ;  but  older 
writings,  or  sources,  have  been  combined  by  a  compiler  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  points  of  juncture  are  often  plainly  discernible, 
and  the  sources  are  in  consequence  capable  of  being  separated 
from  one  another.  The  authors  of  the  Hebrew  historical  books 
— except  the  shortest,  as  Ruth  and  Esther — do  not,  as  a  modern 
historian  would  do,  rewrite  the  matter  in  their  own  language; 
they  excerpt  from  the  sources  at  their  disposal  such  passages  as 
are  suitable  to  their  purpose,  and  incorporate  them  in  their  work, 

*  Exclusive  of  Ruth,  which,  at  least  in  the  Hebrew  Canon,  is  treated  as 
part  of  the  D'ain?  or  Hagiographa. 

t  Though  the  genealogies  are  brought  down  to  a  later  date. 


GENESIS  5 

sometimes  adding  matter  of  their  own,  but  often  (as  it  seems) 
introducing  only  such  modifications  of  form  as  are  necessary  for 
the  purpose  of  fitting  them  together,  or  accommodating  them  to 
their  plan.  The  Hebrew  historiographer,  as  we  know  him,  is 
essentially  a  compiler  or  arranger  of  pre-existing  documents,  he  is 
not  himself  an  original  author.  Hebrew  writers,  however,  exhibit, 
as  a  rule,  such  strongly  marked  individualities  of  style  that  the 
documents,  or  sources,  thus  combined  can  generally  be  distin- 
guished from  each  other,  and  from  the  comments  of  the  compiler, 
M'ithout  difficulty.  The  literary  differences  are,  moreover,  fre- 
quently accompanied  by  differences  of  treatment  or  representation 
of  the  history,  which,  where  they  exist,  confirm  independently 
the  conclusions  of  the  literary  analysis.  Although,  however,  the 
historical  books  generally  are  constructed  upon  similar  principles, 
the  method  on  which  these  principles  have  been  applied  is  not 
quite  the  same  in  all  cases.  The  Books  of  Judges  and  Kings,  for 
instance,  resemble  each  other  in  their  mode  of  composition :  in 
each  a  series  of  older  narratives  has  been  taken  by  the  compiler, 
and  fitted  into  a  framework  supplied  by  himself,  the  framework 
in  both  cases  being,  moreover,  composed  of  similar  elements  and 
[4]  designed  from  the  same  point  of  view.  The  Books  of  Samuel 
are  likewise  constructed  from  pre-existing  sources,  but  the  com- 
piler's hand  is  very  much  less  conspicuous  than  is  the  case  in 
Judges  and  Kings.  The  Pentateuch  includes  elements  homo- 
geneous, at  least  in  large  measure,  with  those  of  which  the  Book 
of  Joshua  is  composed ;  and  the  literary  structure  of  both  is  more 
complex  than  that  of  either  Samuel,  or  Judges  and  Kings.  It 
will  be  our  aim,  in  the  following  pages,  to  exhibit  the  structure 
of  these  different  books  by  discovering,  so  far  as  this  is  possible, 
their  component  parts,  and  determining  the  relation  which  these 
parts  hold  in  regard  to  each  other. 


§  I.  Genesis. 

The  Book  of  Genesis  is  so  called  from  the  title  given  to  it  in 
the  Septuagint  Version,  derived  from  the  Greek  rendering  of  2^* 
avry]  r)  I3l/3\o<;  yevicreios  ovpavov  kol  y^<;.  By  the  Jews  it  is 
termed,  from  its  opening  word,  JT'^'x^B  BWeshith.  It  forms  the 
first  book  in  the  Hexateuchj^—z.^  the  literary  whole  formed  by  the 


6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Pentateuch  and  Book  of  Joshua  may  conveniently  be  termed, — 
the  general  object  of  which  is  to  describe  in  their  origin  the 
fundamental  institutions  of  the  Israelitish  Theocracy  {i.e.  the  civil 
and  ceremonial  law),  and  to  trace  from  the  earliest  past  the  course 
of  events  which  issued  ultimately  in  the  establishment  of  Israel 
in  Canaan.  The  Book  of  Genesis  comprises  the  introductory 
period  of  this  history,  embracing  the  lives  of  the  ancestors  of 
the  Hebrew  nation,  and  ending  with  the  death  of  Joseph  in 
Egypt.  The  aim  of  the  book  is,  however,  more  than  merely  to 
recount  the  ancestry  of  Israel  itself;  its  aim  is,  at  the  same 
time,  to  define  the  place  occupied  by  Israel  among  other  nations, 
and  to  show  how  it  gradually  emerges  into  separate  and  distinct 
existence.  Accordingly  the  line  of  its  ancestors  is  traced  back 
beyond  Abraham  to  the  first  appearance  of  man  upon  the  earth ; 
and  the  relation,  both  to  each  other  and  to  Israel,  of  the  nations 
descended  from  the  second  father  of  humanity  —  Noah  —  is 
indicated  by  a  genealogical  scheme  (c.  lo).  The  entire  book 
may  thus  be  divided  into  two  parts,  of  which  the  first,  c.  i-ii, 
presents  a  general  view  of  the  Early  History  of  Manki^d^ 
explaining  the  presence  of  evil  in  the  world  (c.  3),  sketching 
[5]  the  beginnings  of  civilisation  (c.  4),  accounting  for  the  exist- 
ence of  separate  nations  (c.  10.  ii^'^),  and  determining  the  position 
occupied  by  Israel  among  them  (lo^- 21-22  iiio-26^^  while  the 
second,  c.  12-50,  comprehends  in  particular  the  History  of 
IsraeTs  immediate  ancestors^  the  Patriarchs. 

The  narrative  of  Genesis  is  cast  into  a  framework,  or  scheme, 
marked  by  the  recurring  formula.  These  are  the  generations 
(lit.  begettings)  of  .  .  .  This  phrase  is  strictly  one  proper  to 
genealogies,  implying  that  the  person  to  whose  name  it  is  prefixed 
is  of  sufficient  importance  to  mark  a  break  in  the  genealogical 
series,  and  that  he  and  his  descendants  will  form  the  subject 
of  the  record  which  follows,  until  another  name  is  reached 
prominent  enough  to  form  the  commencement  of  a  new  section. 
By  this  means  the  Book  of  Genesis  is  articulated  as  follows  : — 

C.  1-4*  (Creation  of  heaven  and  earthy   1^-2*^ :  second  account  of  the 
origin  of  man  upon  earth,  followed  by  the  story  of  the  Fall,  z'^^-y-^ ; 

*  The  formula  is  here  applied  metaphorically  to  "heaven  and  earth,"  and 
stands  at  2**.  By  analogy  it  will  Introduce  an  account  of  heaven  and  earth, 
and  of  that  which  sprang  from  either,  or  could  be  regarded  as  its  progeny. 
This  agrees  with  what  is  narrated  in  c.  i,  but  not  with  what  follows  in  2^*'^- 


GENESIS  7 

growth  of  sin  in  the  line  of  Cain,  and  progress  of  invention,  4^"-'* ; 

beginning  of  the  line  of  Seth's  descendants,  4^^^-). 
5^-6^  {Adam  and  his  descendants,  through  Seth,  to  Noah,  c.  5 ;  the 

increasing  wickedness  of  the  earth,  6^"^). 
(,9_^29  (History  oi  Noah  and  his  sons  till  their  father's  death,  including,  in 

particular,  the  narrative  of  the  Flood,  6^-8^^ ;  and  the  covenant  made 

by  God  with  humanity  in  the  person  of  Noah,  9^'^'). 
lo^-ii^  {Sotis  of  Noah  and  nations  sprung  from  them,  c.  lO ;  the  dispersion 

of  mankind  over  the  earth,  ii^^^). 
J  J 10-26  (Line  oi  Shem  to  Terah,  the  father  of  Abraham). 
11^-2^^  {Terah,  with  the  history  of  his  descendants,  Abram  and  Lot, 

ending  with  the  death  of  Abram). 
2^12-18  [/shmael,  with  list  of  Arab  tribes  claiming  descent  from  him). 
25^^-35^^  (Life  oi  Isaac,  with  history  of  Esau  and  Jacob,  until  the  time  of 

Isaac's  death). 
[6]    C.  36  [see  v.^-^]  {Esau  and  his  descendants,  the  rulers  of  the  Edomites, 

with  a  digression,  -vJ^-^,  on  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Edom). 
C.  37  [see  V.2J-50  (Life  oi  Jacob  subsequently  to  Isaac's  death,  and  history 

of  his  sons  till  the  death  of  Joseph).  * 

With  which  of  the  component  parts  of  Genesis  this  scheme 
was  originally  connected,  will  appear  subsequently.  The  entire 
narrative,  as  now  disposed,  is  accommodated  to  it.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  reader  is  fixed  upon  Israel,  which  is  gradually  dis- 
engaged from  the  nations  with  which  it  is  at  first  confused ;  at 
each  stage  in  the  history,  a  brief  general  account  of  the  collateral 
branches  having  been  given,  they  are  dismissed,  and  the  narrative 
is  limited  more  and  more  to  the  immediate  line  of  Israel's 
ancestors.  Thus  after  c.  10  (the  ethnographical  Table)  all  the 
descendants  of  Noah  disappear  except  the  line  of  Shem,  ii^^^^-; 
after  25^2-18  ishmael  disappears  and  Isaac  alone  remains;  after 
c.  36  Esau  and  his  descendants  disappear,  and  only  Jacob  is 
left.  The  same  method  is  adopted  in  the  intermediate  parts; 
thus  1930-38  the  relation  to  Israel  of  the  collateral  branches  of 

(for  the  narative  here  is  silent  respecting  the  heavens,  the  subject  being  the 
formation  of  man,  and  the  preparation  of  the  earth  to  receive  him).  The 
formula  must  here,  therefore,  contrary  to  usual  custom,  refer  to  what  pre- 
cedes. It  is  a  plausible  conjecture  that  originally  it  stood  as  the  superscrip- 
tion to  i^  (Dr.  Green,  Hebraica,  v.  143-5,  omits  to  observe  that  the 
formula  introduces  some  account  of  the  person  himself  named  in  it,  as  well 
as  of  his  descendants.) 

*  The  formula  occurs  next  Nu.  3' :  see  also  Ru.  4^^  i  Ch.  \'^\  (from 
Gen.  25^2^.  The  close  of  one  section  is  sometimes  repeated  so  as  to  form  the 
starting-point  of  the  section  which  follows :  of.  Gen.  \^^'  with  s^'- ;  5^2  with 
610.   ii27  with  1128.  • 


8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Moab  and  Amnion  is  explained:  2220--4  (sons  of  Abraham's 
brother  Nahor),  and  25!-*  (sons  of  Abraham's  concubine  Keturah), 
the  relation  to  Israel  of  certain  Aramaic  and  Arabian  tribes  is 
explained. 

The  unity  of  plan  thus  established  for  the  Book  of  Genesis, 
and  traceable  in  many  other  details,  has  long  been  recognised 
by  critics.  It  is  not,  however,  incompatible  with  the  use  by 
the  compiler  of  pre-existing  materials  in  the  composition  of 
his  work.  And  as  soon  as  the  book  is  studied  with  sufficient 
attention,  phenomena  disclose  themselves  which  show  incon- 
trovertibly  that  it  is  composed  of  distinct  documents  or  sources, 
which  have  been  welded  together  by  a  later  compiler  or  redactor 
into  a  continuous  whole.  These  phenomena  are  very  numer- 
ous ;  but  they  may  be  reduced  in  the  main  to  the  two  following 
heads  :  (i)  the  same  event  is  doubly  recorded ;  (2)  the  language, 
and  frequently  the  representation  as  well,  varies  in  different 
sections.  Thus  1^-2^*  and  2^^-'^^  contain  a  double  narrative  of 
the  origin  of  man  upon  earth.  It  might,  no  doubt,  [7].  be  argued 
prima  facie  that  2^^^^-  is  intended  simply  as  a  more  detailed 
account  of  what  is  described  summarily  in  1 26-30^  ^nd  it  is  true 
that  probably  the  present  position  of  this  section  is  due  to  the 
relation  in  which,  speaking  generally,  it  stands  to  the  narrative 
of  those  verses ;  but  upon  closer  examination  differences  reveal 
themselves  which  preclude  the  supposition  that  both  sections  are 
the  work  of  the  same  hand.  In  2^"^  ff.  the  order  of  creation  is : 
I.  man  (v.'');  2.  vegetation  (v.^;  cf.  v."");  3.  animals  (v.^^);* 
4.  woman  (v.^i^-).  The  separation  made  between  the  creation 
of  woman  and  man,  if  it  stood  alone,  might  indeed  be  reasonably 
explained  upon  the  supposition  just  referred  to,  that  2^^^^'  viz. 
describes  in  detail  what  is  stated  succinctly  in  i^^^;  but  the  order 
in  the  other  cases  forms  part  of  a  progression  evidently  inten- 
tional on  the  part  of  the  narrator  here,  and  as  evidently  opposed 
to  the  order  indicated  in  c.  i  (vegetation,  animals,  man).  Not 
only,  however,  are  there  these  material  differences  between  the 
two  narratives ;  they  differ  also  in  form  The  style  of  1^-2^*  is 
unornate,  measured,  precise,  and  particular  phrases  frequently 
recur.  That  of  2'^^^-  is  freer  and  more  varied :  the  actions  of 
God  are  described  with  some   fulness  and  picturesqueness  of 

*  The  rendering    **had   formed"   is   contrary  to   idiom  (see  the  writer's 
Hebrew  Tenses ^  §  *](>  Obs, ;  and  comp.  also  Konig,  jEin/.  p.  173). 


GENESIS  9 

detail;  instead  of  simply  speaking  or  creating,  as  in  c.  i,  He 
fashions,  breathes  into  man  the  breath  of  life,  plants,  places, 
takes,  sets,  brings,  closes  up,  builds,  &c.  {2^-  ^-  ^^'  ^^'  ^i-  2^)^  and  even, 
in  the  allied  c.  3  (v.^),  walks  in  the  garden  :  the  recurring  phrases 
are  less  marked,  and  not  the  sa77ie  as  those  of  1^-2^*.  In  the 
narrative  of  the  Deluge,  d^'^^  (the  wickedness  of  the  earth)  is  a 
duplicate  of  6^-^,  as  is  also  7^-^  of  61^-22 — the  latter,  with  the 
difference  that  of  every  clean  beast  seven  are  to  be  taken  into  the 
ark,  while  in  6^^  (cf.  7^^)  two  of  every  sort,  without  distinction, 
are  prescribed ;  similarly  722^-  (destruction  of  all  flesh)  repeats  the 
substance  of  7^1 :  there  are  also  accompanying  differences  of 
representation  and  phraseology,  one  group  of  sections  being  akin 
to  1^-2^%  and  displaying  throughout  the  same  phraseology,  the 
other  exhibiting  a  different  phraseology,  and  being  conceived  in 
the  spirit  of  2*^-32*  (comp.  e.g.  71^  shut  in,  821  smelted^  with 
27. 8. 15  &c.).*  17I6-19  and  189-15  ^^e  [8]  promise  of  a  son  to  Sarah 
is  twice  described,  with  an  accompanying  double  explanation 
of  the  origin  of  the  name  Isaacf  The  section  27^^-28^  differs 
appreciably  in  style  from  2']'^-'^^,  and  at  the  same  time  exhibits 
Rebekah  as  influenced  by  a  different  motive  in  suggesting  Jacob's 
departure  from  Canaan,  not  as  in  27^2-45  ^q  escape  his  brother's 
anger,  but  to  procure  a  wife  agreeable  to  his  parents'  wishes  (see 
26'^^^-)4  Further,  in  2  8^9  and  35^^  we  find  two  explanations  of 
the  origin  of  the  name  Bethel:  3228  and  35^^,  two  of  Israel: 
32^  33i'5  Esau  is  described  as  already  resident  in  Edom,  while 
36*^^-  his  migration  thither  is  attributed  to  causes  which  could 
have  come  into  operation  only  after  Jacob's  return  to  Canaan.§ 
The  Book  of  Genesis  presents  a  group  of  sections  distinguished 
from   the   narrative   on    either  side  of  them  by  differences  of 

*  The  composite  character  of  the  narrative  of  the  Flood  has  been  pointed 
out  often  ;  see  the  art.  Pentatetich,  by  the  present  Bishop  of  Worcester,  in 
Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible  (^  1863),  p.  776.  On  the  phraseology  see 
more  fully  below,  pp.  129-125. 

t  There  is  a  third  explanation,  from  a  third  source  (see  below),  in  21^. 

+  Of  course,  men  frequently  act  from  more  motives  than  one  ;  and  thus  a 
difference  of  motive  in  itself '^^^  no  ground  for  supposing  that  the  narrative  in 
which  it  appeals  is  of  composite  authorship  ;  but  when,  as  here,  it  is  coincident 
with  a  literary  distinction,  it  tends,  like  the  differences  of  representation  just 
alluded  to,  to  confirm  the  inferences  deduced  in  the  first  instance  from  literary 
criteria  alone. 

§  Keil's  explanation  of  this  discrepancy  is  insufficient. 


\ 


10  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

phraseology  and  style,  and  often  by  concomitant  differences  of 
representation :  these  differences,  moreover,  are  not  isolated,  nor 
do  they  occur  in  the  narrative  indiscriminately :  they  are  numer- 
ous, and  reappear  with  singular  persistency  in  cojnbination  with 
each  other ;  they  are,  in  a  word,  so  marked  that  they  can  only  be 
accounted  for  upon  the  supposition  that  the  sections  in  which 
they  occur  are  by  a  different  hand  from  the  rest  of  the  book. 

The  sections  homogeneous  in  style  and  character  with  1^-2^* 
recur  at  intervals,  not  in  Genesis  only,  but  in  the  following  books 
to  Joshua  inclusive ;  and  when  disengaged  from  the  rest  of  the 
narrative,  and  read  consecutively,  are  found  to  constitute  a  nearly 
complete  whole,  containing  a  systematic  account  of  the  origines 
of  Israel,  treating  with  particular  minuteness  the  various  cere- 
monial institutions  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  (Sabbath,  Circum- 
cision, Passover,  Tabernacle,  Priesthood,  Feasts,  &c.),  and 
displaying  a  consistent  regard  for  chronological  and  other 
statistical  data,  which  entitles  it  to  be  considered  as  the  frame- 
work of  our  present  Hexateuch.  This  source,  or  document, 
has  received  different  names,  suggested  by  one  or  other  of  the 
various  characteristics  attaching  to  it.  [9]  From  its  preference 
(till  Ex.  6^)  for  the  absolute  use  of  the  name  God  ("  Elohim ") 
rather  iha^n  Jehovah^  it  has  been  termed  the  Elohistic  narrative, 
and  its  author  has  been  called  the  Elohist)  and  these  names  are 
still  sometimes  employed.  By  Ewald  it  was  termed  the  "  Book 
of  Origins  ";*  by  Tuch  and  Noldeke,  from  the  fact  that  it  seemed 
to  form  the  groundwork  of  our  Hexateuch,  the  "  Grundschrift " ; 
by  Wellhausen,  and  most  other  recent  critics,  it  has  been  styled 
the  "Priests'  Code."  This  last  designation  is  in  strictness 
applicable  only  to  the  ceremonial  sections  in  Ex.-Nu. ;  these, 
however,  form  such  a  large  and  characteristic  portion  of  the 
work,  that  the  title  may  not  unsuitably  be  extended  so  as  to 
embrace  the  whole ;  and  it  may  be  represented  conveniently,  for 
the  sake  of  brevity,  by  the  letter  P.f 

*  Urspriinge, — Ewald's  rendering  of  the  Heb.  nnVin  ("generations"),  the 
term  (p.  6)  characteristic  of  this  source  ;  see  his  Hist,  of  Israel,  i.  74-96. 

t  Dillmann  uses  the  letter  A.  Wellhausen,  who  supposes  the  "Priests' 
Code "  to  have  passed  through  more  stages  than  one  before  it  reached  its 
present  form,  denotes  the  nucleus  of  it  by  the  letter  Q.  This  letter  is  chosen 
by  him  on  account  of  the  four  (Quatuor)  covenants  described  in  it  (with 
Adam,  i^s-so ;  Noah,  9I-" ;  Abraham,  c.  17  ;  Israel,  Ex.  62^-).  The  first  of 
these,  however,  is  not  properly  a  covenant,  but  a  blessing. 


GENESIS  1 1 

In  Genesis,  as  regards  the  limits  of  P,  there  is  practically  no 
difference  of  opinion  amongst  critics.  It  embraces  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  Creation  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of  God's  rest  upon 
the  Sabbath  (1^-2'^*) ;  the  line  of  Adam's  descendants  through 
Seth  to  Noah  (5 1-28. 30-32) .  ^^e  story  of  the  Flood,  with  the 
subsequent  blessing  of  Noah,  and  covenant  established  with 
him  by  God  (69-22  ^e.  11.  i3-i6a.  i7a  [except  forfy  days]  18-21.24  gi-sa. 
3b.-5. 13a.  14-19  ^1-17. 28-29)  .  ^n  enumeration  of  nations  descended 
from  Japhet,  Ham,  and  Shem  (iqI-^- 20. 22-23. 81-32) .  the  line  of 
Shem's  descendants  to  Terah  {11'^^'^^);  a  brief  account  of 
Abraham's  family  (ii27-3i-32)^  of  his  migration  to  Canaan,  and 
separation  there  from  Lot  (12^^-^  i^e. iib  [fj-om  and  they]-'^'^^  [to 
Fiam]\  of  the  birth  of  Ishmael  (i6i*-3.i5-i6)^  the  institution  of 
Circumcision  (c.  17),  the  destruction  of  the  Cities  of  the  Plain 
(1929),  the  birth  of  Isaac  (2ii^-2b-5)^  the  purchase  of  the  family 
burial-place  at  Machpelah  in  Hebron  (c.  23),  the  death  of 
Abraham  and  his  burial  by  his  sons  at  Machpelah  {{2^'^-^^^);  a 
list  of  tribes  tracing  their  origin  to  Ishmael  (25^2-17).  Isaac's 
marriage  with  Rebekah,  Esau's  Hittite  wives,  Jacob's  journey  to 
Paddan-Aram  to  obtain  a  wife  [lo]  agreeable  to  his  mother's 
wishes  (25i9--'0-26b  2634-35  27*^-289),  Jacob's  marriage  with 
Rachel,  his  return  from  Paddan-Aram  to  Canaan  (292*- 29  3118b 
[from  and  all]  33^^*),  the  refusal  of  his  sons  to  sanction  inter- 
marriage with  the  Shechemites  (341-2*-  4. 6. 8-10.  is-is.  20-24. 25  [partly] 
27-29)^  his  change  of  name  to  Israel  at  Bethel  {ZS^'^^'^^),  the 
death  of  Isaac  (3522^-29) ;  the  history  of  Esau  (c.  36  [in  the 
main]) ;  *  the  migration  of  Jacob  and  his  family  to  Egypt,  and 
their  settlement  by  Pharaoh  in  the  land  of  Rameses  (37^-2* 
[to  Jacob]  4x46  466-27  475-6a.|  7-11. 27b  [frojn  and  theyy%  Jacob's 
adoption  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  {^%^-^-  '^ ),  the  final  charge 

*  For  it  is  generally  allowed  that  v.^""*  ^'^  (though  even  here  the  frame- 
work appears  to  be  that  of  P)  include  an  element  foreign  to  P  :  in  particular, 
the  names  of  Esau's  wives  differ  from  those  given  in  26^^-  28^  (both  P),  and 
must  thus  have  been  derived,  most  probably  by  the  compiler,  from  a  different 
source. 

t  As  read  in  LXX,  where,  though  the  substance  is  unaltered,  the  sequence 
is  preferable:  *'And  Jacob  and  his  sons  came  into  Egypt  to  Joseph;  and 
Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  heard  of  it.  And  Pharaoh  spake  unto  Joseph, 
saying.  Thy  father  and  thy  brethren  are  come  unto  thee  :  behold,  the  land 
of  Egypt  is  before  thee ;  in  the  best  of  the  land  make  thy  father  and  thy 
brethren  to  dwell."    Then  follow^v.'. 


12  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

addressed  by  him  to  his  sons,  and  his  burial  by  them  (49^*-  ^^^'"^ 

5012-13). 

These  passages  present  an  outUne  of  the  antecedents  and  patri- 
archal history  of  Israel,  in  which  only  important  occurrences — 
as  the  Creation,  the  Deluge,  the  Covenants  with  Noah  and 
Abraham — are  described  with  minuteness,  but  which  is  sufficient 
as  an  introduction  to  the  systematic  view  of  the  theocratic  insti- 
tutions which  is  to  follow  in  Ex.-Nu.,  and  which  it  is  the  main 
object  of  the  author  of  this  source  to  exhibit.  In  the  earlier  part 
of  the  book  the  narrative  appears  to  be  tolerably  complete ;  but 
elsewhere  there  are  evidently  omissions  {e.g.  of  the  birth  of  Esau 
and  Jacob,  and  of  the  events  of  Jacob's  life  in  Paddan-Aram, 
presupposed  by  31^^).*  But  these  may  be  naturally  attributed 
to  the  compiler  who  combined  P  with  the  other  narrative  used 
by  him,  and  who  in  so  doing  not  unfrequently  gave  a  preference 
to  the  fuller  and  more  picturesque  descriptions  contained  in  the 
latter.  If  the  parts  assigned  to  P  be  read  attentively,  even  in  a 
translation,  and  compared  with  the  rest  of  the  nai-rative,  the 
peculiarities  of  its  style  will  be  apparent.  Its  language  is 
[11]  that  of  a  jurist,  rather  than  a  historian;  it  is  circumstantial, 
formal,  and  precise :  a  subject  is  developed  systematically ;  and 
completeness  of  detail,  even  at  the  cost  of  some  repetition,  is 
regularly  observed.!  Sentences  are  cast  with  great  frequency 
into  the  same  mould ;  %  and  particular  formulae  are  constantly 
repeated,  especially  such  as  articulate  the  progress  of  the  narra- 
tive. §  The  attention  paid  by  the  author  to  numbers,  chrono- 
logy, and  other  statistical  data,  will  be  evident.  It  will  also  be 
apparent  that  the  scheme  into  which,  as  was  pointed  out  above, 
the  Book  of  Genesis,  as  a  whole,  is  cast,  is  his  work, — the 
formula  by  which  its  salient  divisions  are  marked  constituting 
an  essential  feature  in  the  sections  assigned  to  P. 

The  parts  of  Genesis  which  remain  after  the  separation  of  P 
have  next  to  be  considered.  These  also,  as  it  seems,  are  not 
homogeneous  in  structure.     Especially  from  c.   20  onwards  the 

*  Fragments  of  P's  narrative  may  be  preserved  in  30^'''-  ^*-  ^^-  ^^. 

t  E.^.   7^^-  ^^"^^  q9-ll'  12-17  J  710-14.  23-27  4q29-30.  32_ 

+  E.g.  i^^-  ^^- 15  &c. ;   5^'^-  ^""-  *-"i^  &c.  J   ijio-ii.  12-13  ^c.  ;   12^'^  16^*^  I7'^-  ^ 

2i5  2526b  4j46a^  Ex.   f,   Nu.   ^Z^^. 

§  "  These  are  the  generations  of  .  .  ."  (above);  i^b-sb.  13  ^(,. ;  10''  [see 
QPB^-^  20.31.32  25I6  3640.43  &c. ;  622  compared  with  Ex.  f  I228-60  (and  else- 
where).    See  more  fully  p.  129  f. 


GENESIS  13 

narrative  exhibits  marks  of  composition;  and  tiie  component 
parts,  though  not  differing  from  one  another  in  diction  and 
style  so  widely  as  either  differs  from  P,  and  being  so  welded 
together  that  the  lines  of  demarcation  between  them  frequently 
cannot  be  fixed  with  certainty,  appear  nevertheless  to  be  plainly 
discernible.  Thus  in  2oi-i''  our  attention  is  arrested  by  the  use 
of  the  term  God,  while  in  c.  18-19  (except  19^9  P),  and  in 
the  similar  narrative  i2^^-20,  the  term  Jehovah  is  uniformly 
employed.  The  term  God  recurs  similarly  in  2i*^-^i  22^*1^  and 
elsewhere,  particularly  in  c.  40-42.  45.  For  such  a  variation 
in  similar  and  consecutive  chapters  no  plausible  explanation 
can  be  assigned  except  diversity  of  authorship.*  At  the  same 
time,  the  fact  that  Elohim  is  not  here  accompanied  by  the  other 
criteria  of  P's  style,  forbids  our  assigning  the  sections  thus  charac- 
terized to  that  source.  Other  phraseological  criteria  are  slight ; 
[12]  there  are,  however,  not  unfrequently  differences  of  repre- 
sentation, some  of  which  will  be  noticed  below,  which  point 
decidedly  in  the  same  direction.  It  seems  thus  that  the  parts 
of  Genesis  which  remain  after  the  separation  of  P  are  formed 
by  the  combination  of  two  narratives,  originally  independent, 
though  covering  largely  the  same  ground,  which  have  been 
united  by  a  subsequent  editor,  who  also  contributed  incon- 
siderable additions  of  his  own,  into  a  single,  continuous  narra- 
tive. One  of  these  sources,  from  its  use  of  the  name  Jahweh,  is 
now  generally  denoted  by  the  letter  J ;  the  other,  in  which  the 
name  Elohim  is  preferred,  is  denoted  similarly  by  E ;  and  the 
work  formed  by  the  combination  of  the  two  is  referred  to  by 
the  double  letters  JE.  The  method  of  the  compiler,  who  com- 
bined J  and  E  together,  was  sometimes,  as  it  would  seem,  to 
extract  an  entire  narrative  from  one  or  other  of  these  sources 
(as  2oi-i''  from  E;  c.  24  from  J);  sometimes,  while  taking  a 
narrative  as  a  whole  from  one  source,  to  incorporate  with  it 
notices  derived  from  the  other ;  and  sometimes  to  construct  his 
narrative  of  materials  derived  from  each  source  in  nearly  equal 
proportions. 

*  It  is  true  that  Elohim  zxi^  Jahweh  represent  the  Divine  Nature  under 
different  aspects,  viz.  as  the  God  of  nature  and  the  God  of  revelation 
respectively ;  but  it  is  only  in  a  comparatively  small  number  of  instances  that 
this  distinction  can  be  applied  without  great  artificiality  to  explain  the  variation 
between  the  two  names  in  the  P«ntateuch. 


14  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

In  the  details  of  the  analysis  of  JE  there  is  sometimes  uncer- 
tainty, owing  to  the  criteria  being  indecisive,  and  capable,  conse- 
quently, of  divergent  interpretation.  Points  of  minor  importance 
being  disregarded,  the  analysis,  so  far  as  it  seems  to  the  writer  to 
be  reasonably  clear,  is  exhibited  in  the  following  tables.  E  first 
appears  in  the  history  of  Abraham  (c.  15  or  20).* 

L  c.  I -I  I.    The  beginnings  of  history. 

J  24b_324  4I-26  ^29  61-4. 5-8  7I-5. 7-10  (in  the  main)  f  12.  i6b  [standing  origin- 
ally after  V.^l  "**•  22-23  g2b-3a.  6-12.  ISb.  20-22  q18-27  iqS-IS.  21.  24-30  j  jl-9.  28-30^ 

[13]  The  rest  belongs  to  P  (above,  p.  iif.).  425-26  ^29  g^^g  fragments  of  the 
line  of  Seth,  as  it  was  given  in  J,  the  final  redactor  of  the  Pentateuch  (R) 
having  preferred  in  the  main  the  line  as  given  by  P  (5^"2^-  ^) :  notice  that  in 
point  of  fact  the  verses  42^^-  are  parallel  to  5^-  ^  :  notice  further  the  difference 
in  style  of  52^  from  the  rest  of  the  ch.,  and  the  resemblance  to  425^-,  as  well 
as  the  allusion  to  3^^*-  (also  J).  In  the  account  ot  the  Flood,  the  main  narra- 
tive is  that  of  P,  which  has  been  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  elements  derived 
from  J  :  here,  however,  these  elements  form  a  tolerably  complete  narrative, 
though  there  are  omissions,  e.g.  between  6^  and  7^  of  the  instructions  for 
making  the  ark,  the  redactor  having  preferred  the  account  of  P  :  and  in  what 
follows,  the  narrative  of  J,  for  a  similar  reason,  is  not  perfectly  complete. 
The  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  two  narratives  are  well  exhibited  by 
Delitzsch  (p.  i64f.):  each  viz.  is  marked  by  a  series  of  recurring  features 
which  are  absent  from  the  other,  and  by  which  it  is  connected  with  other 
sections  of  the  book,  belonging  respectively  to  the  same  source  (comp.  above, 
p.  9).  The  interchange  oi  Jehovah  and  God  is  here  specially  noticeable.  In 
c.  10  the  scheme  of  P  is  singularly  clear  :  v.^  is  the  title  to  the  entire  section, 
dealing  with  the  "  sons  of  Noah"  ;  v. 2-5  sons  of  Japheth,  with  subscription  : 
^6-7. 20  sons  of  Ham,  with  subscription :  v. 22-23. 3i  gQ^s  of  Shem,  with  sub- 
scription :  v.^2  the  subscription  to  the  entire  section.     The  framework  of  the 

*  The  notes  appended  are  not  intended  to  do  more  than  afford  a  partial 
indication  of  the  grounds  on  which  the  analysis  rests ;  for  fuller  details 
reference  must  be  made  to  the  more  special  works  named,  p.  i  f.  The  Book 
of  Genesis  has  been  published  (in  German),  in  a  convenient  form,  with  the 
different  sources  distinguished  typographically,  by  Kautzsch  and  Socin  {Die 
Genesis  mit  dusserer  Unterscheidung  der  Quellenschriften'^,  1891).  Great 
pains  and  care  have  been  bestowed  upon  the  preparation  of  this  work  ;  but 
the  details,  so  far  as  the  line  of  demarcation  between  J  and  E,  and  the  parts 
assigned  to  the  redactor,  are  concerned,  can  in  many  cases  not  claim  more 
than  a  relative  probability,  as  the  editors  themselves  avow.  A  more  elaborate 
work  of  the  same  kind  is  B.  W.  Bacon,  The  Genesis  of  Genesis  (Hartford, 
U.S.A.,  1892) :  see  also  C.  J.  Ball's  edition  (above,  pp.  i,  3). 

t  For  v.'-^  include  two  or  three  expressions  ("two  and  two,"  "  male  and 
female,"  "God"  [3am.  Targ.  Vulg.  "Jehovah"])  borrowed  by  the  redactor 
from  P. 


GENESIS 


IS 


ch.  is  thus  supplied  by  P,  and  into  it  notices  of  the  nations  descended  from 
Noah,  derived  from  J,  have  been  inserted  by  the  final  redactor.  Observe  that 
V.22  begins  the  third  main  division  of  the  ch.,  and  that  vP-^  taken  strictly,  is 
out  of  place  before  it :  sJ^^-  contain  J's  account  of  Shelah,  Eber,  and  Peleg, 
parallel  to  that  of  P  in  iii^-"  (comp.  425^-  beside  S^-S). 

Notice  also  that  the  genealogies  in  J  (both  here  and  elsewhere)  are  cast  in 
a  different  mould  from  those  of  P,  and  are  connected  together  by  similarities 


of  expression,  which  do  not  occur  in  P :   thus  in  4""-'>  10' 


,8-19.  21.  24-30 


ig37-38 


2220-24  25I-6  notice  the  recurrence  of  the  form  of  sentence.  Unto  .  .  .  was 
born :  of  ^'?'  (not  T*?!.!,  as  in  P)  used  of  the  father ;  of  Nin  dj  ;  and  of  the 
phrase  the  father  of .  .  .  (see  Budde,  Die  Biblische  Urgeschichte,  1883,  pp. 
220-223).  On  the  question  whether  J's  narrative  in  c.  i-i  i  is  really  a  literary 
unity,  it  must  suffice  to  refer  to  Holzinger,  Einl.  p.  138  ff. 


II.  c.  12-26.  Abraham  and  Isaac. 


l-4a.  6-20  T  ^1-5,  7-lla 


(to  East)  ^''^  (from  and  moved)  ^^"^^ 


\e 

rj    18I-I928.  30-38 

IE  20l-"-  (18) 


n  C.   24.  2<}'^'  ^^^-  18-  21-26a.  27-34  26^''^^'  (^^)-  l^""*  (^^l*  19-33 

IE 


c.  15 


[51b-2.  4-14 


22'='- 


15-18         20-24 


216-21.  22-32a.  {32b)         (34)  221-1"* 


The  verses  enclosed  in  parentheses  appear  to  be  due  to  the  compiler  of 
JE.  The  parts  not  included  in  the  table  belong  to  P  (p.  1 1  f. ),  with  the 
exception  of  c.  14,  the  character  of  which  points  to  its  being  taken  from  a 
[14]  special  source.  The  historical  improbabilities  of  the  narrative  contained 
in  this  ch.  have  been  exaggerated :  but  though  the  four  names  in  v.i  corre- 
spond, more  or  less  exactly,  with  those  of  kings  {c.  B.C.  23CX))  which  have 
been  discovered  recently  in  the  Inscriptions,  there  is  at  present  (Dec.  1896) 
no  monumental  corroboration  of  any  part  of  the  following  narrative  (see  the 
writer's  articles  in  the  Guardian,  1896,  Mar.  ii  and  Apr.  8).  C.  15  shows 
signs  of  composition  ;  but  the  criteria  are  indecisive,  and  no  generally 
accepted  analysis  has  been  effected :  it  is  therefore  printed  in  the  table 
between  the  J  and  E  lines.  Several  recent  critics  have  assigned  to  E 
v.i-  3a-  2b.  5^  and  to  J  v.^*-  3b.  4. 6-11. 17-18^  regarding  v.i^-i^-  i9-2i  as  expansions  due 
to  a  later  hand  (or  hands) ;  see,  further.  Bacon,  Hebraica,  vii.  (1890),  p.  75  f. 

i(f^  belongs  to  P.  Observe  (i)  God  iyfict,  Jehovah  having  been  regularly 
used  before  {e.g.  v.i^- 14- 16-  24. 27) .  (2)  remembered  (see  8I  in  P  ;  and  Ex.  2^) ; 
(3)  "cities  of  the  Plain,"  as  1312  P.  The  verse  farther  betrays  itself  as  an 
insertion  in  its  present  context,  ia  that  it  repeats  in  other  words  the  substance 
of  the  preceding  narrative ;  and  secondly  in  the  general  statement  that  Lot 
dwelt  in  '*  the  cities  of  the  Plain,"  which  would  fall  naturally  from  a  writer 
compiling  a  summary  account  of  the  occurrence  (and  is  actually  used  by  P  in 
I3^)>  but  hardly  so  from  one  who  had  just  before  named  Sodom  repeatedly  as 
\ht  particular  city  in  which  Lot  dwelt. 

With  2i33  (««  called  on  the  nwie  of  Jehovah  ")  comp.  426  128  134  26'^. 


l6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

263b-6  i^as  probably  (on  grounds  of  style :  see  Del. )  been  expanded  or 
recast  by  the  compiler.  The  same  may  have  been  the  case  with  22^^"^^.  26^^-  ^^ 
appear  to  be  additions  made  by  the  compiler  for  the  purpose  of  harmonizing 
with  2i25ff-.  Observe  in  v.^  the  different  explanation  of  the  name  "Beer- 
sheba,"  as  compared  with  21^^  (E).  It  has  been  plausibly  conjectured  that 
in  c.  24-26  a  transposition  has  taken  place,  and  that  the  original  order  was 
2^1-6.  lib  (.^  24  (observe  that  v.^  appears  to  presuppose  2.^)  26^'^  2.<^\-'i&B..  27-34^ 
of  which  c.  27  is  now  the  natural  sequel. 


III.  c.  27-36.  Jacob  and  Esau. 

J  27I-45  28^**  ^^'^^  ^*  2-14  31-35 

11-12  17-18        20-22  29I  15-23.25-28.30.  ^P^'"^^  {"^^  knees) 

J  2o3b-5      7      9-16  20b  („^^  ^   ^  ^  ^^,„)  22b^       24.^  1 1  3 

6      8  17-20a  20c-22boj  23  -j2     4-18a.  19-46 


{ 
{ 

\E  ^7  51_322 

IE 


34 


2b-3.  5.  7.  11-12.  19 


13b-21  23 


(partly)  26-  30-31  3^14  21-22a 

^rl-8  16-20 

In  27^"^^  some  critics  discover  the  traces  of  a  double  narrative,  and  con- 
sider accordingly  that  the  narrative  of  J  has  been  supplemented  by  details 
taken  from  E  ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  grounds  alleged  are  decisive. 

In  28"*"22  the  main  narrative  is  E,  v.i^-ie  being  inserted  from  J.  Both 
narratives  contained  the  account  of  the  theophany  at  Luz,  E  giving  promi- 
nence to  the  dream  and  vision  of  the  ladder,  which  made  the  place  one 
"where  heaven  and  earth  meet"  (v.^"^  being  the  sequel  to  v.^^)^  j  \jq  t^g 
words  of  promise  addressed  to  Jacob ;  the  compiler  has  united  the  two 
[15]  accounts,  as  mutually  supplementing  each  other.  The  promise  in  v.^^'-, 
as  elsewhere  in  J  (1314-16  128)^  accommodated  in  v.^'  to  Jacob's  present 
situation.  Render  v.^  as  "KV  marg.  (see  iS^  Heb.):  in  J  Jehovah  appears 
standing  beside  Jacob  as  he  slept. 

In  29^^-302^  (births  of  Jacob's  children)  the  main  narrative  is  J,  with  short 
notices  from  E.  Notice  God  interchanging  with  Jehovah,  and  the  double 
etymologies  in  30^^-  ^^,  2,0^'^,  30^8  (with  God)  "^  (with  Jehovah).  But  in  c. 
29-32  it  must  remain  an  open  question  whether  the  points  of  separation 
between  J  and  E  have  in  all  cases  been  rightly  determined  (see  also  p.  12  note*). 

In  30^5-3 1 18a  (the  parting  of  Jacob  and  Laban),  3025-31  lis  mainly  J,  3i2-i8a 
mainly  E.  The  two  sources  give  a  different  account  of  the  arrangement 
between  Jacob  and  Laban,  and  of  the  manner  in  which,  nevertheless,  Jacob 
prospered.  The  success  which  in  -^o^^-  is  attributed  to  Jacob's  stratagem, 
with  the  effect  of  the  striped  rods  upon  the  ewes  in  the  flock,  is  in  3i''^2 
attributed  to  the  frustration  by  Providence  of  Laban's  attempt,  by  repeatedly 
altering  his  terms,  to  overreach  Jacob,  and  to  the  fact  that  only  the  striped 
he-goats  leaped  upon  the  ewes.  Each  account,  however,  appears  also  to 
contain  notices  incorporated  from  the  other,  which,  in  some  cases,  harmonize 


GENESIS  17 

impel iectly  with  their  present  context,  and  complicate  the  interpretation  (for 
details  see  Dillmann  or  Delitzsch). 

2 1 45-54  j^ay  have  been  in  parts  expanded  or  glossed  by  the  compiler; 
y  45. 47. 51-54  appear  to  embody  E's  account  of  the  covenant  between  Jacob  and 
Laban  ;  y.^^-'*^"^  the  account  given  by  J.  Observe  that  the  covenant  in  v.^ 
is  different  in  its  terms  fronijthe  covenant  in  v.^^. 

In  c.  34  the  analysis  is  not  throughout  equally  certain  ;  but  marks  of  P's 
style  appear  unmistakably  in  some  parts,  while  they  are  absent  in  others,  and 
the  motives  and  aims  of  the  actors  seem  not  to  be  uniformly  the  same  (cf.  p. 
9  n.\  In  v.^-  ^^"^-  Shechem  himself  is  the  spokesman,  and  his  aim  is  the 
personal  one  of  securing  Dinah  as  his  wife  ;  in  v.^'^"*  (cf.  v.^"-  21-28)  his  father 
Hamor  is  spokesman,  and  his  aim  is  to  secure  an  amalgamation  between  his 
people  and  Jacob's :  observe  also  the  similarity  in  the  terms  in  which 
circumcision  is  mentioned  v.^^^-  ^sb-  24b  and  ly^"*^  (P),  and  between  v.^^  and 
g-jiob.  18b  (also  P).  But  it  is  not  impossible  that  P  here  is  based  upon 
elements  derived  from  E;  see  Wellh.  Comp.  p.  312  ff.  ;  Cornill,  ZATW. 
1 89 1,  p.  I  ff.  J  and  cf.  35^  48^2  (both  E).  In  3521-22*  notice  Israel iox  Jacob 
(cf.  p.  19). 

IV.  c.  2>1-S^- Joseph. 

rj  12-18  21  25-27  28b  (to  sHver)      ^^'^^ 

E  372b  (from  >J^//i)  3-11  19-20         22-24  "^^  {io  pit)  28c-30  36 

[16] 

/  J  c.  38  c.  39  42^^-44'^  t  46=^«-47'-  '^  X 

IE  c.  40  *  4ii-*5- *  47-57  42I-37  45^6^  *  ^' 

n  4713-26-  27a  (to  Gbs/ien)  29-31  49lb-28a  ^qI-H-  14 

\E  481-2.8-22§  15-26 

Though  the  analysis  of  c.  37  is  in  parts  uncertain,  the  differences  of  repre- 
sentation which  it  exhibits  show  that  it  is  of  composite  origin.  Thus  v.^ 
is  not  the  continuation  of  y.^-^ :  notice  the  indefinite  expression,  "and 
there  passed  by  Midianites,  merchantmen,"  which  evidently  describes  the 
^rst  appearance  of  merchants  upon  the  scene  :  the  sequel  to  v.25  would  have 

*  With  traces  of  J,  as  4o'^*'-  3b-  isb  ^jU  ("and  they  brought  him  quickly 
from  the  dungeon")  4227-28454  ("whoi^  ye  sold  into  Egypt ")  ^  ("  that  ye 
sold  me  thither  ")  451°  (to  Goshen)  '^  46^  ('*  Israel ").  Here,  as  in  other  cases, 
the  details  of  the  analysis  (subject  to  the  reservation  which  is  sometimes 
necessary)  may  be  seen  most  conveniently  in  Kautzsch  and  Socin's  edition  of 
Genesis,  or  in  the  edition  of  Mr.  Ball. 

t  With  traces  of  E  (43^4.  23b  «<  and  he  brought  Simeon  out  unto  them  "). 

Ij:  As  read  in  LXX,  viz.  (directly  answering  v. 4) :  "And  Pharaoh  said  unto 
Joseph,  Let  them  dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen  ;  and  if  thou  knowest  that 
there  are  able  men  amongst  them,  then  make  them,"  &c.  Then  follows 
v.6-6a  (p)^  as  given  above,  p.  ii  note. 

§  In  the  main,  probably  ;  but  the  two  narratives  cannot  here  be  disengaged 
with  certainty.     Perhaps  v.^3-i4. 17-19  are  from  J. 


l8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

been  expressed  by  "and/^^  Ishmaelites  drew  near"  (or  some  similar  verb, 
but  with  the  subject  definite) :  v.^^  is  thus  parallel  to  v.^^^^,  not  the  sequel 
to  it.  Notice,  further,  that  it  is  twice  said  that  Joseph  was  brought  into 
Egypt  and  sold  there;  once,  37^,  by  the  Midia^iites,  in  agreement  with  v.^^a-c. 
the  other  time,  39^  by  the  Ishmaelites,  in  agreement  with  \.^^.  Again,  if  in 
v.^  the  subject  of  *'  they  drew  "  be  Joseph's  brethren,  it  is  strange,  as  Reuben 
appears  clearly  to  be  in  their  company,  that,  going  afterwards  to  the  pit,  he 
should  be  surprised  at  not  finding  Joseph  in  it ;  on  the  other  hand,  if  *'  they" 
refer  to  the  Midianite  merchants  passing  by,  who  drew  tip  Joseph  from  the  pit 
without  his  brothers'  knowledge,  the  surprise  of  Reuben  is  at  once  explained, 
and  the  expression  in  40^^  "for  I  was  stolen  out  of  the  land  of  the  Hebrews " 
exactly  describes  what  had  occurred.  If  3721-  25-27. 28b  (And  they  sold  .  .  . 
silver)  ^^-^  39I  &c.,  on  the  one  hand,  and  3722-24.280.0.29-30.36^  on  the 
other,  be  read  consecutively,  they  will  be  found  to  form  two  cora-pltie parallel 
accounts  of  the  manner  in  which  Joseph  was  taken  into  Egypt,  each  (as  will 
appear  presently)  connecting  with  two  corresponding  narratives  in  the 
chapters  following  :  in  one  (J)  Joseph  is  sold  by  his  brethren  to  Ishmaelites, 
in  the  other  (E)  he  is  cast  by  his  brethren  into  a  pit,  and  stolen  thence  by 
the  Midianites  without  his  brothers'  knowledge.  V."^  is  tautologous  beside 
v.22a,  but  forms  an  excellent  introduction  to  v."^'^.  Notice  that  in  J 
Judah  takes  the  lead  (so  43^  44^^^-);  in  E  Reuben  (so  4222-37).  jt  jg  con- 
sidered by  many  critics  that  **  Reuben  "  in  v.^^  was  originally  "Judah." 

The  narrative  of  Joseph  in  c.  39  ff.  consists,  as  it  seems,  of  long  passages 
excerpted  alternately  from  J  and  E,  each,  however,  embodying  traits  derived 
from  the  other.  The  ground  of  this  conclusion  is  the  observation — (a)  that 
the  representation  in  different  parts  of  the  narrative  varies ;  (3)  that  in  each 
of  these  long  passages  occur  short,  isolated  notices,  not  in  entire  harmony 
with  the  context  in  which  they  are  embedded,  but  presupposing  different  cir- 
cumstances.  Thus  {a)  in  c.  42  Joseph's  brethren  are  charged  with  being 
spies,  and  in  reply  volunteer  the  information  about  their  younger  brother 
(v.  [17]  '*^^'  30-32)  J  in  the  report  of  what  had  occurred  given  in  c.  43,  there  is  no 
allusion  to  such  a  charge,  and  Joseph  is  expressly  said  to  have  asked  them  if 
they  had  a  brother  (v.^"^:  5044^^);  {b)  42^^  comes  unexpectedly  after  v.^^-, 
but  agrees  with  v.25 :  having  been  given  special  provision  for  the  way  (v.25), 
the  brethren  naturally  make  the  discovery  that  the  money  is  in  their  sacks 
only  at  the  end  of  the  journey.  On  the  other  hand,  4227^-  harmonizes  with 
43^^^-,  where  the  discovery  is  made  ai  the  lodging  place.  The  former  is  E's 
account,  the  latter  J 's,  4227^-  being  inserted  in  E  from  J.  Further,  in  ^t}^'"^ 
33-37  the  detention  of  Simeon  is  an  essential  feature  of  the  narrative  ;  but  in 
42^-43^",  and  again  in  44^^"^,  there  is  entire  silence  respecting  him ;  his 
release  is  not  one  of  the  objects  for  which  the  brethren  return  to  Egypt.  Had 
the  whole  narrative  been  by  one  hand,  it  would  have  been  natural  to  find 
Simeon  mentioned  in  the  parts  of  c.  43-44  where  he  is  unnoticed.  The 
notices  of  Simeon  in  43^-'-  23i>,  agreeing  thus  imperfectly  with  their  immediate 
context  (J),  appear  to  have  been  inserted  in  it  from  the  parallel  narrative  (E). 
(A  similar  point  connected  with  c.  39  is  noticed  by  the  commentators.) 
Phraseological  indications  pointing  to  the  same  conclusion  are — (a)  Jehovah 
in  392-  8-  6.  21.  23^   Qod  in  4161.  82  456b.  7-9  452^     (The  use  of  God  elsewhere  in 


GENESIS  19 

these  sections,  in  converse  with  Egyptians,  or  between  Joseph,  whilst  in  dis- 
guise, and  his  brethren,  is  naturally  inconclusive  either y^r  E,  40^  41^^  &c.,  or 
against  J,  432^  44^^.)  {b)  A  preference  for  Israel  as  the  name  of  the  patriarch 
in  one  group  of  passages  (37^'  "  43^'  ^-  "  46^'  ^  47'^'  ^^  48^"  ^"^^  "•  ^^  5°^  :  J), 
and  for  Jacob  in  the  other  (421-  *•  29.  36  4^25.  27  452.  5  432  .  E),— a  preference  so 
decided  as  to  make  it  probable  that  in  the  few  passages  where,  in  the  context 
oi^,  Jacob  occurs  {37^),  or,  in  the  context  of  E,  Israel  (4528  461-  -  482^-  "•  21), 
the  variation  is  either  a  change  made  by  the  compiler,  or  is  due  to  the  use  by 
him  of  the  other  source.  The  unusual  word  nnnoN  sack  occurs  thirteen  times 
in  c.  43-44  (J) :  by  a  remarkable  coincidence  it  also  occurs  twice  in  the  two 
verses  422^^-,  which,  on  independent  grounds,  were  assigned  above  to  the 
same  source  ;  E  uses  the  more  ordinary  term  ^10  422^-  ^  (also  v.27*  J). 

In  c.  49  the  Blessing  of  Jacob  is,  of  course,  incorporated  by  J  from  an  in- 
dependent source.  The  historical  and  geographical  conditions  reflected  in  it 
are  those  of  the  period  of  the  Judges,  Samuel,  and  David ;  and  this  is  the 
age  in  which  the  ancient  tradition  of  the  patriarch's  blessing  must  have  been 
cast  into  its  present  poetical  form  (cf.  Dillm.  p.  454  f.). 

That  P  and  JE  form  two  clearly  definable,  independent 
sources,  is  a  conclusion  abundantly  justified  by  the  facts.  As 
regards  the  analysis  of  JE,  the  criteria  (as  said  above)  are  fewer 
and  less  definite  \  and  the  points  of  demarcation  cannot  in  all 
cases  be  determined  with  the  same  confidence.  Nevertheless 
the  indications  that  the  narrative  is  composite  are  of  a  nature 
which  it  is  not  easy  to  gainsay ;  and  the  difficulty  which  some- 
times presents  itself  of  disengaging  the  two  sources  is  but  a 
natural  consequence  of  the  greater  similarity  of  style  subsisting 
[18]  between  them  than  between  JE,  as  a  whole,  and  P.*  In  the 
history  of  Joseph  the  harmonizing  additions  which  the  analysis 
attributes  to  the  compiler  may  be  felt  by  some  to  constitute  an 
objection  to  it.  In  estimating  the  force  of  such  an  objection, 
we  must,  however,  balance  the  probabilities  :  is  it  more  probable, 
in  the  light  of  what  appears  from  other  parts  of  the  Pentateuch, 
that  the  work  of  one  and  the  same  writer  should  exhibit  the 
incongruities  pointed  to  above,  or  that  a  redactor  in  combining 

*  Dillmann  attempts  to  separate  J  and  E  with  great  minuteness.  But  it  is 
often  questionable  if  the  phraseological  criteria  upon  which  he  mainly  relies 
warrant  the  conclusions  which  he  draws  from  them.  He  is  apt  (as  the 
present  writer  ventures  to  think)  not  to  allow  sufficiently  for  the  probability 
that  two  writers,  whose  general  styles  were  such  as  those  of  J  and  E  are 
known  to  have  been,  would  make  use  of  the  same  expressions,  where  these 
expressions  are  not  (as  in  the  case  of  P)  of  a  peculiar,  strongly  marked  type, 
but  are  such  as  might  be  used,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  by  any  writer  of  the 
best  historiographical  style.        • 


20  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

two  parallel  narratives  should  have  introduced  into  one  traits 
borrowed  from  the  other  ?  The  narrative  of  Joseph  cannot  be 
judged  entirely  by  itself;  it  must  be  judged  in  the  light  of  the 
presumption  derived  from  the  study  of  JE  as  a  whole.  And 
this  presumption  is  of  a  nature  which  tends  to  confirm  the  con- 
clusion that  it  is  composite. 

The  distinction  between  P  and  JE — in  particular,  between  P  and  J — may  be 
instructively  illustrated  from  the  blessings  and  promises  which  form  a  con- 
spicuous feature  in  the  Book  of  Genesis,  and,  in  virtue  of  the  progressive 
limitation  of  their  scope,  harmonize  with  its  general  plan  (p.  7).  To  P 
belong  128-30  (Adam);  9^-7  (Noah);  i7«-8  (Abraham)  ;  283^-  and  351"-  [quoted 
48^]  (Jacob)  :  to  JE  S^^  (the  Protevangelium)  ;  9=6  (Shem)  ;  \2^-^  (Abraham: 
also  13"-"  155-18  18^8  22I5-18)  ;  262-5- 2^  (Isaac)  ;  2727-29  28"-i5  (Jacob);  49IO 
(Judah).  Let  the  reader  notice  how  those  assigned  to  P  are  cast  in  the 
same  phraseology,  and  express  frequently  the  same  thoughts :  those  assigned 
to  J  exhibit  greater  variety ;  and  such  common  features  as  they  present 
(especially  those  addressed  to  the  three  patriarchs)  are  different  from  those 
that  mark  the  other  series.  In  P,  it  may  be  observed,  the  promises  are 
limited  to  Israel  itself ;  in  J  the  prophetical  outloolc  embraces  other  nations 
as  well.  Comp.  the  writer's  Sermons  on  the  Old  Testament  (1892),  pp. 
52-55. 

The  process  by  which,  probably,  the  Book  of  Genesis  assumed 
its  present  form  may  be  represented  approximately  as  follows. 
First,  the  two  independent,  but  parallel,  narratives  of  the  patri- 
archal age,  J  and  E,  were  combined  into  a  whole  by  a  compiler 
whose  method  of  work,  sometimes  incorporating  long  sections 
[19]  of  each  intact  (or  nearly  so),  sometimes  fusing  the  parallel 
accounts  into  a  single  narrative,  has  been  sufficiently  illustrated. 
The  whole  thus  formed  (JE)  w^as  afterwards  combined  with  the 
narrative  P  by  a  second  compiler,  who,  adopting  P  as  his  frame- 
work, accommodated  JE  to  it,  omitting  in  either  what  was 
necessary  in  order  to  avoid  needless  repetition,  and  making  such 
slight  redactional  adjustments  as  the  unity  of  his  work  required. 
Thus  he  naturally  assigned  1^-22  the  first  place,  —  perhaps 
at  the  same  time  removing  2^*  from  its  original  position  as 
superscription  to  i^  and  placing  it  where  it  now  stands.  In 
appending  next,  from  J,  the  narrative  of  Paradise,  he  omitted 
probably  the  opening  words  (for  the  narrative  begins  abruptly), 
and  to  Jahiveh  added  the  defining  adjunct  Elohi7n^'''  "  God,"  for 

*  Producing  an  unusual  and  emphatic  phrase  ( =  Jahweh,  who  is  God), 
occurring  again  in  the  Pentateuch  only  Ex.  9^". 


GENESIS  21 

the  purpose  of  identifying  expressly  the  Author  of  life  in  2^^^- 
with  God,  the  Creator,  in  i'^^^.  Still  following  J,  he  took  from 
it  the  history  of  Cain  and  his  descendants  (4^''^^),  but  rejected 
the  list  of  Seth's  descendants  (which  the  fragments  that  remain 
show  that  J  must  have  once  contained)  except  the  first  two  names 
(425^-),  and  the  etymology  of  JVoa/i  (5-^),  in  favour  of  the 
genealogy  and  chronological  details  of  P  (5^'^^-  30-32^^  jj^  51 
-9!^  he  combines  into  one  the  double  narrative  of  the  Flood, 
preserving,  however,  more  from  both  narratives  than  was  usually 
his  practice,  and  in  parts  slightly  modifying  the  phraseology 
In  g^^-^"^  he  introduces  from  J  the  prophetical  glance  at  the 
character  and  capabilities  of  the  three  great  ethnic  groups 
descended  from  Noah,  following  it  by  the  account,  from  P,  of 
the  close  of  Noah's  life  (q^s^-).  C.  10  (the  Table  of  nations) 
includes  elements  derived  from  both  sources  (p.  i4f.)j  it  is 
succeeded  by  the  account  from  J  of  the  dispersion  of  mankind 
(ii^-''').  C.  1 1 10-25  carries  on  the  line  of  Israel's  ancestors  from 
Shem  to  Terah,  from  P;  n  26-32  states  particulars  respecting 
Abram's  immediate  relations,  taken  partly  from  P,  partly  from 
J,  and  necessary  as  an  introduction  to  the  history  of  Abram  in 
c.  1 2  ff.  Mutatis  mutandis^  a  similar  method  is  followed  in  the 
rest  of  the  book.  The  narrative  of  Genesis,  though  composite, 
is  constructed  upon  a  definite  plan,  and  to  the  development  of 
this  plan  the  details  that  are  incorporated  from  the  different 
sources  employed  are  throughout  subservient. 

[20]  Twice  in  Y  {i*]^  2.\^^)  the  name  Jehovah  appears  in  place  of  the  name 
God ;  and  the  variation,  it  has  been  argued,  is  subversive  of  the  grounds  upon 
which  the  critical  analysis  of  Genesis  rests.  But  this  argument  attaches 
undue  significance  to  an  zWa^'i?^^  phenomenon.  We  must  weigh  the  alterna- 
tives, and  ask  which  is  the  more  probable  :  that  an  inference,  dependent  upon 
an  abimdance  of  criteria,  extending  throughout  the  entire  Pentateuch,  should 
be  a  mistaken  one,  or  that  the  compiler,  or  even  a  scribe,  should  twice 
have  substituted  the  more  usual  Jehovah  for  Elohim  under  the  influence  of 
the  usage  of  the  verses  preceding.  To  this  question  there  can  surely  be 
but  one  answer.  The  compiler  of  Chronicles  changes  convexs.&\y  Jehovah 
of  his  original  source  into  God,  neither  consistently  nor  with  apparent 
reason,  except  that  when  writing  independently,  he  evinces  a  preference 
for  the  latter  term  himself;  comp.  e.g.  2  Ch.  22^-  23^  25-^  33'  34'*'^  with 
2  Ki.  11^-  "^^  14^^  21'^  22'^-  ^^  respectively. 

The  more  special  characteristics  of  J,  E,  and  P,  and  the  question  of  their 
probable  dates,  will  be  considered  when  they  have  been  reviewed  in  their 
entirety  at  the  end  of  the  Book  of  Joshua. 


22  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


§  2.  Exodus. 

Literature  (in  addition  to  the  works  mentioned  above,  p.  i  f.). — Ad. 
Julicher,  Die  Quellen  von  Exodus  i.-vii.  7,  Halis  Sax.  1880,  and  Die  Quellen 
von  Exodus  vii.  8-xxiv.  ii,  in  \he.  Jahrbucher fiir  Protestantische  Theologie^ 
1882,  pp.  79-127,  272-315;  C.  A.  Briggs,  "The  Little  Book  of  the 
Covenant"  [Ex.  34"-26]  in  The  Hebrew  Student  (Chicago),  May  1883,  p. 
264  ff.  ;  ''The  Greater  Book  of  the  Covenant"  [Ex.  2d^-c.  23],  ib.  June  1883, 
p.  289  ff.  ;  J.  W.  Rothstein,  Das  Bundesbuch  u.  die  rel.-gesch.  Entwicklung 
Isr.  1888;  B.  W.  Bacon  in  the  Journ.  of  Bibl.  Lit.  1890,  p.  161  ff.  (on  Ex. 
7i4_i236) .  1891,  p.  107  ff.  (on  Ex.  1-7)  ;  1892,  p.  177  ff.  (on  Ex.  i2p-\^^^)  ; 
1893,  p.  23  ff.  (on  Ex.  18-34);  K.  Budde,  ZATW.  1891,  p.  99  ff. 
(Bemerkungen  zum  Bundesbuch),  p.  193  ff.  (chiefly  on  the  analysis  of  Ex. 
12-34) ;  B.  Baentsch,  Das  Bundesbuch^  seine  ursprungliche  Gestalt,  u.s.w. 
(1892);  B.  W.  Bacon,  The  Triple  Tradition  of  ^ the  Exodus  (Hartford, 
U.S.A.  1894)  [distinguishes  typographically  J,  E,  and  P,  to  the  end  of  the 
Pent.,  with  explanatory  introductions  and  notes;  but  the  grounds  of  the 
analysis  (in  Ex. )  are  stated  more  fully  in  the  articles  just  referred  to]. 

The  Book  of  Exodus  (called  by  the  Jews,  from  its  opening 
words,  niot^  n?&?1,  or  more  briefly  nilDC^)  carries  on  the  history 
of  the  Israelitish  nation  from  the  death  of  Joseph  to  the  erection 
of  the  Tabernacle  by  Moses  in  the  second  year  of  the  exodus 
(40^- 1'').  The  structure  of  the  book  is  essentially  similar  to  that 
of  Genesis,  the  same  sources,  P  and  JE,  appearing  still  side  by 
side,  and  exhibiting  the  same  distinctive  peculiarities.  It  will  be 
convenient,  in  analysing  the  book,  to  divide  it  into  sections, 
which  may  be  briefer  than  was  the  case  in  Genesis. 

I.  c.  i-ii.  Events  leading  to  the  deliverance  of  t]u  Israelites 
from  Egypt. 

C.  1-2.  The  continued  increase  of  Jacob's  posterity  in  Egypt, 
and  the  measures  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  checking  it  by  a 
"  new  king,"  unmindful  of  the  benefits  conferred  previously  upon 
[21]  his  country  by  Joseph  (c.  i).  The  birth  and  education  of 
Moses,  and  his  flight  from  Egypt  into  the  land  of  Midian  (c.  2). 

p   jl-5         7  13-14  223b-28 

'J  l«      8-12  2"-23a  (to  died) 

.E  1 15-22  2I-I4 

l^"'  repeats  the  substance  of  Gen.  dfd^-"^  (cf.  p.  7).  As  regards  2"'23a^  jt  jg 
true,  in  J,  Moses'  father-in-law  is  called  Hobab  (Nu  lo-**,  cf.  Jud.  4^^) ;  but  as 
no  name  is  mentioned  when  he  is  first  introduced  (v.^*^),  Reuelm  v.^^  is  very 


EXODUS 


23 


probably  a  gloss,  due  to  a  misconception  of  Nu  10^.  In  3^  4^^,  c.  18  (E),  he 
is  called  Jethro  :  the  variation  is  a  good  example  of  the  divergent  traditions  to 
be  found  in  the  Pentateuch. 


C.  3^-7^^.  Moses  is  commissioned  by  Jehovah  to  be  the 
deUverer  of  his  people;  his  preHminary  negotiations  with  the 
Israehtes  and  with  Pharaoh. 

c   P  63-7" 


7-8 


19-20a  422-6! 

20b-21 


In  c.  3  the  main  narrative  is  E  (notice  the  frequency  of  God 
y  4.  6b.  11. 12. 13a.  14a.  i5a)^  ^j^h  short  passages  from  J  ;  in  c.  4-6^, 
on  the  contrary,  the  main  narrative  is  J,  with  short  passages  from 
E.  The  verses  a^-'^^-  ^o^-'^i  are  assigned  to  E  on  account  of  their 
imperfect  connexion  with  the  context :  4^'''  speaks  of  "  the  signs  " 
to  be  done  with  the  rod,  whereas  only  one  sign  to  be  performed 
with  it  has  been  described  v.^"^;  4-^  mentions  wonders  to  be 
done  before  Pharaoh,  whereas  v.^-^  speaks  only  of  wonders  to  be 
wrought  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  people.  The  two  verses  read, 
in  fact,  like  fragments  from  another  narrative,  which  once,  of 
course,  contained  the  explanations  which  are  now  missing. 
Further,  in  the  existing  narrative,  v.^^,  from  its  contents,  is  not 
fitted  to  be  the  sequel  of  v.^^  :  it,  in  fact,  states  an  alternative 
ground  for  Moses' return  into  Egypt;  and  the  m.mQ  Jethro  makes 
it  probable  that  v.^^  belongs  to  the  same  current  of  narrative  as 
3I  and  c.  18  {i.e.  E) ;  hence  v.^^  will  be  referred  to  J.  V.^ob  goes 
naturally  with  v.i'"  (the  rod). 

Passing  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  passage  assigned  to  P 
(6^-7 1^),  and  comparing  it  with  JE  as  a  whole,  we  observe 
that  it  does  not  describe  the  sequel  of  3^-6^,  but  is  parallel  to 
it,  and  contains  a  partly  divergent  account  of  the  commission  of 
Moses,  and  of  the  preliminary  steps  taken  by  him  to  secure  the 
release  of  his  people.  This  will  be  apparent  if  the  narrative  [22] 
be  followed  attentively.  3^-61  describes  the  call  and  commission 
of  Moses,  the  nomination  of  Aaron  as  his  spokesman  with  the 
people  (3I6  41-  ^%  and  three  signs  given  to  him  for  the  satisfaction 
of  the  people  if  they  should  demand  his  credentials  :  Moses  and 
Aaron  have  satisfied  the  people  (4^^-  ^i),  but  their  application  to 
Pharaoh  has  proved  unsuccessful  (c.  5)  and  something  further  is 
threatened  (6I).     The  continuation  of  6^  is,  however,   7I*;  for 


24  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

though  the  revelation  and  commission  contained  in  6'^-^  might 
in  itself  he,  treated  as  a  repetition  of  that  in  c.  3,  its  different 
style  points  to  P  as  its  source,  and  the  sequel  shows  that  in  fact 
it  is  part  of  a.  parallel  narrative  of  Moses'  call  and  commission,  in 
which,  ufilike  4^1,  the  people  refuse  to  listen  to  the  promises  con- 
veyed to  them  (6^),  and  in  which,  upon  Moses'  protesting  his 
inability  to  plead,  not,  as  before,  with  the  people,  but  with 
Pharaoh,  Aaron  is  appointed  to  be  his  spokesman  with  him 
(611-12. 29-30  yi-2).  If  Pharaoh  had  already  refused  to  hear  him 
(as  he  would  have  done,  had  c.  5-6  formed  a  continuous  nar- 
rative), it  is  scarcely  possible  that  Moses  should  allege  (6^2)  a 
different,  a  priori  ground — a  ground,  moreover,  inconsistent  with 
4^1 — for  his  hesitation-  Aaron  having  been  thus  appointed 
Moses'  spokesman  with  Pharaoh,  the  case  of  the  king's  requiring 
a  guarantee  is  next  provided  for :  Aaron's  rod  is  to  be  thrown 
down  that  it  may  become  a  reptile  *  7^^-.  Pharaoh's  heart,  how- 
ever, is  hardened;  and  the  narrative  at  7^^  has  reached  just  the 
same  point  which  was  reached  in  6I.  The  parallelism  of  details 
which  prevails  between  the  two  narratives  is  remarkable ;  comp. 
62-8  and  36-9.14-15.  612b  (=30)  and  4^^  7^  and  4^^  7'^'  and  3i9f.  6i. 

C.  i^^-\\^^.  The  narrative  of  the  plagues. 
P  7i»-20a  (to  commanded)  2ib-22  gs-? 

[T  7I4-I8  23  25       81-4 1 

LE     "  (partly)  20b-2ia  (to  river)  -^ 

p  815b-19  q8-12 


u 


J  88-15a  8-O-9' 

f 


231)-34  Tr>l-7  13b-19 


■g  Q22-23a       24a       35  jo^"^^       ^'**  ^'"^ 


J  1028-29 

E  11^ 


u 

The  grounds  of  the  analysis  depend,  in  the  first  instance, 
upon  literary  criteria ;  which,  however,  are  remarkably  supported 
by  corresponding  differences  in  the  representation.  Reserving 
for  the  present  the  consideration  of  the  few  passages  referred  to 
E,  and  confining  our  attention  to  P  and  J,  we  observe  that  the 
narrative  of  the  plagues  is  marked  by  a  series  of  systematic  differ- 

*  p-iri  a  reptile,  not  cnj  a  serpent,  as  in  4^. 

t  The  verses  are  numbered  as  in  the  English  version. 


EXODUS  25 

ences,  relating  to  four  distinct  points — ^viz.  i.  the  terms  of  the 
command  addressed  to  Moses;  2.  the  demand  made  of  Pharaoh; 
3.  the  description  of  the  plague;  4.  the  formula  expressive  of 
Pharaoh's  obstinacy :  and  further,  that  these  differences  agree 
frequently  with  corresponding  differences  in  the  parts  of  the  pre- 
ceding narrative,  3^-6^,  which  have  been  assigned  (on  independent 
grounds)  to  P  and  JE  respectively.  Thus  in  P  Aaron  co-operates 
with  Moses,  and  the  command  is  Say  unto  Aaron  (7^^  8^- 1^;  so 
before,  in  7^:  even  9^  where  Moses  acts,  both  are  expressly 
addressed);  no  demand  is  ever  made  of  Pharaoh,  the  plagues 
being  viewed  rather  as  signs,  or  proofs  of  power,  than  as  having 
the  practical  object  of  securing  Israel's  release ;  the  description 
of  the  plague  is  brief,  seldom  extending  beyond  the  compass  of 
two  or  three  verses ;  the  success  or  failure  of  the  Egyptian 
magicians  (who  are  mentioned  only  in  this  narrative)  is  noted ; 
the  hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart  is  expressed  by  the  verb  ptn, 
P^n  {was  strong,  made  strong,  KY.marg.)  7^2  8^^  9^^  ii^^  (so  7^^), 
and  the  closing  formula  ^  is  And  Jie  hearkened  not  unto  them,  as 
Jehovah  had  spoken  {f^  8i5^-  ^^  9I2  (so  71^).  In  J,  on  the  con- 
trary, Moses  alone  (without  Aaron)  is  commissioned  to  present 
himself  before  Pharaoh:  he  addresses  Pharaoh  himself f  (in 
agreement  with  41^-^^,  where  Aaron  is  appointed  expressly  to  be 
Moses'  spokesman  with  the  people) ;  a  formal  demand  is  uniformly 
made.  Let  ?ny  people  go,  that  they  may  serve  me  {'j'^^  8^  91-13  10^ : 
compare  before  4^^  in  the  corresponding  narrative);  upon 
Pharaoh's  refusal,  the  plague  is  announced,  and  takes  [24]  effect, 
either  without  further  human  intervention  (8^^  9^),  or  at  a  signal 
given  by  Moses  (not  by  Aaron)  (7^^  g'^'^^-  i6^'^^-  ^2)  ^  the  interview 
with  Pharaoh  is  prolonged,  and  described  in  some  detail ;  some- 
times also  the  king  sends  for  Moses  and  Aaron  to  crave  their 
intercession  for  the  removal  of  the  plague  (8^-25  ^27  jqIG)  •  the 
term  used  to  express  the  hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart  is  was 
heavy  (n^)  or  made  heavy  (T-^Dn)   7I*  S^^-  ^2  97.  34   iqI  +     xhe 

*  Except  the  last  time,  ii^o  (cf.  6"^  7^^  ;  and  with  v.^,  7'*-3b). 

t  Aaron,  if  he  appears  at  all,  is  only  Moses'  silent  companion  :  8^  (see 
V.9. 10)25  (see  V.26-  29)  9'-^  (see  v.29).  In  lo^  it  is  doubtful  if  the  plural  "and 
they  said"  is  original :  notice  in  v.^^  "and  he  turned." 

X  The  two  words  pin  haj-d,  strong,  and  n33  heavy,  really  express  different 
ideas :  the  former  means  firm,  in  a  bad  sense  stubborn,  defiant  (cf.  Ez.  3'^'^), 
the  latter  slow  to  move  or  be  affected,  tinhnpressiotiable  (cf.  of  the  ear,  Is.  6^" 
59\  Zech.  7"  J  of  the  eye,  Gen.  48^0 ;  of  the  tongue,  Ex.  4^0)^ 


26  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

narrative  generally  is  written  in  a  more  picturesque  and  varied 
style  than  that  of  P ;  there  are  frequent  descriptive  touches,  and 
the  dialogue  is  abundant.  In  a  word,  the  two  currents  of  nar- 
rative display  just  the  same  contrasted  literary  characteristics 
which  they  exhibit  in  the  Book  of  Genesis. 

Recurring  phrases  which  mark  this  narrative  and  distinguish  it  from  that 
of  P  are  (besides  "  Let  my  people  go,"  &c.,  and  123,  ^'22n  of  the  heart,  just 
noted)  refuseth  (|nd),  esp.  followed  by  "  to  let  the  people  go,"  7^"  8^  92  io=^-  ^ 
(so  before  4^3) ;  715  serpent  (t^na),  see  4^  j  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  said  regularly 
to  Pharaoh  (so  4^  5^) ;  behold  .  .  .  with  the  participle  in  the  announcement 
of  the  plague  7"  S^-  21  98.  is  io4  (so  428) ;  border  82  lo^- 1^.  w ;  thoti,  thy  people, 
and  thy  servants  8*-  *•  ^-  "•  21-  29  914^*  cf.  lo^  i2»o ;  God  of  the  Hebrews  7I8  91-  ^3 
\&  (so  3I8  58) ;  to  intreat  88-  9-  28.  29  ^28  ^^n  .^  ^^^h  as  hath  not  been  Sec.  9"^-  24  1 16, 
cf.  10®-  ";  to  sever  {jh^r\)  822  9^  n? ;  the  end  or  object  of  the  plague  (or  cir- 
cumstance attending  it)  stated  8^<'-22  914. 16.29b  jo2b  „?, 

The  grounds  for  believing  that  what  remains  in  the  narrative 
of  the  plagues  after  the  separation  of  P  is  not  perfectly  homo- 
geneous, but  contains  elements  due  to  E,  are,  stated  briefly,  as 
follows.  Reasons  were  given  above  (p.  23)  for  concluding  that 
the  two  verses  4^'"'^^,  which  speak  of  the  rod  of  Moses,  were 
not  originally  part  of  the  context  in  which  they  are  now  found, 
and  they  were  assigned  accordingly  to  E.  Now,  in  the  narrative 
of  the  plagues,  the  effect  in  certain  cases  is  brought  about  not 
immediately  by  God,  but  by  the  intervention  oi  Moses'  rod{^^'^-  20^ 
923  ioi3).  It  is  difficult  not  to  connect  the  passages  in  which 
the  rod  is  thus  named  with  4^''"^^,  and  to  treat  both  as  notices 
derived  from  the  same  source  E.  The  opinion  that  the  parts  of 
the  narrative  which  remain  after  the  [25]  separation  of  P  are  to  some 
extent  composite,  is  confirmed  by  other  indications.  Thus  in  yi'' 
the  transition  from  the  "  I "  of  God  to  the  "  I  "  of  Moses  is 
abrupt  and  (in  the  historical  books)  unusual;  hence  the  sus- 
picion arises  that  originally  the  subject  of  /  will  S77iite  was 
Jehovah  (cf.  y?^^)^  and  that  the  words  "  with  the  rod  that  is  in 
mine  hand"  were  introduced  by  the  compiler  of  JE  from  the 
other  source  used  by  him.  By  the  side  of  9^^^,  v.^^^  would  seem 
to  be  superfluous. 

The  analysis  of  JE  is  often  difficult,  and  that  there  are  points  in  it  at 
which  finality  has  not  been  reached,  is  generally  admitted  by  critics  (cf. 
p.   14) ;  and   Bacon  (who  handles  the   subject   with   much  ability),    in   the 

*  The  symmetry  of  this  verse  is  much  improved,  if,  with  Hitzig,  for  ^^'?  *?« 
we  read  ?J3  n^N. 


EXODUS  27 

articles  mentioned  on  p.  22,  has  made  important  contributions  towards  the 
separation  of  J  and  E,  especially  in  Ex.  7-1 1.  The  writer  hesitates  to  adopt 
absolutely  results  on  which  at  present  (Dec.  1896)  no  judgment  has  been  ex- 
pressed by  other  scholars  ;  but  Bacon's  analysis  of  JE  in  Ex.  i-ii  ought  not 
to  be  withheld  from  the  reader  (in  c.  3  and  c.  4,  according  to  the  Triple 
Tradition,  p.  i6ff.) : — 

rj  Ex.    1 6-  8-12  20b  15-23a  2-4a  ^to  see)  ^       7-8  16-18 

1  T?  15-20a  21-22  21-14  3^  4b         6  9-15  19-22 

J  ^l-14a  15-16  19-20a  (^q  Egypt)  ^2-26  29-31  8      6-23  ^14 

14b  17-18  20b-21  27-28  ^1-2      4  5I 


{ 
/J 

IE  f 


16-  "  *         18  21a  (to/r^///  the  river) 

17 1        20  (from  and  he  lifted) 


J  J   81-4.  8-15a  (to  hea?^t)   20-32  9I-7.  13-21  23b-24  25b-« 

IE  922-23*  (to  earth)  25a  (to  3east) 

n  10I-"  13b  ^^^--^'^  {to  darkened) 

lE  935*  (to  g-o)  »2-i3a  (to  Egypt)      14a  (to  land  0/ Egypt) 

/-T  lSc-19  24-26         28-29  4-8 

\E  lolSb  (to  /<?/?)  20-23  27  iil-3 

The  parts  not  included  in  this  table  belong  to  P.  i22»-3o  ig  the  sequel  to 
11^-8  in  J,  and  1235-36  the  sequel  to  iii-^  in  E.  3!^  4^2-28  717a  (cc  j^^  this  thou 
Shalt  know  that  I  am  Jehovah")  Sio^  ("to  the  end,"  &c.)  22b  ^wb-ie.  19-21. 29b 
("  that,"  &c.)30  iQib  ("for  I,"  &c.)  2-3a  (to  "  Pharaoh,"  the  next  words  being 
supposed  to  have  read  originally  and  say)  ii''',  which  are  of  the  nature  of 
didactic  comments,  are  regarded  (after  other  critics)  as  probably  editorial 
additions  ;  and  9^^^  ("as  Jehovah,"  &c.)  is  borrowed  by  the  compiler  from  P's 
formula  718  gi^  &c.).  In  7!^  the  words  "which  was  turned  to  a  serpent"  are 
a  harmonistic  insertion  (cf.  4I'  LXX). 

The  variations  from  previous  critics  are  deliberate,  and  supported  by  argu- 
ment :  as  Bacon  shows,  his  predecessors  had  at  certain  points  (notably  at 
jq24-2«)  failed  to  discover  the  true  clues.  The  effect  of  this  analysis  is  to  dis- 
engage two  narratives,  each  (substantially)  complete,  and  each  (as  Bacon  is 
careful  to  point  out)  consistent  with  itself,  and  dominated  by  a  distinctive 
unity  of  character  and  representation  ;  in  the  hands  of  previous  critics,  E's 
narrative  has  been  mostly  fragmentary.  Thus,  upon  Bacon's  view,  E  preserves 
more  closely  than  J  does  the  connexion  with  the  patriarchal  period  :  there  are 
only  3-4  generations  from  Joseph  to  Moses  (Gen.  5028,  cf.  Nu.  32^'^) ;  he 
pictures  the  Israelites  accordingly  as  a  relatively  small  clan,  capable  of  being 
served  by  two  midwives  :  in  J,  Israel  is  a  populous  nation  ;  Ex  1^  covers  the 
gap  between  the  patriarchs  and  Moses,  and  allows  time  for  the  multiplication 
of  Jacob's  descendants.     In  E,  again,  the  Israelites  are  "royal  pensioners," 

*  Reading,  "Thus  saith  Jehovah,  Behold,  I  will  smite  the  river"  :  cf.  y.-\ 
t  Reading,  "And  thou  shalt  smite  with  the  rod  that  is  in  thine  hand  upon 
the  waters  which  are  in  the  river,  an^  they  shall  become  blood." 


28  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

dependent  upon  Pharaoh's  bounty  (comp.  Gen.  45"  47^^^  cf.  50-^ ;  45^^  46'), 
and  they  live  side  by  side  with  the  Egyptians  (Ex  3^2  11 2) ;  in  J  they  are  inde- 
pendent owners  of  cattle  {g^-  ^  lo^-  ^-  ^^  i2'^2-38;  cf.  Gen.  45^°  46^2)^  ^nd  they 
reside  apart  in  the  pastoral  district  of  Goshen  (Ex.  8^  9^^ ;  cf.  Gen.  45^" 
4528.  29.  34  47I.  4.  6b.  27a j^  j^  E,  further,  Pharaoh  is  depicted  as  stubborn  and 
defiant,  his  refusal  is  peremptory  and  complete  ;  in  J  he  is  weak-minded  and 
deceitful  (8-^),  he  promises  release,  and  craves  Moses'  intercession,  but  after- 
wards evades  his  promise.  Other  characteristics  of  the  two  representations  are 
also  pointed  out  by  Bacon.  The  literary  distinctions  between  the  two  narra- 
tives remain  substantially  as  before ;  J  is  graphic,  and  abounds  in  colloquy  ; 
E,  though  complete,  is  brief  and  ungarnished.  The  concluding  formula  in  E 
is  and  FharaoKs  heart  was  hardened  [pin  lit.  was  strong\  (or  and  Jehovah 
hardened  Pharaoh'' s  heari),  and  he  did  not  let  the  children  of  Israel  (or  them) 
go  9^  (contrast  J's  phrase,  v.^^b)  iqSO-  27  (^f.  421 E).  P  uses  the  same  verb  pin, 
but  follows  it  usually  by  and  he  hearkened  not  unto  thetn,  as  Jehovah  had  spoken. 

II.  c.  12-19^.  The  last  plague,  the  departure  of  the  Israelites 
from  Egypt,  and  their  journey  to  Sinai. 

C.  12-13.  The  institution  of  the  Passover,  and  the  Feast  of 
Unleavened  Cakes.  The  death  of  the  first-born  of  the  Egyptians, 
and  journey  of  the  IsraeUtes  from  Rameses  to  Succoth.  The 
law  respecting  the  dedication  of  the  first-born  (12I-13I6).  March 
of  the  Israelites  from  Succoth  to  Etham,  on  the  border  of  the 
wilderness  (13^^"^^). 

r     P  I2^"2'       28  87a  40-51   j  ^If.  20 

1^  \^  E  31-30        37b-39   42a«  j  ^17-19 

In  c.  1 2"!  3  the  double  treatment  is  peculiarly  evident.  We 
have  {a)  i2^-i^  (Passover);  v.^'^'^^f  {Mazzoth  or  Unleavened 
Cakes) ;  v.^s-  37a.  40-41. 51  (narrative) ;  v.^^-^o  (Passover— supplement- 
ary);  131^-  (first-born):  (b)  1221-27  (Passover);  v.29-36. 37b-39. 42a 
(narrative, — continuation  of  11^-^);  133-10  (Unleavened  Cakes); 
v.ii-i^  (first-born) :  the  former  narrative  exhibits  throughout  the 
marks  of  P ;  the  latter,  those  of  JE.  The  Passover,  it  is  to  be 
observed,  though  followed  by  the  Feast  of  Mazzoth  (Unleavened 
Cakes),  is  distinct  from  it  both  in  its  origin  and  in  its  observance ; 
and  the  distinction  is  recognised  in  both  [26]  narratives,  especially 
in  that  of  JE.  The  injunction  in  P  respecting  the  first-born  (131^-) 
is  here  isolated ;  the  full  explanation  is  first  given  Nu.  312^-  Si^-i^. 

*  I2^2b^  the  Hebrew  of  which  is  very  strange  (nin  n"?'"?.!  Nin),  appears  to  be 
a  gloss  (Budde,  ZATIV.  1891,  p.  2Cxd  ;  Bacon). 

t  V.i"  refers  to  the  first  day  of  Mazzoth  (Lev.  23^),  not  to  the  Passover. 


EXODUS  29 

The  distinction  between  P  and  JE  in  c.  12  is  sufficiently 
established  upon  literary  grounds  ;  but  a  material  justification  of 
the  analysis  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  12-^-'^'^  cannot  be  the 
original  sequel  of  i2i-20  (or  rather,  of  i2i-^3 .  fQj-  v.-4-2o  does  not 
concern  the  Fassover  at  all).  The  verses  do  not  describe  the 
execution  of  the  commands  received  by  Moses  in  v.^'^^^  Moses 
does  not  repeat  to  the  people,  even  in  an  abridged  form,  the 
injunctions  before  received  by  him ;  but  while  several  points  of 
importance  {e.g.  the  character  of  the  lamb,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  to  be  eaten)  are  omitted,  fresh  points  (the  hyssop, 
the  basin,  none  to  leave  the  house),  not  mentioned  before,  are 
added.  The  inference  is  irresistible  that  1221-27  is  really  part  of 
a  different  account  of  the  institution  of  the  Passover,  which 
"  stands  to  123-1^  in  the  same  relation  that  the  regulations  respect- 
ing Mazzoth  in  133-10  stand  to  those  in  121^-20"  (Dillm.  p.  100). 
Y  25-27  is  conceived  entirely  in  the  spirit  of  parts  of  13^-16  (see 
V.5. 8. 10.  i4f.j .  it  is  probable,  therefore,  that  both  passages  are  of 
similar  origin,  and  may  be  referred  either  to  J  (Dillm.)  or  to  the 
compiler  of  J E  expanding  materials  derived  from  J  (so  Wellh.,  at 
least  for  13^'^^). 

A  noticeable  difference  between  P  and  JE  is  the  greater  specialization  and 
strictness  of  the  provisions  contained  in  the  former  narrative  {e.g.  12^^^-  ^^'-  43-49^_ 
As  regards  the  parts  assigned  to  E,  with  v.^^^  comp.  3^^  lo^-  ^^'  ^^ ;  with  v.^^, 
io9. 24b  .  ^ith  v.35f-,  32if.  n^t-  (all  E) ;  in  i3"-i9  notice  God  (not  Jehovah)  four 
times;  and  with  v.^^  comp.  Gen.  50^^,  in  a  context  which  (on  independent 
grounds)  is  assigned  to  the  same  source,  y-^^-^^  deserve  attention,  being 
exidently  intended  as  an  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  Feast  of  **  Un- 
leavened Cakes."     See  further,  on  c.  12-13,  Delitzsch,  Studien^  vii.  p.  337  ff.. 

C.  14-15.  The  passage  of  the  Red  Sea;  Moses'  Song  of 
Triumph ;  the  journey  of  the  Israelites  to  Marah  and  Elim. 

P  14I-4        8-9  15-18  21a  (to  (wer  the  sea) 


J  »-7        io^  {to  afraid)        "'"  ^^^'^ 

{  £  lOb  19a 

[27] 

P  21c.  22-23  '■^•^^  (to  over  the  sea)  28-29 


J  21b  (to  dry  latid) 
I    E 


27b  SO-31 


(15I9) 


30  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

The  passages  assigned  to  P  will  be  found  to  be  connected  both  with  each 
other  and  with  other  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  belonging  to  the  same  source  : 
thus  "harden  (pjn)  the  heart"  v."*  recurs  v.®-",  and  is  the  same  term  that  is 
used  by  P  in  the  narrative  of  the  plagues  (p.  25) ;  "  get  me  honour  "  ib.  recurs 
y  17. 18  Lgy_  jqS  j  cdmp.  also  v.^*  ^^  "  and  the  Egyptians  shall  know,"  &c.  (cf.  (P 
7'  16'-);  v.^-^  "and  the  Egyptians  pursued";  v.^-^  "the  dry  land"  and 
"the  wall "  ;  v.^^- 21  " divide "  ;  the  repetitions  (in  the  manner  of  P)  in  v.^'''-  as 
compared  with  v.*,  in  v.^^  as  compared  with  v.^^,  in  v. 29  as  compared  with  v.^^^ 
The  particulars  of  the  analysis  depend  to  a  certain  extent  upon  the  apparently 
double  character  of  the  narrative  in  some  parts  of  the  chapter.  As  regards  the 
parts  attributed  to  E,  with  v.^^b  comp.  Josh.  24^  (E) ;  with  v.^^,  Gen.  ^x^'' 
31"  (the  "angel  of  God^^).  It  is  possible  that  other  traits  in  the  narrative 
also  have  their  source  in  E  {e.g.  v.^^  "lift  up  thy  rod^^ ;  comp.  above,  p.  26). 
1428b  may  be  a  notice  derived  from  J  (comp.  8^^  9^  10^^). 

In  c.  15  the  Song  {v. ^^-'^^,  cf.  v.20-21)  is,  of  course,  incorporated  by  E  from 
an  earlier  source — perhaps  from  a  collection  of  national  poems.  V.^^  appears 
to  be  a  later  redactional  addition,  reverting,  in  terms  borrowed  from  P  (see 
1^23. 26. 29bj^  i-o  ti^g  occasion  of  the  Song.  The  Song  itself  appears  to  have 
undergone  some  expansion,  or  modification  of  form,  at  a  later  age;  for  v.^^ 
("Thou  hast  guided  them  to  Thy  holy  habitation")  appears  clearly  to  describe 
xiiPast  event,  and  v."**  points  to  %ovs\^  fixed  abode  of  the  ark — the  temple  at 
Shiloh  (i  Sa.  i^),  if  not  (Riehm,  Einl.  i.  299  f.)  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  (the 
verbs  in  v.^'^may  be  translated  as  pasts  or  futures  indifferently).  In  v.^^"^we 
seem  indeed  (to  use  Dillmann's  expression)  to  hear  Moses  himself  speaking  ; 
and  both  Dillm.  and  DeHtzsch  {Gen.  p.  29)  agree  with  Ewald  {Die  Dichter 
des  A.B.s,  i.  i,  p.  175 ;  cf.  Hist.  ii.  354)  in  supposing  that  the  Song,  as  a 
whole,  is  a  later  expansion  of  the  Mosaic  theme  contained  in  v.i*'"^, — 
perhaps  designed  originally  as  a  festal  Passover-song  (Is.  302^).  Probably, 
however,  the  greater  part  of  the  Song  is  Mosaic,  and  the  modification,  or 
expansion,  is  limited  to  the  closing  verses ;  for  the  general  "style  is  antique, 
and  the  triumphant  tone  which  pervades  it  is  just  such  as  might  naturally  have 
been  inspired  by  the  event  which  it  celebrates. 

C.  16-192.  The  journey  of  the  Israelites  from  Elim  to  Sinai, 
including  particulars  respecting  the  quails  and  manna  given  to 
the  people  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai  (c.  16);  the  miraculous 
supply  of  water  at  Rephidim,  and  the  conflict  with  Amalek  at 
the  same  place  (c.  17);  the  meeting  with  Jethro,  and  the  counsel 
given  by  him  to  Moses  (c.  18). 

[28] 

p  1 61-8      6-24        31-36  j^ia  (^  Rephidim)  i9i-2» 

'J  4-6  25-30  l7l*'-2         7 

.E  »-8      8-16  c.    18  192b 


In  c.  16  the  parts  assigned  to  P  have  many  marks  of  his  style  which  are 
absent  from  the  rest  of  the  chap.  (cf.  p.  131  fF.     There  are  also  corresponding 


EXODUS  31 

differences  of  representation :  thus  in  v.^"'  {evening  and  morning,  agreeing 
with  \.^-^^ flesh  at  evening,  and  ^r^aaf  at  morning)  the  communication  made 
to  the  people  is  different  in  its  terms  from  that  given  in  v.^""  to  Moses  {bread 
alone,  with  no  distinction  of  morning  and  evening) ;  and  v."^-'^  agrees  with  v.*■^ 
In  the  text  of  P  a  transposition  appears  to  have  taken  place  ;  for  v."'^^  j-j^g  com- 
mand to  speak  to  the  people /^//<?wj  the  account  v.  ^^^  of  the  actual  delivery  to 
them  of  the  message  ;  probably  the  original  order  was  v.^-^-  ^-^^'  ^-^'  ^'  &c. 

C.  18,  though  in  one  or  two  places  (as  in  parts  of  v.^-^-s-io) 
there  may  be  traces  of  the  hand  of  the  compiler  of  JE,  is  other- 
wise an  excerpt  from  E ;  notice  the  preponderance  in  the  chapter 
of  God  (not  Jehovah).  The  chapter  is  one  of  great  historical 
interest ;  it  exhibits  to  us  a  picture  of  Moses  legislating.  Disputes 
arise  among  the  people ;  the  contending  parties  come  to  Moses 
to  have  them  settled;  he  adjudicates  between  them;  and  his 
judgments  are  termed  "the  statutes  and  directions  {Toroth)  of 
God  "  (v.i^).  It  was  the  historic  function  of  the  priests  to  give 
direction  (min,  min)  upon  cases  submitted  to  them,  in  matters 
both  of  civil  right  (Dt.  ly^^)  and  ceremonial  observance  {ib.  24^)* ; 
and  here  Moses  himself  appears  discharging  the  same  function, 
and  so  laying  the  foundation  of  Hebrew  law. 
III.  19^-c.  40.  Israel  at  Sinai. 

{a)  The  solemn  establishment  of  the  theocracy  at  Sinai  (see 
19^-8  24^-^)  on  the  basis  of  the  Ten  Commandments  (2o^-^''),  and 
of  a  Code  of  laws  (2022-2333)  regulating  the  social  life  and 
religious  observances  of  the  people,  and  called  the  "  Book  of  the 
Covenant"  (24^");  {b)  the  giving  of  directions  to  Moses  on 
Mount  Sinai  for  the  construction  of  the  Tabernacle,  with  the 
vessels  and  appointments  belonging  to  it,  for  the  consecration  of 
Aaron  and  his  sons  as  priests,  the  selection  of  Bezaleel  and 
Oholiab  to  execute  the  skilled  work  that  was  necessary,  and  the 
delivering  to  Moses  of  the  two  Tables  of  the  Law  (2412-3118) ;  (c) 
the  incident  of  the  Golden  Calf,  Moses'  intercession  [29]  on  behalf 
of  the  people,  and  the  renewal  of  the  covenant  (c.  32-34);  {d)  the 
construction  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  appurtenances  in  accord- 
ance with  the  directions  prescribed  in  c.  25-31,  and  its  erection 
(40^'')  on  the  first  day  of  the  second  year  of  the  exodus  (c.  35-40). 


i 


J  1920-26  24I-2  »-" 

.|e  j93'19  (in  the  main)  20I-21 2022-2333  »-»  ^^-w 

Cf.  Mic.  3^^  (give  direction) ;  ftag.  2^^  (ask  now  direction  of  the  priests). 


32  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

P  24i5-i8a  (to  clQ^^^  25I-3 1 18*  (to  testimony^ 

_ 

E  2418b  3ll8b22l-8 

P  34= 


I  \e  32^5-33^*  33'""  33^^-34^^ 

The  structure  of  JE's  narrative  of  the  transactions  at  Sinai  19^- 
24i4-i8b  a^j  3ii8b_2428  jg  Complicated,  and  there  are  parts  in 
which  the  analysis  (so  far  as  concerns  J  and  E)  must  be  regarded 
as  provisional  only.  Nevertheless,  the  composite  character  of 
the  narrative  seems  to  be  unmistakable.  Thus  in  c.  19  the 
natural  sequel  of  v.^  ivent  up  would  be,  not  v.^  came,  but  v.^* 
went  down :  v.^  is  superfluous  after  v.^^  (if,  indeed,  it  be  more 
than  an  accidental  repetition  of  it) :  v.^^^  is  isolated,  and  not 
explained  by  anything  which  follows  (for  the  "trumpet"  of 
v.^^-^9  is  not  the  "ram's-horn"  of  this  verse).  In  the  latter  part 
of  the  chapter  v.^^^-^  interrupt  the  connexion  :  v.^^  is  a  repetition 
of  v.is*  ("  descended  "),  and  v.^^  of  v.^^ .  ^^^  priests  and  Aaron 
are  introduced  without  preparation :  v.^^  "  and  said  ("irDS''1)  unto 
them  "  (not  "  and  told  them  ")  should  be  followed  by  a  statement 
of  the  words  reported,  and  is  quite  disconnected  with  20^ :  on 
the  other  hand,  20^  is  the  natural  continuation  of  19^^.  It  is 
evident  that  two  parallel  narratives  of  the  theophany  on  Sinai 
have  been  combined  together,  though  it  is  no  longer  possible  to 
determine  throughout  the  precise  limits  of  each.  192-1^  (though 
parts  of  v.^"^  may  [30]  be  derived  from  J)  belongs  in  the  main  to 
E ;  the  sequel  (as  just  said)  is  formed  by  20^,  introducing  the 
Decalogue  {q.qP--^'^),  and  the  following  verses  2o^^"2i  f  (notice  God 
in  193. 17. 19b  2O1-19-20.21)  &c.  In  c.  24,  v.3-8  is  manifestly  the 
sequel  to  c.  23.  V.^-^-^-n  interrupt  the  connexion:  their  origin 
has  been  disputed ;  but  they  are  probably  to  be  referred  to  J. 

According  to  Bacon,  they  form  the  sequel  to  19^^  (from  and  there)  i^-  22-24.  24 
[rendering,  "and  Aaron  with  thee,  and  the  priests ;  but  let  not  the  people," 
&c.],  "^  (from>^),  12-13  [the  emph.  T(or\  "they"  in  v.""  obtaining  by  the 
transposition  a  suitable  antecedent  in  the  priests  of  v.  ^\  ^  (2oi"2i  being  the 

*  In  the  main. 

t  Whether  Kuenen  is  right  in  his  suggestion  {Th.  Tijdschr.  1884,  p.  190) 
that  20I8-21  stood  originally  in  E  between  1915-19  and  20I,  may  be  doubted, 
notwithstanding  the  assent  of  Wellh.  Comp.  327  f.,  and  Budde,  ZATW.  1891, 
p.  229 :  Dt.  528'28  appears  to  show  the  contrary. 


EXODUS 


33 


sequel  to  iqS-"*-  14-i7.  i9  in  E).  On  the  attribution  of  the  Book  of  the  Covenant 
to  E,  see  Dillm.  p.  220;  ] ulidier, /FTA.  1882,  p.  205 f.  ;  Budde,  ZAT14^. 
1891,  p.  215  f.  ;  Wellh.  Comp.  p.  327. 

The  Decalogue  was,  of  course,  derived  by  E  from  a  pre- 
existing source,  at  least  the  substance  of  it  being  engraven  on 
the  tables  in  the  Ark,  and  incorporated  by  him  in  his  narrative. 
Some  interesting  critical  questions  arise  from  a  comparison  of 
the  Decalogue  as  here  given  with  the  form  in  which  it  is  repeated 
in  Dt.  (5^'^^),  where,  although  it  is  introduced  ostensibly  (v.^-  22)  as 
a  verbal  quotation,  it  presents  considerable  differences  from  the 
text  of  Exodus.  The  differences  are  most  remarkable  in  the 
4th,  5th,  and  loth  Commandments,  which  are  here  printed  in 
parallel  columns,  the  variations  being  indicated  by  italics  : — 


Ex.  20. 
8.  Remember  the  sabbath  day  to 
keep  it  holy. 

9.  Six  days  shalt  thou 
labour,  and  do  all  thy  work  :  10.  but 
the  seventh  day  is  a  sabbath  unto 
Jehovah  thy  God  :  in  it  thou  shalt  not 
do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor 
thy  daughter,  thy  man-servant, 

nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor 

thy  cattle, 
nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy 
gates : 

II.  For  in  six  days  Jehovah  made 
heaven,  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all 
that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh 
day :  therefore  Jehovah  blessed  the 
sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it. 


[31]  12.  Honour  thy  father  and  thy 
mother, 

that  thy  days  may  be 
long 

upon  the  land  which  Jehovah 
thy  God  is  giving  thee. 


Dt.  5. 

12.  Observe  the  sabbath  day  to 
keep  it  holy,  as  Jehovah  thy  God  com- 
manded thee.  13,  Six  days  shalt  thou 
labour,  and  do  all  thy  work  :  14.  but 
the  seventh  day  is  a  sabbath  unto 
Jehovah  thy  God  :  in  it  thou  shalt  not 
do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor 
thy  daughter,  nor  thy  man-servant, 
nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor  thine  ox, 
nor  thine  ass,  nor  any  of  thy  cattle, 
nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy 
gates  :  in  order  that  thy  man-servant 
and  thy  maid-servant  may  rest  as  well 
as  thou.  15.  And  thou  shalt  remem- 
ber that  thou  wast  a  servant  in  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  Jehovah  thy  God 
brought  thee  out  thence  by  a  mighty 
hand,  and  by  a  stretched  out  arm : 
therefore  Jehovah  thy  God  commanded 
thee  to  keep  the  sabbath  day. 

16.  Honour  thy  father  and  thy 
mother,  as  Jehovah  thy  God  com- 
manded thee:  that  thy  days  may  be 
long,  and  that  it  may  be  well  with 
thee,  upon  the  land  which  Jehovah 
thy  God  is  giving  thee. 


17.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy         21.  And  thou  shalt  not  covet  thy 

neighbour's  house,  thou  shalt  not     neighbour's  wife,  and  thou  shalt  not 

covet  thy  neighbour's  wife,  ^       desire  thy  neighbour's  house,  his  field. 


34  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

or  his  man-servant,  or  his  maid-ser-  or  his  man-servant,  or  his  maid-ser- 
vant, or  his  ox,  or  his  ass,  or  anything  vant,  his  ox,  or  his  ass,  or  anything 
that  is  thy  neighbour's.  that  is  thy  neighbour's. 

The  principal  variations  are  in  agreement  with  the  style  of 
Dt,  and  the  author's  hand  is  recognisable  in  them.  Thus  with 
Observe  v.^^  comp.  Dt.  16^;  with  as  Jehovah  thy  God  commanded 
thee  (which  is  not  strictly  appropriate  in  what  purports  to  be  a 
7'eport  of  the  words  spoken),  20^^  24^  26^^;  with  the  spirit  of 
v.i*^  1429  15IO;  with  the  motive  of  gratitude  in  v.^^,  15^^  i6ii-i2 
24I8. 22.  and  with  the  addition  in  v.i^b  529  [Heb.  26]  518  1225.28 
22''.  Does,  however,  even  the  text  of  Ex.  exhibit  the  Decalogue 
in  its  primitive  form  ?  It  is  an  old  and  probable  supposition,* 
suggested  in  part  by  the  fact  of  this  varying  text,  that  in  its 
original  form  the  Decalogue  consisted  merely  of  the  Command- 
ments themselves,  and  that  the  explanatory  comments  appended 
in  certain  cases  were  only  added  subsequently.  Thus,  according 
to  this  view,  the  2nd,  4th,  and  5th  Commandments  read  origin- 
ally— 

"  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself  any  graven  image." 
**  Remember  the  sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy." 
"  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother." 

All  the  Commandments  would  thus  be  moulded  in  uniform 
shape,  and  would  be  expressed  in  the  same  terse  and  simple 
form  in  which  the  ist,  and  the  6th  to  the  9th,  appear  now.  It 
has  further  been  conjectured  that,  as  the  comments  in  v.^- 1<^- 12 
bear  a  singular  resemblance  to  the  style  of  Dt.,  they  were  in  the 
first  instance  added  in  that  book,  and  thence  transferred  sub- 
sequently to  Ex.;  and  that,  as  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  the 
author  of  Dt.  would  omit  part  of  the  Decalogue  (though  he  might 
[32]  for  the  purpose  of  explanation  «^^  clauses),  v.^^  may  have  been 
only  introduced  into  the  text  of  Ex.  after  Dt.  was  written.  As 
regards  the  first  of  these  conjectures,  it  is  no  doubt  attractive  and 
plausible.  In  the  phrase  "them  that  love  me"  v.^  there  is 
embodied  a  thought  which  in  the  Pent,  is  confined  to  Dt,  viz. 
the  love  of  God,  which  in  that  book  is  made  the  foundation  of 
all  human  action  {e.g.  6^  1012  jji  ^/^).  the  expression  "within 
thy  gates"  y?^  (=  in  thy  cities)  is  all  but  peculiar  to  Dt, 
occurring  in  it  twenty-nine  times ;  the  expressions  in  v.12  « ^h^t 
thy  days  may  be  long,"  and  "  the  land  which  Jehovah  thy  God 
*  Ewald,  Hist.  ii.  159;  Speakei^s  Comm.  p.  336;  Dillmann,  p.  201. 


EXODUS  35 

is  giving  thee,"  are  also  (especially  the  latter)  of  repeated  occur- 
rence in  the  same  book  (neither  occurring  elsewhere  in  the  Pent.). 
These  facts  possess  undoubtedly  considerable  weight.  It  is, 
however,  some  objection  to  the  inference  which  they  appear  to 
authorize,  that  the  clauses  in  question  (as  a  glance  at  the  parallel 
columns  will  show)  are  not  incorporated  entire  in  Exodus.  If  the 
clauses  were  transferred  to  Ex.  from  Dt.,  it  is  not  apparent  why 
portions  of  them  were  omitted.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  the 
more  probable  view  appears  to  be  that  these  clauses  are  in  their 
original  place  in  Exodus,  and  that  they  are  of  the  same  character 
as  certain  other  sections  in  Ex.,  chiefly  of  a  parenetic  or  hortatory 
character  (as  133-16  2320-33)^  which  do  exhibit  an  approximation 
to  the  style  of  Dt.,  and  which  are  the  source  of  certain  of  the 
expressions  which  were  adopted  afterwards  by  the  author  of 
Dt.,  and  became  part  of  his  phraseology."*  Certainly,  the  ex- 
pression "  within  thy  gates,"  and  the  phrases  in  v.^^^  read  more 
disti?ictively  Deuteronomic  than  those  occurring  in  the  sections 
referred  to ;  but  (unless  the  text  of  the  Decalogue  has  passed 
through  phases  respecting  which  we  can  but  speculate)  the 
explanation  proposed  seems  to  be  the  most  reasonable  one.  If 
it  be  correct,  the  additions  in  Dt.  will,  of  course,  be  of  the  nature 
of  further  comments  upon  the  text  of  Exodus.  V.^^,  however, 
stands  upon  a  different  footing:  not  only  does  it  supply  no 
elements  for  the  style  of  Dt.,  but  it  is  dissimilar  in  style  to  JE  : 
in  its  first  clause  it  resembles  closely  3I^^^  and  in  its  second 
Gen.  2 2^ — both  passages  belonging  to  P.  As  there  is  force  in 
the  remark  that  the  author  of  Dt.  is  not  likely  to  have  omitted 
the  verse  had  it  formed  part  of  the  Decalogue  at  the  time  when 
he  wrote,  it  is  not  improbable  that  [33]  it  was  introduced  into  the 
text  of  Exodus  subsequently,  upon  the  basis  of  the  two  verses 
of  P  just  cited. 

The  laws  contained  in  the  "  Book  of  the  Covenant "  (20^2- 
23^3)  comprise  two  elements  (24^),  the  "words"  (or  commands) 
and  the  "judgments":  the  latter,  expressed  all  hypothetically, 
occupy  2ii-2  2^''-25a-26  23*^' j  the  formcr  occupy  the  rest  of  the 
section  to  23!^;  what  follows,  2320-33,  annexing  2^  promise  in  case 
of  obedience,  as  Wellh.  observes,  imparts  to  the  preceding  law- 
book the  character  of  a  "  covenant "  (cf.  24^).  The  laws  them- 
selves are  taken  naturally  from  a  pre-existing  source,  though  their 
*  The  expressions  ref^red  to  are  noted  below,  p.  99  f. 


36  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

form,  in  particular  cases,  may  be  due  to  the  compiler  who  united 
J  and  E  into  a  whole.  The  main  body  of  the  "judgments," 
2ii_2  2i7,  seems  to  have  undergone  no  alteration  of  form;  but 
in  the  following  parts  of  the  section  most  critics  are  of  opinion 
that  slight  parenetic  additions  have  been  made  by  the  compiler, 
e.g.  2  2^1^-22  (observe  in  v.^^  [Heb.  ^^]  /it'm,  /le,  his  in  the  Hebrew, 
pointing  back  to  the  singular  "  sojourner  "  in  v.^i) ;  and  in  the 
final  exhortation,  2323-25**  (which  anticipates  unduly  v.27f',  and 
disguises  the  conditional  character  of  the  promises  v.25b.  26ff.^  which 
are  dependent  on  v. 22) :  the  substance  of  this  passage  may  have 
been  derived  from  34^^-^^.  The  verses  23^^-  can  hardly  be  in 
their  original  position ;  for  the  context  (on  both  sides)  relates  to 
a  subject  of  a  different  kind,  viz.  just  judgment. 

The  laws  themselves  are  designed  to  regulate  the  life  of  a 
community  living  under  simple  conditions  of  society,  and  chiefly 
occupied  in  agriculture. \  They  may  be  grouped  as  follows  : — 
(i)  2o22-26  prohibition  of  graven  images,  and  regulations  for  the 
construction  of  altars;  (2)  212-11  regulations  respecting  Hebrew 
male  and  female  slaves;  (3)  2112-17  capital  offences;  (4)  21 1^-32 
injuries  to  life  or  limb;  (5)  21^3-22^  cases  of  danger  caused  by 
culpable  negligence,  or  theft ;  (6)  22'*^-i''  deposits,  loans,  and 
seduction  (which  is  here  treated,  not  as  a  moral  offence,  but  as  a 
wrong  done  to  the  father,  and  demanding  pecuniary  compensa- 
tion); (7)  22i^"3i,and23^^-(not  to  refuse  help  Xozxienemyrd  his  need), 
miscellaneous  religious  and  moral  injunctions;  (8)  2 3i-3- 6-9 veracity, 
and  equity  in  the  [34]  administration  of  judgment ;  (9)  2310-1^  on 
the  Sabbatical  year,  the  Sabbath,  the  three  annual  pilgrimages, 
and  sacrifice;  (10)  2320-33  the  concluding  exhortation.  That  the 
community  for  whose  use  the  Code  was  designed  had  made  some 
progress  in  civilisation,  is  evident  from  the  many  restrictions  im- 
posed on  the  arbitrary  action  of  the  individual ;  on  the  other  hand, 
that  it  was  still  in  a  relatively  archaic  condition  appears  from  such 
regulations  as  211^^*23-25  (^^  i^^  talionis)^  or  the  conception  of 
God  as  the  immediate  source  of  judgment  (21^  22^-^:  cf.  i  S.  225). 
Notice  also  the  rudimentary  character  of  the  ceremonial  injunc- 
tions respecting  altars  202^-26^  the  right  of  asylum  2ii3f-,  first-fruits 
and  firstlings  2  229f.  231^,  prohibition  to  eat  HQitO  223i,  the  observ- 
ance of  the  sacred  seasons  23i'^*i'',  sacrifice  23IS;  comp.  2o23  2220 

*  To  God,  v.25b  beginning  originally  "And  /will  bless"  (LXX.  Vulg.). 
t  Notice  the  prominence  of  the  ox^  ass,  and  skee/>,  2128-22^**, 


EXODUS  37 

against  the  worship  of  idols  or  false  gods.  Just  and  equitable 
motives  are  insisted  on  (e.g.  2221-27  23^^-^);  but  religious  institu- 
tions, it  is  evident,  are  still  in  a  simple,  undeveloped  stage.* 

In  c.  24,  v.^8''  ('and  he  went  up,'  &c.)  is  E's  introduction  to  31^®'',  c.  32 ; 
and  v.i'^-i^  is  P's  introduction  to  c.  25-3 !• 

C.  25-31^^  forms  P's  account  of  the  instructions  given  to 
Moses  respecting  the  Tabernacle  and  the  priesthood.  These 
instructions  fall  into  two  parts  :  (i)  c.  25-29;  (2)  c.  30--31.  In 
c.  25-29  the  following  subjects  are  dealt  with  : — {a)  the  vessels 
of  the  Sanctuary,  named  naturally  first,  as  being  of  central 
interest  and  importance  (c.  25)  ;  {b)  the  Tabernacle,  designed  to 
contain  and  guard  them  (c.  26);  {c)  the  Court  round  the  Taber- 
nacle containing  the  Altar  of  the  daily  Burnt-offering  (c.  27); 
{d)  the  dress  (c.  28)  and  consecration  (291-3'')  of  the  priests  who 
are  to  serve  in  the  Sanctuary ;  {e)  the  daily  Burnt-offering,  the 
maintenance  of  which  is  a  primary  duty  of  the  Priesthood  {2^^^-^'^)^ 
followed  by  what  is  apparently  the  final  close  of  the  entire  body 
of  instructions,  29^2-^^,  in  which  Jehovah  promises  that  He  will 
bless  the  Sanctuary  thus  established  with  His  presence.  C.  30-3 1 
relate  to  {a)  the  Altar  of  Incense  (30^"^^) ;  (b)  the  maintenance  of 
public  service  (30I1-16) ;  {c)  the  Brazen  Laver  (3o^'''2i) ;  {d)  the 
holy  Anointing  Oil  (3022-33) ;  (^)  the  Incense  (ao^^-ss) ;  (/)  the 
nomination  of  Bezaleel  and  Oholiab  (31^"^^);  {g)  the  observance 
ofthe  Sabbath  (3 112-17). 

[35]  A  question  arises  here  whether  the  whole  of  this  group  of  chapters 
belongs  to  the  original  legislation  of  P.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  Altar  of 
Incense,  which,  from  its  importance,  might  have  seemed  to  demand  a  place  in  c. 
26-29  (among  the  other  vessels  of  the  Tabernacle),  is  mentioned  for  the  first  time 
in  2P^'^^,  when  the  directions  respecting  the  essential  parts  of  the  Tabernacle 
are  apparently  complete  (see  29^^-^^) :  even  in  263^^*  (where  the  position  of  the 
vessels  of  the  sanctuary  is  defined)  it  is  not  included.  Moreover,  the  annual 
rite  prescribed  in  Ex.  30^®  is  not  noticed  in  the  detailed  account  of  the  Day 
of  Atonement  in  Lev.  16,  and  only  one  altar,  the  Altar  of  Burnt-offering, 
appears  to  be  named  throughout  the  chapter.  Further,  the  ceremony  of 
anointing,  which  in  29'  Lev.  S^^  jg  confined  to  the  Chief  priest  (Aaron),  is  in 
30^  extended  to  the  ordinary  priests  (his  "sons"),  although  the  original 
limitation  to  Aaron  alone  would  seem  to  be  confirmed  by  the  title  "the 
anointed  priest,"  applied  to  the  Chief  priest  (Lev.  43-  »•  i«  6^  [Heb.  i"] :  cf. 
l632  2iio.  12^  Ex.  2929'-,  Nu.  352*),  which,  if  the  priests  generally  were  anointed, 

•  Comp.  further  on  this  code  \^  R.  Smiih,  OTJC.  p.  336  fif.  (2p.  340  ff.). 


38  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

would  be  destitute  of  any  distinctive  significance.  On  these  grounds  (chiefly) 
it  is  argued  that  c.  30-31,  together  with  certain  other  passages  in  which  the 
same  phenomena  occur,  form  part  of  a  secondary  and  posterior  stratum  of  P, 
representing  a  later  phase  of  ceremonial  usage.  Space  forbids  the  question 
being  considered  here  as  fully  as  it  deserves  ;  and  it  must  suffice  to  refer  to 
Wellh.  Comp.  139  ff".;  Kuen.  Hex.  §  6.  13;  Del.  Studien^  iii.;  Dillm.  EL, 
p.  263  f.,  NDJ.  p.  635  ;  and  Smith's  Did.  of  the  Bible  (ed.^),  art.  Exodus. 

The  section  on  the  Sabbath  (31^^'"),  as  has  been  often  observed  {e.g.  by 
Delitzsch,  Studien^  xii.  p.  622),  has  in  v,i8-i4a  affinities  with  the  code  of  which 
extracts  have  been  preserved  in  Lev.  17-26  (see  p.  47  ff.) ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  these  verses  have  been  excerpted  thence,  and  adapted  here  as  the  nucleus 
of  a  law  inculcating  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  connexion  with  an 
occasion  on  which  the  temptation  might  arise  to  disregard  it. 

In  the  narrative,  of  the  Golden  Calf  (31^^ -342^),  c.  32,  as  a 
whole,  may  be  assigned  plausibly  to  E ;  only  v.^*^^  appears  to  have 
been  expanded  by  the  compiler  of  JE  (comp.  Gen.  22^6-1^,  ^-q 
which  in  v.^^  allusion  is  made).  32^*-33^  exhibits  traces  of  a 
double  narrative :  thus  v.^^  the  people  are  commanded  to  do 
what,  according  to  v.*^,  they  had  already  done — which  confirms  the 
prima  facie  view  that  v.^^^  is  a  doublet  of  v.^^^*.  No  satisfactory 
analysis  of  the  entire  passage  has,  however,  been  effected.  All 
that  can  be  said  is  that  if  E  be  the  basis  of  33^-^,  it  has  been 
amplified  by  the  compiler,  possibly  with  elements  derived  from  J. 

33'^"ii,  which  (as  the  tenses  in  the  original  show)  describes 
throughout  'Mo?,qs^  practice  (v.''  "  used  to  take  and  pitch,"  &c.),  was 
preceded,  it  may  be  conjectured,  in  its  original  connexion  by  an 
account  of  the  construction  of  the  Tent  of  Meeting  and  of  [36]  the 
Ark,*  which  was  no  doubt  the  purpose  to  which  the  ornaments, 
v.^-^,  were  put ;  when  the  narrative  was  combined  with  that  of  P, 
this  part  of  it  (being  superfluous  by  the  side  of  c.  25.  35,  &c.)  was 
probably  omitted,  only  v.''"^^  being  regarded  as  of  sufficient 
interest  to  be  retained. 

33'^^-34^  forms  a  continuous  whole,  though  whether  belonging 
to  J  (Dillm.)  or  to  the  compiler  of  JE  (Wellh.)  can  scarcely  be 
definitely  determined ;  in  341-^  there  may  be  traces  of  E.  It  is  a 
plausible  conjecture  of  Dillmann's  that  33^^"^''  originally  followed 
34^ :  where  this  passage  now  stands,  it  breaks  the  connexion 
between  3312  and  33^^;  while  as  stating  the  issue  of  the  whole 
intercession,    and    directly    responding    to    34^,    it    would    be 

*  See  especially  Dt.  10^,  which  a  comparison  with  the  text  of  Ex.  shows 
must  refer  to  something  omitted  in  the  existing  narrative  (see  below,  §  5). 


EXODUS  39 

entirely  in  place.  34^^'^*^  introduces  the  terms  of  the  covenant, 
V.2''.  These  agree  substantially — often  even  verbally  * — with  the 
theocratic  section  of  the  "Book  of  the  Covenant"  (23^^^-);  the 
essential  parts  of  which  appear  to  be  repeated,  with  some  enlarge- 
ment (especially  in  the  warning  against  idolatry  v.^^-it^^  ^s  consti- 
tuting the  conditions  for  the  renewal  of  the  covenant. 

In  the  preceding  pages  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  give 
more  than  an  outline  of  the  structure  of  JE's  narrative  in 
c.  19-24.  32-34.  Much  has  been  written  upon  it;  but  though 
it  displays  plain  marks  of  composition,  it  fails  to  supply  the 
criteria  requisite  for  distributing  it  in  detail  between  the  different 
narrators,  and  more  than  one  hypothesis  may  be  framed  which 
will  account,  at  least  apparently,  for  the  facts  demanding  ex- 
planation. It  is  probable  that  it  reached  its  present  form  by  a 
series  of  stages  which  can  no  longer,  in  their  entirety,  be  dis- 
tinguished with  certainty.  The  relation  of  the  Code  of  Laws  in 
34I1-26  to  the  very  similar  Code  in  23^^^-  is  also  capable  of  dif- 
ferent explanations.  Hence  beyond  a  certain  point  the  conclu- 
sions of  critics  are  divergent.  Under  the  circumstances,  it  seemed 
wisest  to  the  writer  not  to  include  in  his  analysis  more  than 
appeared  to  him  to  be  reasonably  probable. 

Those  who  desire  to  pursue  the  subject  further  should  consult  Wellh. 
Comp.  pp.  83  ff.,  327-333  ;  Dillmann,  Comm.  pp.  189  ff.,  331  ff.  (who  in  some 
[37]  respects  takes  a  very  different  view  from  Wellh. ) ;  Montefiore,  JQR. 
Jan.  1891,  p.  276 ff.;  Jiilicher, /PT"/^.  1882,  pp.  295-315  ;  and  the  discussions 
of  Budde,  Bacon,  and  Baentsch,  cited  p.  22.     See  also  OTJC.^  p.  332  ff. 

By  the  author — or  redactor — of  34^'^'^  in  its  present  form  (see  v.^*' ;  and  cf. 
Dt.  lo^-^)  the  "ten  commandments"  (Heb.  "words")  of  v.-^^  are  manifestly 
intended  to  be  the  Decalogue  of  20^"^'' ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  natural  subject 
of  3n3M  v.^^  seems  to  be  Moses  (cf.  also  vP^) :  hence  it  has  been  inferred  by 
many  that,  in  the  original  context  of  v.^,  the  "ten  words"  were  the  body  of 
laws  contained  in  the  preceding  verses  (v.^°'-^),  which,  though  now  expanded 
by  the  compiler,  will  in  that  case  have  comprised  originally  ten  particular 
injunctions.  Wellh.  {I.e.  p.  331  f.;  cf.  Stade,  Gesch.  i.  510)  supposes  this 
second  Decalogue  to  have  consisted  of  34!^-  "•  ^^a  (to  keep)  i^*-  22a.  2-^0. 25a.  25b  ^^^ 
the  form  of  23^^^]  -^*-  ^^b.  Those  who  adopt  this  view  consider  v.^  from  D'aB-Kia, 
and  v.^  to  D'^ty^nD — or  D'ja'xnD  alone — to  be  additions  made  by  the  compiler : 
note  in  v.'*^  CJax,  not  D^jaxn, — unless  indeed  this  be  merely  a  textual  error. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  has  long  been  noticed— as  by  Bcrtheau  (1840),  Ewald 

*  Cf.  V.18.  £0b.  21.  22-23. 25-26  ^j^h  i^^'  ^2- 16-19,  y.^^'^*^*,  howevcr,  agrccs  with 
an  earlier  part  of  JE,  viz.  \'^-'^^.  • 


40 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


{^Hist.  ii.  i66ff.).  Dillmann,  Briggs  {Higher  Crit.  of  the  Hex.  1893,  p.  2ii  fF.) 
— that  many  of  the  laws  in  the  Book  of  the  Covenant  seem  to  fall  into  groups 
of  ten\  and  L.  B.  Paton  {JBLit.  1893,  p.  79ff.)>  developing  further  the 
views  expressed  by  these  scholars,  and  comparing  partly  the  (largely)  parallel 
laws  in  34^^'^,  partly  the  laws  in  Dt.  (which,  as  will  be  shown  in  §  5,  depend 
in  many  cases  upon  those  of  Ex.),  argues  with  some  force  that  Ex.  20^^-23^ 
and  3412-26  a^jg  ^qj^  abbreviations,  and  in  part  rearrangements,  of  a  common 
longer  original,  which  consisted  of  eighty  or  perhaps  even  of  ten^  groups  of 
ten  laws  each,  each  group  being  comprised  of  laws  closely  related  in  their 
subject-matter,  and  being  systematically  divided  into  two  tables  of  five  laws 
each.  The  decades  are:  —  i.  On  slavery,  2i2- ^a- sb.  4.  c-e  (males),  21'"^^ 
(females);  2.  On  assaults,  2112-16  (punishable  with  death),  21^8-19. 20. 21.  26.27 
(punishable  with  lighter  penalties) ;  3.  On  domestic  animals,  2i28-32  (injuries 
done  by  them),  21^"^- ^-^  22^-*  (injuries  done  to  them);  4.  On  property, 
22*'-^  (in  general),  22i<>-"- 1^- 1^-  ^^-  ^^^  (property  in  cattle) ;  5.  On  injustice, 
231a.  lb.  2a.  2b.  3  (among  equals),  236-7*-'^-'«  LXX  [And  thou  shalt  not  justify 
the  wicked]  ^  (on  the  part  of  those  in  authority) ;  6.  On  the  sacred 
seasons  and  the  manner  of  their  observance,  23i°-"-  ^2-  i5a.  i6a.  i6b^  23"-  ^^'  ^^b- 
19a.  19b  (all  but  the  f^rst  of  this  decade  being  repeated  in  3421.  isa.  22a.  22b^ 
3^23. 25a.  25b.  26a.  26b)  .  7^  Qn  Certain  religious  duties,  3412-  w- 14  (^f.  ^.d^)  i5. 16. 17 

(cf.    2023b),     2024a- 24b.  25.  26  .    g^    ((Jq.)     2228*- 28b.  29a.  29b   (^f.     3419a)  30  (cf.     34l9b)^ 


20c.  20d    I  — 


30  I 
13-19.  20-21.  22. 


3^iiua.  ;.«u.  ^iuc.  ivu  (_23i5c)  22^1;   9.  On    purity,    Dt.    22 

2228-29  (cf.   Ex.  22l«),   Ex.    22"'  ^^-  l^'  20  ;    lO.    On   kindnCSS,    Ex.   2221-  22.  25a.  25b. 

26-27  (towards  men),  23^  (  =  Dt.  22^),  Dt.  222-3.4  (=:Ex.  235)6-7  (towards 
animals).  The  passages  omitted  are  either  laws  which  cohere  badly  with  the 
context,  and  have  probably  been  introduced  from  some  different  source  by  a 
later  hand  (Ex.  2i"-  22-25  222-3- 12  239- 13. 14.  ibc)^  ^^  parenetic  additions ;  the 
original  form  of  many  of  the  laws,  especially  those  in  Ex.  34  and  Dt. ,  was  also 
probably  much  terser  than  it  is  now.  The  scheme  is  attractive  ;  but  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  all  the  decades  are  quite  clearly  and  naturally  constituted. 

C.  35-40  form  the  sequel  to  c.  25-31,  narrating  the  execu- 
tion of  the  instructions  there  communicated  to  Moses.  The 
relation  of  these  chapters  to  c.  25-31  will  be  best  learnt  from 
the  following  synopsis,  extracted  (with  slight  modifications)  from 
Kuenen's  Onderzoek  (§6.  15),  which  exhibits  at  the  same  time 
the  corresponding  passages  of  the  LXX  (the  order  of  which  in 
several  cases  differs  remarkably  from  that  of  the  Hebrew) : — 


Hebrew  Text. 


35^-3  (the  Sabbath  :  v.s  added). 
^-"  (the  people  are  invited  to  bring 
free-will  offerings). 
10-19  (all  skilled  workmen  invited  to 
assist). 


Greek  Text. 


3^4-8  (v. 8  Heb. 
omitted). 

3^9-19  (with  varia- 
tions). 


Ex.  25-31. 


31^5. 
25I-9 


EXODUS 


41 


Hebrew  Text. 

Greek  Text. 

Ex.  25-31. 

2520-29  (tjje  offerings  are  presented). 

3C-, 

^-36^    (Moses    announces    to    the 

3530-361. 

31^-". 

people    the   appointment   of 
Bezaleel  and  Oholiab). 

362-"^  (the   presentation    of   offerings 

36=^-'. 

completed). 

8-18  (Curtains  made  for  the  "taber- 

cf. 37^-^. 

261-"- 14. 

nacle"   (the  pro),   and  the 

[38]      tent  over  it). 

^"-34  ( Boards  for  the  framework  of  the 

cf.  38^8-21. 

2615-29, 

"tabernacle"). 

»-38  (Veil  for  the  Holy  of  holies, 

373.6. 

2631-32.  36-37 

and  Screen  for  the  entrance 

to  the  Tent). 

37i-»  (the  Ark). 

381-8. 

25IO-2O. 

10-16  (Table  of  Shewbread). 

388-12. 

2523-29. 

"-24  (Candlestick). 

3813-". 

2531-39. 

26-28  (Altar  of  IncenGe). 

Wanting. 

30I-5. 

28  (Anointing  Oil  and  Incense). 

3825. 

3022-33.  34-38 

381-'  (Altar  of  Burnt-offering). 

cf.  3822-24. 
382«. 

27i-«. 

8  (Brazen  Laver). 

30l7-18a. 

8-20  (Court  of  the  Tabernacle). 

377-I8. 

279-19. 

21-23  (Superscription  to  the  account 

3719-21. 

of  metal  employed). 

24-31  (the  account  itself). 

39I-10. 

cf.  30II-16 

39I-31  (Vestments  for  the  High  Priest 

368b-40. 

28^-43. 

and  the  Priests). 

32-43  (Delivery  to  Moses  of  the  com- 

39II. 14-23. 

pleted   work  of  the   Taber- 

nacle). 

40I-1*'  (Moses  commanded  to  rear  up 

40I-I3   (v.  6-8 

Heb. 

the  Tabernacle  and  to  con- 

omitted ir 

I  part. 

secrate  the  priests). 

V.  11  altogether). 

17-33  (the   Tabernacle   erected,    and 

'■"::..  r 

402V 

the  sacred  vessels  arranged  in 

Heb. 

their  places). 

omitted). 

34-38  (the  Cloud  and  Pillar  of  Fire). 

4028-32. 

In  the  main,  the  narrative  is  repeated  verbatim  from  the 
instructions  in  c.  25-31,  with  the  simple  substitution  of  past 
tenses  for  future ;  in  two  or  three  cases,  however,  a  phrase  is 
altered,  and  there  are  also  some  instances  of  omission  or  abridg- 
ment. Thus  a  few  verses  (as  2515.22.40  2612-13  zS^^-^s  29^3-46 
307-10)  are  omitted,  as  not  needing  repetition;  others  (as  251^- ^i- 
30. 37b  2630. 33. 34-35  306. 18b.  19-21^  chiefly  relating  to  Xh^  position  of  the 
different  vessels  named)  are  incorporated  in  c.  40!^-^^,  the  account 
of  the  erection  of  the  Tabernacle,  where  they  naturally  belong ; 


42  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

and  the  sections  on  the  Anointing  Oil  and  the  Incense  (30^2-33. 
34-38^  are  merely  referred  to  briefly  in  a  single  verse,  37^^.  In 
c.  39  there  are  also  some  noticeable  cases  of  abbreviation.  The 
only  material  omissions  are  the  Urim  and  Thummim  (28^^),  [39] 
and  the  consecration  of  priests  (291-^"),  which  follow  in  Lev.  8,  the 
oil  for  the  lamps  (2720^-),  and  the  daily  Burnt-offering  (29^8-^2^ : 
with  these  exceptions  the  execution  of  the  instructions  contained 
in  c.  25-31  is  related  systematically.*  The  change  of  order  is  in 
most  cases  intelligible.  The  injunction  to  observe  the  Sabbath, 
which  closes  the  series  of  instructions,  stands  here  in  the  first 
place.  This  is  followed  by  the  presentation  of  offerings,  and  the 
nomination  of  Bezaleel  and  Oholiab ;  after  which  is  narrated  the 
construction  of  the  Tabernacle,  of  the  sacred  vessels  to  be  placed 
in  it,  and  of  the  Altar  and  Laver,  with  the  Court  surrounding 
them.  The  Sanctuary  having  been  thus  completed,  the  dress  of 
the  priests  is  prepared,  the  work,  complete  in  its  different  parts, 
delivered  to  Moses,  and  the  Tabernacle  erected  and  set  in 
order.  The  Altar  of  Incense  and  the  Brazen  Laver,  which 
appear  in  the  Appendix  to  c.  25-29  (viz.  in  c.  30),  are  here 
enumerated  in  accordance  with  the  place  which  they  properly 
hold,  in  the  Tabernacle  (c.  37)  and  Court  (c.  38)  respectively. 

C.  35-40  raise  the  same  question  of  relationship  to  the  main  body  of  P 
which  was  stated  above  on  c.  30  f.  If  c.  30  f.  be  allowed  to  belong  to  a 
secondary  stratum  of  P,  the  same  conclusion  will  follow  for  these  chapters  as 
a  necessary  corollary ;  for  in  c.  35-39  the  notices  referring  to  c.  30-31  are 
introduced  in  their  proper  order,  and  c.  40  alludes  to  the  Altar  of  Incense,  f 
Dillm.,  though  he  disputes  Wellh.'s  conclusions  with  regard  to  c.  30-31, 
agrees  with  him  virtually  as  regards  c.  35-40  {NDJ.  p.  635). 


§  3.  Leviticus. 

Literature. — See  above,  p.  i  f.  ;  and  add  S.  R.  Driver  and  H.  A.  White  in 
Haupt's  Sacred  Books  of  the  OT. 

The  Book  of  Leviticus  is  called  by  the  Jews,  from  its  opening 
word,  Nlp*\  It  forms  throughout  part  of  the  Priests'  Code,  in 
which,  however,  c.  17-26  constitute  a  section  marked  by  certain 

*  38''^"'^^  differs,  however,  somewhat  remarkably  from  30^^'^*'. 
t  For  some  other  grounds,  peculiar  to  these  chapters,  which  are  held  to 
point  in  the  same  direction,  see  Kuenen,  Hex.  §  6.  15. 


LEVITICUS  43 

special  features  of  its  own,  and  standing  apart  from  the  rest  of 
the  book. 

I.  C.  1-16.  Fundamental  Laivs  of  Sacrifice^  Purification^  a?td 
Atonemetii. 

(i.)  1^-67  (c.   1-5  Heb.).   Law  of  the  five  principal  types  of 
sacrifice. 
[40]  C.  I.  The  Burnt-offering  (ritual  of  sacrifice). 
C.  2.  The  Meal-offering  (ritual  of  sacrifice). 

The  second  pers.  in  2*'i^  (unlike  the  rest  of  these  chapters)  is  noticeable, 
and  may  be  an  indication  that  the  ch.  is  formed  ouf  of  a  combination  of 
elements  originally  distinct. 

C.  3.  The  Peace-offering  (ritual  of  sacrifice). 

C.  4.  The  Sin-offering  (ritual  of  sacrifice  for  the  four  cases 
of  unintentional  sin,  committed  by  i.  the  "anointed 
priest "  {i,e,  the  Chief  priest) ;  2.  the  whole  people ;  3. 
a  ruler ;  4.  an  ordinary  Israelite). 

It  is  not  impossible  that  Lev.  4  may  represent  a  more  advanced  stage  in 
the  growth  of  the  sacrificial  system  than  Ex.^^  Lev.  8-9 ;  for  here  the  blood 
of  the  Sin-offering  for  the  Chief  priest  and  for  the  people  is  treated  with 
special  solemnity,  being  sprinkled  against  the  veil,  and  applied  to  the  horns 
of  the  Incense-altar  ;  whereas  in  Ex.  29^^  Lev.  8^^  9^-  ^^  it  is  treated  precisely 
as  prescribed  here  in  the  case  of  the  ordinary  Sin-offering,  v.^^- 30.34  ^ggg 
Wellh.  Comp.  p.  138  f.). — A  law  for  the  Sin-offering  both  of  the  people  and 


5^-^^.  Appendix  to  c.  4,  containing  (i)  examples  of  unin- 
tentional sins,  requiring  a  Sin-offering,  v.^^^;  (2)  pro- 
vision for  the  case  of  those  whose  means  did  not  suffice 
for  the  ordinary  sin-offering,  v.^-^^. 

5i4_67  (^14-26  Heb.).  The  Guilt-offering  (three  cases,  or 
groups  of  cases — viz.  different  cases  oi  frauds  or  sacrilege 
— defined,  in  which  the  Guilt-offering  is  incurred). 

On  5^'"^^  which  enjoins  a  6'«27/-offering  for  (apparently)  the  same  case 
for  which  in  ^'^-  a  6"z«-offering  is  prescribed,  see  Dillm.  adloc,  Stade,  Ges'-h. 
ii.  256  f. 

(ii.)  6^-c.  7  (c.  6-7  Heb.).  A  ma7tual  of  priestly  directions 
imder  eight  heads. 

6^"^^.  Regulations  to  be  observed  by  the  priest  in  sacrificing 
the  Burnt-offering. 


44  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

514-18    Regulations  to  be  observed  by  the  priest  in  sacrificing 
the  Meal-offering. 

19-23^  The  High  Priest's  daily  Meal-offering. 

24-30^  Regulations  to  be  observed  in  sacrificing  the  Sin- 
offering. 

7^-''.  Ritual  of  the  Guilt-offering  (which  is  not  defined  in 
51^-6''),  with  an  appendix,  v.^-^^^  (arising  out  of  v.''),  on 
the  priests'  share  in  the  Burnt-  and  Meal-offering. 
[41]  ^^"^^.  On  the  species  of  Peace-offering  (the  Thank-offering, 
v.^'^-^^ ;  the  Vow-  and  the  Voluntary-offering,  v.^^^-),  with 
the  conditions  to  be  observed  by  the  worshipper  in 
eating  the  flesh. 

22-27.  Fat  (of  ox,  sheep,  and  goat  in  all  cases,  and  of  other 
animals  dying  naturally  or  torn  of  beasts)  and  blood 
(generally)  not  to  be  eaten. 

28-34.  The  priests'  share  of  the  Peace-offering,  viz.  the 
"  heave-leg  "  and  the  "  wave-breast." 

85-86.  pirst  subscription  to  the  preceding  section,  6^-734  (in 
so  far  as  this  comprises  regulations  respecting  the  priests' 
share  in  the  different  offerings). 

^^■^^  Second  more  general  subscription. 

This  subscription  relates  to  6^-c.  7  only,  which  forms  an  independent 
collection  of  laws  linked  together  by  the  same  formula  that  is  used  here,  viz. 
This  is  the  law  of  .  .  .  (6^-  ^*-  ^  7^-  ^^) ;  only  the  laws  thus  introduced  are 
recognised  in  the  subscription,  where  they  occur  in  the  same  order :  *  6^^'^ 
(otherwise  introduced,  and  not,  as  it  seems,  recognised  in  the  subscription) 
was  perhaps  not  originally  part  of  the  collection  ;  7^2-27  (regulating  the  con- 
ditions under  which  animals  might  be  used  for  food)  may  be  regarded  as  an 
appendix  to  7^^"^^,  being  probably  placed  here  on  account  of  the  Peace- 
offering  being  accompanied  by  a  sacrificial  meal ;  the  subject  of  "j^-^  is  also 
closely  connected  with  the  Peace-offering,  and  may  be  fairly  regarded  as  com- 
prehended in  the  heading  7^^. 

The  main  distinction  between  c.  1-6'  and  6^-c.  7  is  that  while  the  laws 
of  the  former  group  relate,  as  a  rule,  to  the  manner  in  which  the  sacrifice 
itself  is,  to  be  offered,  the  latter  contain  regulations  ancillary  to  this,  e.g.  con- 
cerning the  dress  of  the  officiating  priest,  the  fire  on  the  altar,  the  portions  to 
be  eaten  by  the  priest  or  the  worshipper  (as  the  case  may  be),  the  disposal  of 
the  flesh  oif  the  Peace-offerings  (as  opposed  to  the  parts  which  went  upon  the 

*  In  the  existing  text  of  Lev.  6^-c.  7  nothing  corresponds  to  the  *'  con- 
secration "  offering  of  7^^ ;  either  the  expression  rests  on  a  misinterpretation 
of  6i^"2»,  or  a  law  on  this  subject  may  have  been  omitted  by  the  compiler  of  P 
in  view  of  the  fuller  treatment  in  Ex.  29. 


LEVITICUS  45 

altar,  c.  3),  etc.  The  treatment  is  not,  however,  perfectly  uniform  through- 
out :  on  the  analogy  of  c.  1-4,  7^*'  (the  ritual  of  the  Guilt-offering)  should 
occupy  the  place  of— or,  at  least,  precede  (cf.  c.  4  before  5^**) — 5^^-6'  (the 
cases  in  which  the  Guilt-offering  is  to  be  paid). 

(iii.)  C.  8-10.   The  consecration  of  the  priests^  and  their  soie??in 
entry  upon  office. 

C.  8.  Aaron  and  his  sons  consecrated  to  the  priesthood  in 

accordance  with  the  instructions  Ex.  2^-^'^. 
[42]  C.  9.  Aaron  and  his  sons  solemnly  enter  upon  their  office. 
C.  10^"''.  Nadab  and  Abihu  punished  for  offering  strange 

fire  :  the  priests  forbidden  to  mourn  for  them. 
8-9  (10-11)^  Priests  forbidden  to  drink  wine  while  officiating. 
12-15^  The  priests'  share  in  the  Meal-offerings  and  Peace 

offerings. 
16-20    A  law  in  narrative   form  determining   that,   in   the 

people's  Sin-offering  (the  blood  of  which  was   not  v.^^ 

(cf.  9^5-  9)   brought   within   the  Tabernacle),   the   flesh 

should  be  eaten  by  the  priest,  not  burnt  without  the 

camp  (as  had  been  done  9^^,  cf.  v.^^). 

This  law  is  a  correction  of  the  usage  followed  in  9^"^  (see  9^^) — which  is 
in  agreement  with  the  analogy  of  the  injunction  Ex.  29^^  and  its  execution 
Lev.  8^' — on  the  ground  of  the  regulation  in  c.  4,  according  to  which  the 
flesh  of  only  those  Sin-offerings  was  to  be  burnt,  of  which  the  blood  had  been 
brought  within  the  Tabernacle  and  applied  to  the  Altar  of  Incense  (4-^"^'^ ; 
cf.  6^).  The  connexion  of  \&^^  with  10^  is  imperfect,  the  subject  treated 
being  in  reality  a  different  one  (see  ii^'^j  and  comp.  Ez.  44^2  beside  v. ^i). 
Unless  the  rendering  of  RV.  marg.  be  adopted — which,  though  gram- 
matically possible,  is  somewhat  artificial — it  would  almost  seem  as  if  lo^"'- 
had  been  transplanted  from  its  original  context* 

(iv.)  C.  11-16.  Laws  of  Purification  and  Atonement. 
C.  II.  Clean  and  unclean  animals. 

(i)  Animals  unclean  as  food  :  (a)  Quadrupeds  (riDnn), 
v.2-8  ;  {b)  aquatic  creatures  (D''Dn  p{5>  "  swarming  *  things 
of  the  waters "),  v.  ^^^^ ;  {c)  flying  creatures  (^IV),  a. 
birds,  v.13-1^;  )8.  flying  insects  (t)ivn  pC^  "swarming 
things  that  fly  "),  v. 20-23  ^  (^  creeping  insects  and  reptiles 
i^'\'^r\  f^V  pis^'n  X^m  "  swarming  things  that  swarm  upon 
the  earth  "),  v.^i-^^^  with  conclusion,  v.^^-^s.  (2)  On  the 
pollution  caused  by  contact  with  the  carcases  of  certain 
animals,  v.^^-^o.     y^46-47  subscription. 

*  On  this  rendering,  see  Claric  s  Bidtf  Diet,  s,v.  Creeping  things. 


46  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

y_2b-23  recurs,  with  verbal  differences  (the  two  texts  are  printed  in  parallel 
columns  in  the  writer's  Deut.  pp.  157-159),  in  Dt.  14*--^  The  law,  in  its 
primitive  form,  is,  no  doubt,  older  than  either  Lev.  or  Dt.,  and  appears 
(Paton,  J^ourn.  of  Bibl.  Lit.  1895,  p.  48  ff.)  to  be  preserved  on  the  whole 
more  exactly  in  Dt.  than  in  Lev. ,  the  variations  in  Lev.  betokening  generally 
the  hand  of  the  priestly  author  (or  editor)  of  P.  The  original  law  may  be 
read  probably  in  Dt.  \\^-  «-^  {\o  you)  »-i3,  Lev.  ii"-i9,  Dt.  1418,  Lev. 
I J 21-22.  41.  43.45^     (On  "  abomination  "  in  this  ch.,  cf.  Clark's  Bible  Did.  s.v. ) 

Y  24-40  appears  also  to  be  a  later  insertion  in  the  chapter  ;  for  the  sub- 
scription, v.'*'^^-,  notices  only  the  four  classes  of  creatures  not  to  be  eaien  (v. 2-8 ; 
13-23;  9-12;  4i-45j^  ^LXi^i.  ignorcs  the  contents  of  v.^"'*'*  (creatures  whose  carcases 
are  not  to  be  touched)  ;  these  verses,  moreover,  differ  from  the  rest  of  the  ch., 
in  that  they  define  the  purification  rendered  necessary  by  non-observance  of 
the  regulations  prescribed. 

[43]  C.  12.  Purification  after  child-birth. 

This  ch.  would  more  suitably  follow  c.  1 5,  with  which  it  is  connected  in 
subject,  and  which,  indeed,  it  presupposes  in  v.^  (see  15^^). 

C.  13-14.  Leprosy. 

Diagnosis  of  leprosy  in  man,  13^"^^ ;  leprosy  in  clothing  and 
leather,  v.^''-^^ ;  purification  of  the  leper,  14I-32 ;  leprosy 
in  a  house,  v.^^-ss .  subscription  to  the  whole,  v.^^-^^. 

C.  15.  Purification  after  certain  natural  secretions. 
C.  11-15  are  linked  together  by  the  recurring  colophon  This  is  the 

law  ^/  .    .    .    Il46  12^  1359  1432.  (54).  87  1333, 

C.  1 6.  Ceremonial  of  the  Day  of  Atonement. 

V.^"2  Historical  introduction. — V.'"^"  Preparations  for  the  ceremonial  pre- 
scribed in  v.11'28  (Aaron's  dress,  selection  of  animals,  &c.). — V."-^^  Aaron  to 
offer  the  sin-offering  {2,  bullock)  for  himself. — V.^^"^**  Aaron  to  make  atone- 
ment for  the  sanctuary  (v.^°^-)>  and  the  Altar  of  Burnt-offering  (v.^^'-),  with 
the  sin-offering  (a  goat)  offered  on  behalf  of  the  people. — V.  20-22  xhe  sins  of 
the  people  to  be  confessed  over  the  other  goat  (v.  8-  ^*^),  which  is  then  to  be 
led  away  into  the  wilderness  for  Azazel. — V.  28-24  Aaron  to  offer  the  burnt- 
offerings  (two  rams)  for  himself  and  for  the  people. — V.  25-28  Subordinate 
instructions. — V.  29-34  xhe  people,  on  the  day  on  which  atonement  is  made 
for  them,  to  practise  self-denial,  and  to  abstain  from  all  labour. 

The  introduction,  v.\  directly  connects  this  ch.  with  c.  10.  "Whether  it 
was  originally  separated  from  c.  lo  by  c.  11-15  (esp.  when  the  different 
character  of  the  introductions  11^  13^  14^  15"^  is  considered)  may  be 
doubtful.  At  the  same  time,  the  position  which  c.  11- 15  now  occupy  is  a 
thoroughly  appropriate  one:  "They  come  after  the  consecration  of  the 
priests,  whose  functions  concerning  the  *  clean  '  and  *  Unclean '  they  regulate, 
and  before  the  law  of  the  Day  of  Atonement,  on  which  the  sanctuary  is 
cleansed  from  the  pollutions  caused  by  involuntary  uncleanness  of  priests 
and  people"  (Kuen.  p.  82  ;  so  Wellh.  p.  150). 


LEVITICUS  47 

The  ch.  deals  in  reality  with  two  subjects,  viz.  (i)  the  conditions  under 
which  the  high  priest  might  enter  the  Holy  of  holies  (see  v.^),  and  (2)  an 
atoning  ceremony,  to  be  enacted  once  annually,  on  behalf  of  the  nation.  As 
here  treated,  these  subjects  are  imperfectly  connected  together  ;  and  hence 
Benzinger  {ZATIV.  1889,  pp.  65-89),  with  whom  Nowack  {Hebr.  Arch.  ii. 
187  ff.)  agrees,  argues  that  the  ch.  is  of  composite  authorship,  its  nucleus,  as 
he  supposes,  consisting  of  v.^-*-  ^  (^")- 12-13.  84b  (conditions  of  the  high  priest's 
entering  the  Holy  of  holies),  and  sP'^^  (an  independent  law,  prescribing  a 
relatively  simple  annual  rite  of  atonement :  cf.  2.'^-^)^  while  v."-  '-i*'- 1^-28 
present  a  subsequent  development  of  the  older  rite,  which  was  introduced  into 
the  ch.  by  a  later  hand,  and  interwoven,  as  it  now  stands,  with  directions 
relating  to  Aaron  alone,  on  account  of  its  having  become  the  custom  for  the 
high  priest  to  enter  the  Holy  of  holies  on  the  Day  of  Atonement  only.  It 
is  highly  probable  that  the  ritual  of  the  Day  of  Atonement  (cf.  Ez.  ^^^'^) 
was  once  simpler  than  that  now  prescribed  in  this  ch. ;  but,  though  the  proposed 
analysis  is  very  suggestive,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  stages  through 
which  the  ritual  passed  are  fully  represented  by  it :  v.^  (cf.  2328'^)  appears  to 
presuppose  more  special  rites  than  the  nucleus  of  the  ch.,  as  thus  defined, 
makes  provision  for.  Comp.  Atonement,  Day  of,  in  Clark's  Bible 
Dictionary^  p.  200. 

II.  C.  17-26.   The  Law  of  Holiness. 

Literature. — Graf,  Die  Geschichtlichen  Biicker  des  AT.s  (1866),  pp. 
75-83;  Noldeke,  Untersuchungen  (1869),  pp.  62-71  ;  Kayser,  Das  Vorexi- 
lische  Buck  der  Urgeschichte  Isr.  (1874),  pp.  176-184  ;  Klostermann,  Hat 
Ezeckiel  die  in  Lev.  18-26  am  deutlichsten  erkennbare  Gesetzessammlung 
verfassfi  in  the  Z.  fur  Luth.  Theologie,  1877,  pp.  406-445  (reprinted  in 
Der  Pentateuch y  1893,  p.  368  ff.) ;  Wellhausen,  Comp.  pp.  151-175  ; 
Delitzsch,  Studien  (1880),  xii.  p.  617  ff.  ;  Horst,  Leviticus  xvii.-xxvi. 
und Hezekiel {Colvaax,  1881)  ;  Wurster  in  the  ZATW.  1884,  pp.  1 12-133  ; 
Kuenen,  Hexateuch,  §§6.  24-28;  14.  6;  15.  5-10;  Riehm,  Einleitung 
(1889),  i.  177-202  ;  Baentsch,  Das  Heiligkeits-GesetZy  1893. 

We  arrive  here  at  a  group  of  chapters  which  stand  by  them- 
selves in  P.  While  in  general  form  and  scope  appertaining  to 
P,  they  differ  from  the  main  body  of  P  by  the  presence  of  a 
foreign  element,  which  manifests  itself  partly  in  the  style  and 
phraseology,  partly  in  the  motives  which  here  become  prominent. 
The  phenomena  which  the  chapters  present  are  explained  by  the 
supposition  that  [44]  first  an  independent  collection  of  laws  was 
edited,  with  parenetic  additions,  by  a  compiler  (R^),  and  that 
afterwards  the  whole  thus  formed  was  incorporated  in  P,  either 
by  the  author  of  P,  or  by  a  redactor  writing  under  the  influence 
of  P  (RP), — sometimes  with  modifications  introduced  for  the 
purpose  of  adjusting  it  mort  completely  to  the  spirit  and  system 


48  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

of  P,  at  other  times  interwoven  with  elements  derived  from  P. 
The  elements  thus  united  with  P  are  distinguished  from  it,  partly 
by  the  predominance  of  certain  expressions  never,  or  very  rarely, 
found  in  P  (or  indeed  in  the  Hexateuch  generally),  partly  by  the 
prominence  given  to  particular  principles  and  motives :  the 
parenetic  framework  with  which  the  laws  have,  in  certain  cases, 
been  provided  is  also  contrary  to  P.'s  usual  style.  The  principle 
which  determines  most  conspicuously  the  character  of  the  entire 
section  is  that  of  holiness — partly  ceremonial,  partly  moral — as  a 
quality  distinguishing  Israel,  demanded  of  Israel  by  Jehovah 
(192  2o^' 8- 26  2i6-8-  15.23  2  29.16.32)^  ^nd  regulating  the  Israelite's 
life.  Holiness  is,  indeed,  a  duty  laid  upon  Israel  in  other  parts 
of  the  Pent. ;  *  but  while  elsewhere  it  appears  merely  as  one 
injunction  among  many,  it  is  here  insisted  on  with  an  emphasis 
and  frequency  which  constitute  it  the  leading  motive  of  the 
entire  section.  In  consequence  of  this  very  prominent  character- 
istic, the  present  group  of  chapters  received  from  Klostermann 
in  1877  the  happily-chosen  title  of  Das  Heiligkeitsgesetz^  or 
"  The  Law  of  Holiness,"  which  it  has  since  retained. 

That  these  chapters  of  Lev.  are  rightly  treated  as  containing 
an  independent  body  of  laws,  appears  not  merely  from  the  dis- 
tinctive character  thus  belonging  to  them,  but,  further,  from  the 
somewhat  miscellaneous  nature  of  their  contents  (as  compared 
with  Lev.  i-i627),  from  the  recurrence  in  them  of  subjects  that 
have  been  dealt  with  before,  not  only  in  Ex.  20-23,  but  also  in 
P  (comp.  i7io-i*and  726^-;  196-8  and  715-18^  26^^  and  c.  11),  and 
from  the  fact  that  they  open  with  instructions  respecting  the 
place  of  sacrifice,  and  close  with  a  parenetic  exhortation,  exactly 
in  the  manner  of  the  two  other  Pentateuchal  Codes,  the  "  Book 
of  the  Covenant "  (Ex.  20^^-26  2'^^^^^-')  and  the  code  in  Deuteronomy 
(Dt.  12  and  28).  The  laws,  no  doubt,  in  substance,  if  not  also 
in  form,  date  in  general  from  a  much  older  time  than  that  of  the 
collector  (R^)  who  [45]  first  fitted  them  into  their  present  frame- 
work. It  will  be  convenient  to  denote  the  laws  thus  incorporated 
in  P,  w^ith  their  parenetic  framework,  by  the  abbreviation  H.\  H 
has  points  of  contact  with  P,  but  lacks  many  of  its  most  character- 

*  In  JE  Ex.  22^^  (though  in  a  ceremonial  rather  than  in  a  moral  con- 
nexion) ;  and  in  Dt.  i/^-  21. 

t  Kuenen  uses  the  symbol  P^,  distinguishing  different  strata  of  the  Priests* 
Code  (denoted  by  P  in  the  present  volume)  as  P^  and  P'. 


LEVITICUS  49 

istic  features.  Ezekiel,  the  priestly  prophet,  has  affinities  with  P, 
but  his  affinities  with  H  are  peculiarly  striking  and  numerous : 
the  laws  comprised  in  H  are  frequently  quoted  by  him,  and  the 
parenetic  passages  contain  many  expressions — sometimes  remark- 
able ones — which  otherwise  occur  in  Ezekiel  alone. 

List  of  phrases  characteristic  of  c.  17-26  : — 

1.  m.T  ':k  /  am  Jehovah^  esp.  at  the  end  of  an  injunction  or  series  of 

injunctions  (nearly  fifty  times):   igs-*  4.*5.6.  21.30*  ,93.*4.*  10.*  12.  i4. 

16.  18.  25.*  28.  30.  31.*  32.  34.*  36.*  37  ^.o''*  ^'f  ^  "*"  21^2-  15-+  23  |  22^'  ^'  ^'  ^'f 
16.4.  30.  31.  32.4.  33  2^22*  43  *  2^22*  2Cl7.*  38.+  56  *  26^*  2-  13.+  44.*  46  gg 
Ex.  6(2- ^•)^-^  121""' 29^'**  /(>f^  ^jl3b.|.\  Jy[^^  ,18«jrf.  41.  46  jqW*  ic41a.+ 
41b_* 

2.  m.T  'JK  \or\p  'D  For  I  Jehovah  am  holy.  19^*  20-^  2i^t     Cf.  ii^^-^^, 

(For  I  am  holy). 

3.  That  sanctify  you  {them,  &c.) :  20«  2i8- 15. 23  229- 16.  32^     go  Ex.  31I3, 

Ez.  20^2  3728.1 

4.  c'N  B"K  for  whoever :  if'  «•  !<>•  ^^  18^  2o2-  ^  224-  is  24I5.     So  152,  Nu.  512 

gi*',  Ez.  14*-  '  (with  '?Nits''  nuD  as  ch.  172-  ^'  ^^). 

5.  /  w///  set  ('nnji)  z^_y  /a<r^  a^am^/  .  .  .   :   if'^  2o3-  s  ('jk  'hdb'i)  «  26". 

So  Ez.  148  157*-  7b  (Dtr),  Jer.  2110  (db'),  44I1  (Dty).t 

6.  /  will  cut  off  from  the  midst  of  his  {its,  their)  people  :  17^^  20^-  ^-  ^§ 

Cf.  Ez.  148  (  .  .  .   -linp  :  in  Lev.  nii^P). 
[46]  7.  nipnn  ihn  to  walk  in  the  statutes :  18^  2.0^  26^.     Also  i  Ki.  3'  (P, 
2  Ki.   178-19;  but  chiefly  in  Ez.,  viz.   5«- '  ii^o  iS^- "  zo"- 18- 1^- 21 
331^ :  cf.  Jer.  44I"  ('npnai  'n-iin3).t 

8.  'OSB-Di  'nipn  my  statutes  and  my  judgments  :  18^  (inverted)  *•  2^  1987 

2022  25I8  261"-  ^. 

9.  To  observe  and  do:  18''  19'^  208-  22  2281  25I8  26'. 

10.  -\\KV  flesh  =  next-of  kin  :    i8i2- i3- "  (mNB')  2oi»  212,   Nu.  27";   nx?* 

iT^^  18^  25^9.     Not  so  elsewhere. 

11.  noT  evil  purpose  (of  unchastity) :  i8i7  1929  20"  *'^     So  Jud.  206,  Hos. 

6»  (?),  Jer.    1327,  Ez.    l627-  «.  68  229-  11  2321-  27.  29.  35.  44.  48.  48.  49  2418^   Job 

31".     (In  RV.  often  lewdness,) 

12.  n'oy  neighbour:  \%^  19I1.  ic  i7  2419  2514**^- i"-"  5'^*">  Zech.   13^.! 

A  peculiar  term  ;  not  the  one  in  ordinary  use. 

*  Followed  by  your  {their)  God. 

+  Followed  by  the  participial  clause  that  sanctify  you  {him,  &'c,). 

X  Followed  by  a  relative  clause. 

t  The  arrow  (both  here  and  elsewhere)  denotes  that  all  instances  of  the 
word  or  phrase  referred  to  that  occur  in  the  OT.  have  been  cited.  The 
distifutive  character  of  an  expression  is  evidently  the  more  marked,  and  the 
j^eement  between  two  writers  who  use  it  is  the  more  striking,  in  proportion 
to  the  rarity  with  which  it  occurs  in  the  OT.  generally. 

§  In  P  always  '*  shall  be  cut  off"  (see  p.  133).  In  general  the  Divine  "  I " 
appears  here  with  a  prominence  which  it  never  assumes  in  the  laws  of  Pi 


50  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

13.  To  profane — the  name  of  Jehovah  18^^  19^^  20^  21^  22'--  ^^  (Am.  2', 

Isa.  48")  :  a  holy  thing  or  sanctuary  198  21^2.  23  221"  (so  Nu.  18^-)  : 
in  other  connexions  192^  2i^^-  ^^  22^  :  comp.  2i^-  ^.  So  Ex.  311^  (of 
the  Sabbath).  So  often  in  Ezek.  :  oi  Jehovah  13^^  22^^  ;  His  name 
2o9-  "•  22-  39  3620-23  39?  .  ff^s  sabbaths  20"-  ^^-  21-  24  228  2388  (Isa. 
562'  «)  ;  His  holy  things  or  sanctuary  22^  23^9  44'' ;  cf.  also  721-  22. 24 
22^^  2421  253  28''-  ^^-  18.     Obviously  the  correlative  of  Nos.  2,  3. 

14.  ili^  sabbaths:  \(f-^  26\  Ex.   3113,  Ez.  2012.13.16.20.21.24228.262338 

442^  Isa.  56^.1 

15.  D''?''7K  tnings  of  nought  =  vain  gods  :   19^  26^.     Not  elsewhere  in  Pent. 

Chiefly  besides  in  Isaiah  (9  times,  and  '?''?Nn  once). 

16.  iNn^ND  nNTi  and  thou  shall  be  afraid  of  thy  God:    19"-  ^2  25"-  ^-  ^. 

17.  (D3  nn^Dn)  n  vdt  <^zj  {their)  blood  shall  be  upon  him  {them):  2o9- "• 

12.13.16.27^  E2,  igi3  (n'n>  n  vm)  338  (,t.t  niDn).t  (The  ordinary 
phrase  is  irNn(3)  '?i;  ^D^.) 

18.  The  bread  of  {their)   God:  216-8.17.21.22  2225,  Nu.  28^  (cf.  v.^^,  Lev. 
(Ez.  i6iMiff"erently.) 

19"  22^,  Nu.   1822.32. 
19^  (D)iNi5n  (i)nb'j  to  bear  his  {their)  sin  :  202°  24!^,  Nu.  91=^.  t 
20*.  (D)i3iy  (i)KtJ'3  /<?  <5mr  ,^zj  {their)  iniquity  :   17^^  198  20"-  ^^     So  5!-  " 

7I8,  Nu.  531  143^  (cf.  1531  nn  njiy),  Ez.  1410  4410-12.I 
20^  Jiy  Ktyj  /^  (5<?a;'  iniquity  :  Ex.  28^^  .  ^f.  Lev.  22^^.  \ 
20".  .  .   .  py.  Ntf  J  to  bear  the  iniquity  of  .  .  .   {  =  be  responsible  for)  :  Ex. 

28^8,  Nu.  l8i- 1 ;  so  bear  their  iniquity y  v.  2*  (see  Dillm.  ;  and  comp. 

Wellh.  Comp.  p.  341).! 
20'!..  .  .  to  bear  the  iniquity  0/ Sinothex  :  Lev.  10"  1622,  Nu.   30"  [H.^^], 

Ez.  4^-  •*•  ^'  ^  (not  always  in  the  same  application).    So  Nan  nm  to  bear 

the  sin  of  n\a.ny,  Is.  53^2. 

[47]  The  distinctive  prominence  attached  in  this  group  of  chapters 
to  the  ideas  of  hoUness,  and  of  the  reverence  due  to  Jehovah  or 
to  a  holy  thing,  will  be  evident  from  this  collection  of  charac- 
teristic expressions.  Amongst  the  expressions  quoted,  several 
instances  of  agreement  with  Ezekiel  will  have  been  observed; 
others  will  be  noticed  subsequently  (§  7),  when  the  nature  of  the 
relation  subsisting  between  Ezekiel  and  the  "  Law  of  Holiness  " 
comes  to  be  considered  more  particularly.  The  principal  critical 
problem  which  the  chapters  present  is  the  separation  of  their 
original  nucleus  from  the  subsequent  priestly  additions. 
We  may  now  proceed  to  examine  c.  17-26  in  detail. 

C.  1 7  treats  of  four  subjects : — 

I.  Animals  (of  a  kind  offered  in  sacrifice),  when  slain 
for  food)  to  be  presented  at  the  central  sanctuary, 
and  their  flesh  eaten  there  as  a  Peace-offering, 


LEVITICUS  51 

2.  Animals  slain  for  sacrifice  to  be  offered   only  to 

Jehovah,  and  at  the  central  sanctuary,  v.^-^. 

3.  Blood  not  to  be  eaten :  in  the  case  of  animals  of  a 

kind  not  offered  in  sacrifice,  it  is  to  be  poured 
upon  the  earth,  v.^^^^*. 

4.  The  flesh  of  animals  dying  naturally,  or  torn  by 

beasts,  not  to  be  eaten,  v.^^'^^. 

C.  17  belongs  in  the  main  to  H  ;  but  the  text  is  mixed,  the  regulations  in 
their  original  form  having  received  additions  at  the  hands  of  the  priestly  com- 
piler (RP),  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  them  into  greater  conformity  with  P  : 
viz.  (Paton)  v.^'^  (the  editorial  title),  v.'  (the  words  "in  the  camp  .  .  .  with- 
out the  camp  "),  v.^-  '^  ("  unto  (at)  the  door  of  the  tent  of  meeting  "),  v.'^  ("even 
that  .  .  .  unto  the  priest,"  and  "of  peace-offerings"),  v.*  (the  whole),  v.'** 
y  15-16  (ii  whether  ...  his  flesh,  then  he  "  ;  according  to  others,  the  whole 
(jf  y  15-16  jg  a,  priestly  addition).  Whether  what  remains  in  v. ''"'^,  after  these 
additions  have  been  removed,  is  in  its  proper  place,  is  also  doubtful ;  for  it 
states  in  reality  a  motive  not  for  v.^*^  but  for  v.^"''.  Comp.  the  analysis  and 
notes  in  Haupt's  SBOT;  Baentsch,  pp.  13-23  ;  Paton,  I.e.  [p.  46],  pp.  52-55. 

On  17I-7,  and  its  relation  to  Dt  I2i''ff',  see  (i)  Wellh.  Comp.  152-154, 
Hist,  50  f.  377  ;  Horst,  60;  Kuen.  §  6.  27,  28;  14.  6;  15.  5,  9;  and  esp. 
Baentsch,  p.  116  f.,  who  argue  that  the  injunction  belongs  historically  to  the 
period  intermediate  between  Dt.  and  P  {i.e.  to  the  exile) ;  (2)  Del.  Studien^ 
447  f.,  622,  who  argues  that  it  is  older  than  Dt.,  and  abrogated  by  it  (so 
Dillm.  EL.  535)  ;  (3)  Kittel,  Theol.  Studien  aus  Wurtiemberg,  1881,  42  ff., 
Gesch.  99,  and  Baudissin,  Priesterthum,  47,  following  Kayser  and  Diestel  (cf. 
also  Dillm.  EL.  536 ;  W.  R.  Smith,  OT/C.  249 ;  Answer  to  the  Amended 
Libel  (Edin.  1879),  61-64,  72,  73),  who  think  that  in  its  original  form  the  law 
contained  no  reference  to  the  central  sanctuary,  but  presupposed  2,  plurality  of 
legal  sanctuaries  (Ex.  20^*;  cf.  i  Sa.  14^^-35^^  ^nd  was  accommodated  to  the 
single  sanctuary  only  when  it  was  incorporated  in  P.  The  law  is  not  strictly 
consistent  with  P  ;  for  in  P  (Lev.  722-2?)  ^j^g  slaughtering  of  animals  for 
food  is  freely  permitted,  the  only  restriction  being  that  their  fat  and  blood 
are  not  to  be  eaten.  The  third  of  the  opinions  quoted  appears  to  be  the 
most  probable. 

To  many  of  the  laws  in  H  there  are  parallels  in  the  other  Codes.  See 
the  passages  quoted  in  the  Synopsis  of  Dt. ,  p.  73  ff. 

C.  18.  Unlawful  marriages  and  unchastity;    and  Molech 
worship,  V.21. 

[48]  Entirely  H.  Observe  the  plan  of  the  chapter  :  the  laws  themselves  occupy 
the  central  part  v.^"^ ;  v.^"^-  "^^'^  form  respectively  a  parenetic  introduction  and 
conclusion.  The  characteristics  of  H  are  very  evident  in  the  style  of  the 
parenetic  portion,  and  also  in  the  refrain  "I  am  Jehovah,"  both  there  (v.^*** 
4b.  8b.  30b)  ^nd  in  the  laws  (v.^^-  21b).  Nq  doubt  the  laws  themselves  were 
found  by  the  compiler  of  H   already  formulated,  and   he   merely  provided 


52  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

them  with  the  parenetic  setting.  The  laws,  it  may  be  observed,  are  in  the 
2nd  pers.  sing.,  the  parenetic  portions  in  the  2nd  pers.  plural.  V.^^'^*',  where 
(see  the  Heb.)  the  standpoint  changes,  and  the  conquest  is  looked  back  upon 
as  past,  may  be  (Paton)  "a  later  editor's  sermon  upon  v.^^  as  a  text." 

C.  19.  A  collection  of  miscellaneous  laws,  regulating 
(chiefly)  the  religious  and  moral  behaviour  of  the 
Israelites,  in  the  manner  of  parts  of  Ex.  20-23,  but  with 
a  more  distinct  predominance  of  the  ethical  element. 

Likewise  H,  except,  probably,  v.^^'-.  V.^*"  ("Ye  shall  be  holy,"  &c.)  states 
the  fundamental  principle  from  which  the  special  precepts  which  follow  are 
deduced.  The  ch.  (excluding  v.^"^)  may  be  divided  into  three  parts  :  (i)  v.*"* 
laws  analogous  to  ^^^  first  table  of  the  Decalogue  ;  (2)  v.^"^^  laws  analogous 
to  the  second  table.  Here,  however,  v.^^  deals  with  a  different  subject,  viz. 
unnatural  mixtures,  in  three  precepts,  with  a  new  introduction.  And  v.^, 
treating  of  a  very  special  case  of  unchastity,  and  (unlike  v.^^^^)  in  the  third 
person,  belongs  rather  to  c.  20,  where  it  would  stand  suitably  after  v.^^ 
Either  it  has  been  removed  here  by  accident,  or  it  was  once  accompanied  by 
other  laws  on  the  same  subject,  omitted  by  the  compiler  in  view  of  c.  18  and 
20.  V.2^*-  is  alien  to  the  general  tenor  of  either  this  ch.  or  c.  20,  and  appears 
to  be  an  addition  from  the  point  of  view  of  P.  (3)  V.^s-sv^  a  kind  of  supple- 
ment to  v.2"^^,  with  a  special  introduction,  v.^,  and  containing  injunctions  of 
a  somewhat  more  general  character ;  notice  in  v.**  the  extension  of  the 
principle  of  v.^^  ("thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself"  [viz.  among 
the  "children  of  thy  people"])  to  the  "stranger"  (the  nj,  or  resident 
foreigner).  The  2nd  pers.  sing,  preponderates  (though  it  is  not  used  ex- 
clusively) in  v.^'i^,  the  2nd  pers.  plural  in  v.^"^-  23-37.  in  v.^-i^  the  laws  appear 
often  to  be  arranged  in  Pentads,  or  groups  of  five,  each  closed  by  the  refrain 
(implying  the  ground  of  their  observance)  /  am  Jehovah  :  see  v.^'-^'^*  '^^''^^'  ^^'^'^' 
15-16. 17-18. 19  (incomplete). 

V.^"8  deals  with  a  point  of  ritual,  viz.  the  period  within  which  the  flesh 
of  the  peace-offerings  might  be  consumed.  The  law  laid  down  here  is  in 
715-18  (p)  retained  only  for  two  of  the  three  species  into  which  the  peace- 
offering  is  there  divided,  viz.  the  Vow  and  the  Voluntary-offering  ;  for  the 
third  species,  the  Thanksgiving-offering,  the  stricter  rule  of  22^^-  is  pre- 
scribed. The  solution  of  the  discrepancy  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  in 
H  the  Peace-offering  and  the  Thanksgiving-offering  are  c^-ordinate  (22^^-  '^\ 
while  in  P  the  latter  has  been  j-w^-ordinated  to  the  Peace-offering,  as  one  of  its 
three  species. 

C.  20.  Penalties  enjoined  for  certain  offences  specified  in 
c.  18  and  iQ^**^!.  yi2.  (i)  Molech  worship,  and  con- 
sultation of  ghosts  or  familiar  spirits,  v.^-'^;  (2)  (chiefly) 
unlawful  marriages  and  unchastity,  v.^'^^,  with  conclu- 
sion, v.22-26^  and  supplement,  v.^''  (a  man  or  woman,  in 
whom  is  a  ghost,  or  a  familiar  spirit,  to  be  put  to  death). 


LEVITICUS  53 

[49]  The  laws  forming  the  body  of  the  ch.  are  provided  with  a  parenetic 
introduction  and  conclusion  (v.^-^  partly,  v. '-8,  y,^-^)  in  the  same  style  as 
c.  18,  and  evidently  by  the  same  hand  (R^).  It  is  commonly  considered  that 
c.  18  states  the  prohibitions,  and  c.  20  prescribes  the  penalties  incurred  by 
disobedience  to  them  ;  but  though  this  may  be  the  relation  between  the  two 
chapters  which  guided  the  compiler  in  placing  them  where  they  now  stand,  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  it  is  the  principle  which  determined  their  original 
composition  ;  for  the  correspondence  is  imperfect ;  not  only  does  the  order  of 
cases  differ,  but  four  of  the  cases  named  in  c.  18  (v."^*  ^°'  i'^-  ^S)  are  not  noticed 
here.  Nevertheless,  the  two  lists  have  many  features  in  common ;  and  they 
may  well  have  been  drawn  up  by  the  same  writer,  though  not  with  the 
definite  intention  of  their  supplementing  one  another.  As  in  the  case  of 
c.  18,  the  parenetic  framework  is  probably  all  that  is  due  to  the  compiler  of 
H.  V.^^  introduces  a  short  injunction  (v.^^)  on  the  distinc'.ion  of  clean  and 
unclean  food,  which,  to  judge  from  the  general  character  of  the  "  Law  of 
Holiness,"  must  once  have  been  accompanied  by  fuller  definitions  on  the 
same  subject  (analogous  to  those  which  now  stand  in  c.  11):*  v.^^''"^  has 
features  in  common  with  1 1'^-^.     Y.^  is  supplementary  to  v.^ 

C.  21-22.  Regulations  touching  priests  and  offerings,  under 
five  main  heads — (i)  Ceremonial  restrictions  obligatory 
in  domestic  life  upon  (a)  the  ordinary  priests,  21^-^; 
(d)  the  high  priest,  21^^-1^ :  (2)  the  conditions  of  bodily 
perfection  to  be  satisfied  by  those  discharging  priestly 
duties,  21^^-24 :  (3)  the  two  conditions  for  partaking 
in  the  sacrificial  food,  viz.  ceremonial  purity  and 
membership  in  a  priest's  family,  221-^^:  (4)  animals 
offered  in  sacrifice  to  be  free  from  imperfections, 
2217-25 .  (^)  three  special  injunctions  respecting  sacri- 
fices, 22^^"^^,  with  concluding  exhortation,  22^1-^^. 

The  contents  of  both  chapters  are  evidently  determined  by  the  main  idea 
of  the  code  ;  they  show  how  the  "  Law  of  Holiness"  is  to  be  observed  in  its 
application  to  the  priesthood  and  to  sacrifices.  Both  also  exhibit  repeatedly 
the  characteristic  phraseology  and  motives  of  H  ;  the  only  question  is  whether 
they  belong  to  it  entirely.  In  the  laws  themselves  there  is  little  that  is  akin 
to  P  ;  it  is  probable,  therefore,  that  these  are  derived  mainly  from  H,  the 
parts  exhibiting  the  ideas  of  P  being  chiefly  redactional  additions.  Thus  the 
laws  themselves  use  the  uncommon  expressions  ''seed  of  Aaron"  21^'- ^^ 
22'- ^  and  "the  priest  that  is  chief  among  his  brethren"  (for  the  "chief 
priest ")  ;  the  superscriptions  and  subscriptions  use  the  more  fixed  phraseology 
of  P,  '*  the  sons  of  Aaron,"  2i^-  ^^  222-  '^^,  and  were  probably  added  later  :  in 
21I-15  there  is,  further,  a  disagreement  between  the  superscription  (in  which 
the  priests  are  addressed)  and  the  laws  that  follow  (in  which  the  priests  are 
spoken  of  in  the  3rd  pers.,  and  iht  people,  v. 8,  are  addressed),  [50]  which 

*  Wellh.  p.  158  ;  Klost.  ^er  Pent.  p.  377  ;  Riehm,  p.  184. 


54  LITERATURE  OF  THE   OLD  TESTAMENT 

supports  the  same  conclusion.  Other  isolated  phrases  which  may  be  assigned 
to  RPare  2110  ('*  upon  .  .  .  garments  "),  v.  12b  ("  for  .  .  .  him"),  v. 22b  (see 
p.  58«.),  V.22  ("go  in  .  .  .  nor"),  see  Wellh.  p.  160  f.  ;  in  the  original  law, 
also,  the  priests,  probably,  were  not  brought  into  relation  with  Aaron,  seed 
of  Aaron  having  been  altered  from  seed  of  the  priests.  Cf.  Baentsch,  p.  39  ff., 
according  to  whom  the  original  nucleus  of  c.  21-22  consisted  of  2i^^"'^-  ^-  ^''"^^ 
223-7. 10-14. 18-25^    The  conclusion  2231-33  is  in  the  style  of  i8'6-3o  \cf  2022-26  (H). 

C.  23.  A  calendar  of  sacred  seasons,"*  in  particular  (v. 2- 37) 
of  the  days  on  which  "  holy  convocations,"  i.e.  religious 
assemblies,  were  appointed  to  be  held,  with  particulars 
respecting  the  manner  of  their  observance.     The  days 
stated  are  the  following  :  all  Sabbaths,  the  ist  and  7  th 
days  of  Mazzoth,  the  Feast  of  Weeks,  New  Year's  Day, 
the   Day   of  Atonement,   the    ist   and   8th   (or   super- 
numerary) day  of  the  Feast  of  Booths. 
The   elements   of   which   the   ch.    is   composed   consist   of 
excerpts  from  two  sources;   laws  from  H  and  P  having  been 
combined  so  as  mutually  to  supplement  one   another, — in  all 
probability  by  a  compiler  (Rp)  living  subsequently  to  both,  and 
representing  the  principles  of  P. 

rjj  9-20  22  89b  40-43 

l^p  2^1-8  21  23-38. 39a  39c  44 

Our  guide  in  analysing  the  chapter  must  be  the  title  (v. 2-  •*) 
and  subscription  (v.^^^-),  which  authorize  us  to  expect  an 
enumeration  of  "  holy  convocations."  V.^-  ^-^  correspond  with 
the  terms  of  the  title ;  the  Sabbath,  and  the  first  and  seventh 
days  of  Mazzoth^  were  observed  by  "holy  convocations."  (It  is 
true  that  the  Passover-day  v.^  was  not  so  observed ;  but  the 
Passover  appears  to  be  mentioned  here,  not  on  its  own  account, 
but  rather  as  introductory  to  Mazzoth,  v.^'^.)  V.^-^-^  prescribes 
an  offering  of  a  sheaf,  as  the  first-fruits  of  the  harvest,  on  "  the 
morrow  after  the  Sabbath."  This  injunction  (i)  falls  outside 
the  scope  of  the  calendar,  as  fixed  by  the  title ;  it  relates  [51]  to 
an  offering  to  be  made  on  a  day  for  which  no  convocation  is  pre- 
scribed ;  moreover,  in  its  present  connexion  (2)  there  is  nothing 
to  fix  the  day  which  is  meant,  an  indication  —  as  Delitzsch 
remarks  —  that   the    passage    no   longer   stands    in   its    original 

*  DnyiD  "  stated  times,"  RV.  (usually)  "  set  {or  appointed)  feasts,"  a  wider 
term  than  Jn  "  pilgrimage,"  which  denotes  the  three  "feasts"  observed  as 
pilgrimages,  viz.  Mazzoth,  Weeks,  and  Ingathering  (Ex.  23'^"^'^). 


LEVITICUS  55 

context  (which  must  naturally  have  specified  the  "Sabbath"  in- 
tended).*   V.9-1^  (in  the  main :  cf.  p.  56  n.)  belongs  thus  to  H. 

V.  15-22  (Feast  of  Weeks).  Here  only  v.21  falls  within  the 
scope  of  the  title ;  the  rest  (i)  depends  upon  the  same  com- 
putation from  the  undefined  "  Sabbath  "  as  v.^-^* ;  (2)  prescribes 
an  offering  of  similar  kind  to  that  in  v.^^,  viz.  of  the  wave-loaf, 
which  falls  outside  the  category  of  the  sacrifices  named  in  the 
subscription,  v.^''.  V.^^^^*^-  22  (in  the  main)  will  belong  accordingly 
to  H ;  with  v. 22  comp.  19^^-  (also  H). 

V.23-25  (New  Year's  Day),  v.26-32  (Day  of  Atonement),  v.33-36 
(Feast  of  Booths,  with  a  supernumerary  eighth  day),  agree  with 
the  terms  of  the  title,  prescribing  observances  for  the  days  on 
which  the  "  holy  convocations  "  were  to  be  held.  V.^^f-  is  the 
subscription  corresponding  to  the  title,  v.2-  *.  According, 
now,  to  v.2-  ^'  37-38  j-^g  subjcct  to  be  dealt  with  in  the  chapter  is 
completed ;  it  is  surprising,  therefore,  after  the  subscription, 
v.3"f-,  to  find  a  group  of  additional  regulations,  v.39-'*3.  These 
verses,  enjoining  certain  usages  in  connexion  with  the  Feast  of 
Booths,  and  explaining  the  significance  of  this  name,  form  an 
appendix,  derived  from  H  (notice  the  refrain  in  ^3b)^  but  accom- 
modated to  P  by  slight  additions  introduced  by  a  later  hand, 
(i)  In  H — to  judge  by  the  analogy  of  v.^^  ("when  ye  reap  the 
harvest ")  and  v.^^  (the  date  in  which  depends  upon  that  fixed  in 
v.^^) — the  date  of  the  Feast  of  Booths  was  fixed  only  in  general 
terms  by  the  close  of  the  period  of  harvest  ("when  ye  have 
gathered  in  the  increase  of  the  land  ") ;  it  is  probable,  therefore, 
that  the  words,  "on  the  15th  day  of  the  7th  month,"  are  an 
insertion  in  the  original  law,  made  with  the  object  of  harmon- 
izing it  more  completely  with  the  definite  date  of  P  in  v.34 ; 
(2)  v.3^,  after  stating  that  the  feast  is  to  last  for  seven  days, 
proceeds  to  add,  "  on  the  first  day  and  on  the  eighth  day  shall 
be  a  solemn  rest ; "  in  v.^0"^3^  however,  this  eighth  day  [52]  is 
consistently  ignored,  though  the  seven  days  are  spoken  of 
repeatedly.  It  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  in  v. 39  the  words, 
"  on  the  first  day  shall  be  a  solemn  rest,  and  on  the  eighth  day 
shall  be  a  solemn  rest,"  are  a  second  insertion,  made  by  a  later 

*  It  is  understood  traditionally  of  the  ist  day  of  Mazzoth  (so  that  the 
"  morrow  "  would  be  Nisan  16) ;  but  this  is  not  the  usual  sense  of  "  Sabbath." 
In  its  original  connexion,  the  "Sabbath"  meant  was  probably  the  ordinary 
weekly  Sabbath  that  fell  during  th%seven  days  of  Mazzoth, 


$6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

hand  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  appendix  into  formal  agree- 
ment with  v.^^,  where,  it  is  to  be  noticed,  the  eighth  day  is 
introduced  in  a  natural  and  orderly  manner,  after  the  seven  have 
been  dealt  with,  expressly  as  an  additional  observance.  In 
point  of  fact,  under  Solomon  this  feast  was  observed  for  seven 
days — on  the  eighth  day  the  king  sending  the  people  away 
(i  Ki.  8^^) ;  in  post-exilic  times,  a  supernumerary  eighth  day  is 
mentioned,  with  express  reference  to  the  law  of  P  here,  Neh.  8^^ ; 
2  Ch.  7 9  (where  the  text  of  Kings  is  altered)."^ 

The  common  characteristic  of  the  parts  of  this  calendar 
which  belong  to  H  is  the  relation  in  which  the  feasts  stand  to 
the  land  and  to  agriculture  :  the  "  morrow  after  the  Sabbath " 
during  Mazzoth,  the  Feast  of  Weeks,  and  the  Feast  of  Booths, 
all  alike  mark  stages  in  the  ripening  of  the  produce  of  the  soil ; 
the  first  cut  sheaf,  the  completed  barley  and  wheat  harvest  (the 
loaf),  the  end  of  the  vintage.  The  feasts  are  significant  in  the 
same  manner  in  JE  and  Deut.  (Ex.  2-^^'  i^  34I8. 22  Dt.  i6i-9-i3); 
in  P  this  point  of  view  has  become  obscured,  and  they  are  treated 
rather  as  occasions,  fixed  arbitrarily,  for  religious  observances. 

C.  24.  I.  On  the  lamps  in  the  Tabernacle,  v.^^*  (v.2-3  =  Ex. 
272'^^-  almost  verbatim). 

2.  On  the  Shewbread,  v.^-^. 

3.  Laws  on  blasphemy,  and  certain  cases  of  injury 

to  the  person,  arising  out  of  a  particular  in- 
cident, V. 10-23. 

The  analysis  of  the  ch.  is  not  difficult.  The  laws  in  v.^^'^s  belong  to  H, 
the  marks  of  whose  style  they  show  {e.g:  vt<  zfn  v.^^  ;  n^oy  v.^^;  the  refrain 
v.^-^) :  the  tradition  respecting  the  occasion  which  gave  rise  to  [53]  them  has 
been  cast  into  form  by  P  (or  Rp),  v.^°""-  ^3  (comp.  the  similar  narrative,  Nu. 
j^32-36)^^rhQ  has  also,  probably,  added  two  or  three  clauses  in  v.^^  (from  "all"), 
and  v.^^  (to  '*  for  ").    The  injunctions  contained  in  v.^"^  belong  likewise  to  P. 

C.  25.  I.  The  Sabbatical  year,  v.i-^-  20-22^ 
2.  The  year  of  Jubile,  v.8-i9-  23-55. 

V.^-^^  General  character  and  object  of  the  institution. 

Y  14-19. 23^  Land  not  to  be  alienated  beyond  the  next  Jubile. 

*  The  analysis  given  above  agrees  with  that  of  Delitzsch,  Studieiiy  p.  621  f. ; 
but  probably  v."*^**  and  parts  of  v.^'^''  are  due  to  Rp  as  well :  according  to 
Baentsch  (pp.  47-50),  v.^- 1"*  (the  title)  ^^'^^  ^s*^-  ^^  (nson),  one  or  two  phrases 
in  v.^'^,  v.^^-^**  {seven  to  sin-offerings  and),  v.^o  [with  two  lambs).  In  v.^*^-^^  the 
words  seven  to  even,  And  ye  to  sin-offering,  and  with  two  lambs,  are  generally 
recognised  as  being  late  (and  inexact)  interpolations,  founded  on  Nu.  gS^'^. 


LEVITICUS  57 

y  24-28^  On  the  redemption  of  lands. 

Y  29-34^  On  the  redemption  of  houses, 

Y  35-38^  Usury  not  to  be  exacted  of  an  impoverished  Israelite. 

Y.  39-46    An  Israelite  not  to  be  sold  into  servitude  to  another  Israelite 
beyond  the  next  Jubile. 

Y  47-55_  On  the  redemption  of  Israelites  enslaved  to  resident  foreigners. 
As  in  c.  23,  the  reference  to  agriculture  is  prominent,  especially  in  v.^"' 

(which  seems  plainly  to  be  based  upon  Ex.  231^-  "),  y.^^-'^-  Note  that  the  pro- 
visions in  V.25-  35-  39.  47  are  all  introduced  as  designed  for  the  relief  of  the 
impoverished  Israelite. 

Y.  20-22  interrupts  the  connection  ;  for  v.^*  is  evidently  the  sequel  to  v.^'^'. 
The  verses  were  probably  placed  where  they  now  stand  by  the  redactor,  who 
desired  their  contents  to  be  referred  to  the  Jubile  year  as  well  as  to  the  Sab- 
batical year.  In  explanation  of  them,  see  Riehm,  HWB.^  p.  1313^  ^p.  I33i«  j 
or  Nowack,  Arch.  ii.  164  «. 

The  marks  of  H  are  most  evident  in  v.i-'-  !«•  (n^oy)  "-22.  35-38.  42.  43.  55 
(comp.  also  v.^-  2;  8  ^ith  23^-  '^^'  ") ;  they  are  least  prominent  in  v.^-^'  The 
analysis  is,  however,  difficult  in  particulars ;  and  critics  differ.  In  Haupt's 
Sacred  Books  of  the  OT.  the  following  analysis  is  proposed  : — 

I  JJ  2i;2^''-  ^'^^  ^°*  ^3-15  17-22  24-25  35-40a  43 

I  p  2irl-2a  9b  lOb-12  16  23  26-34  40b-42  * 

lYi  47  53         55 

It  is  impossible  to  think  that  (as  has  sometimes  been  supposed)  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Jubile  is  a  mere  paper-law, — a  theoretical  completion  of  the 
system  of  seven  ;  at  least  so  far  as  concerns  the  land  (for  the  periodical  redis- 
tribution of  which  there  are  analogies  in  other  nations),  it  must  date  from 
ancient  times  in  Israel.  On  the  other  hand,  the  regulations  for  the  manu- 
mission of  slaves  in  the  50th  year,  differ  (see  p.  82,  below)  from  those  of 
Dt.  1512-18.  and  both  laws  can  hardly  have  been  in  operation  at  the  same 
time.  In  the  preceding  analysis  an  endeavour  is  made  to  take  account  of 
both  these  facts.  The  older  Jubile  law  of  H,  it  is  assumed,  provided  (i)  that 
land  should  not  be  sold  beyond  the  next  Jubile  (v.^^-isj .  ^nd  (2)  contained 
four  regulations  for  the  relief  of  the  impoverished  Israelite, — {a)  his  land 
might  be  redeemed  for  him  (v.^S),  (3)  usury  was  not  to  be  exacted  of  him 
(v.35-38)^  (<:)  and  [d)  when  in  servitude,  either  with  a  brother- Israelite  (v.^^-^Oa.  43j 
or  with  a  resident  foreigner  (v.'*'-  ^^-  ^^),  he  was  to  be  treated  humanely.  This 
law  of  H  was  afterwards  incorporated  into  the  priestly  law-book  P,  with  addi- 
tions ( I )  containing  closer  definitions,  especially  in  regard  to  the  redemption  of 
land  (v.9b-  "b-12.  23.  26-34) .  and  (2)  extending  the  benefits  of  the  Jubile  from 
land  to  persons  (v.^^^-*^-  ^4-46.  48-52.  54^^  at  a  time  when  experience  had  shown 
(cf.  Jer.  34^"^^)  that  the  law  of  Dt.  1512-18  could  not  be  enforced,  t 

*  V.^2  adapted  by  the  compiler  from  v.*^- 

t  According  to  Baentsch  (pp.  53-63),  the  original  nucleus  of  c.  25  consisted 
of  v^  1-7.  14.  17-24.  35-40a.  43.  46b.  53.  55^  and  belonged,  like  the  nucleus  of  c.  23  and 
c.  24,  to  the  same  collection  of  law^as  c.  18-20. 


$8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

C.  26.  Prohibition  of  idolatry,  and  injunction  to  observe 
the  Sabbath,  v.^-^  (v.^  =  19^^);  hortatory  conclusion  to 
the  preceding  code,  v.^-^^,  with  subscription  (Rp),  v.^^. 

This  conclusion  is  in  the  general  style  of  Ex.  2320^-  and 
Dt.  28,  but  expresses  the  ideas  and  principles  peculiar  to 
the  Law  of  Holiness,  and  is  evidently  the  work  of  the  same 
compiler.  "The  land  and  agriculture  have  here  the  same 
fundamental  significance  for  religion  as  in  c.  19.  23.  25.  The 
threat  of  expulsion,  iS^^^-  2o2'^,  is  repeated  here  in  greater 
detail.  The  one  commandment  expressly  named  is  that 
of  allowing  the  land  to  lie  fallow  in  the  Sabbatical  year, 
26^^."  It  begins,  as  it  also  ends,  with  one  of  the  characteristic 
expressions  of  H  ("if  ye  walk  in  my  statufes^\-  "/  am 
Jehovah ").  As  the  list,  p.  49  f.,  will  have  shown,  many  of  the 
other  characteristic  expressions  of  H  also  occur  in  it*  [54] 
It  contains,  however,  in  addition,  many  words  and  phrases  which 
are  original,  several  recurring  remarkably  in  Ezekiel  (see  p.  147). 

In  Lev.  17-26,  then,  we  have  before  us  elements  derived  from 
P,  combined  with  excerpts  from  an  earlier  and  independent 
collection  of  laws  (H),  the  latter  exhibiting  a  characteristic 
phraseology,  and  marked  by  the  preponderance  of  certain  charac- 
teristic principles  and  motives.!  In  some  of  its  features  this  Code 
of  laws  resembles  the  "  Book  of  the  Covenant."  As  there,  the 
commands  (in  the  main)  are  addressed  to  the  people,  not  to  the 
priest;  as  there,  they  are  also  largely  (cf.  esp.  Lev.  19)  cast  into 
an  abrupt,  concise  form,  without  comments  or  motives  (except 
"  I  am  Jehovah  ").  The  moral  commands  cover  also  much  of 
the  same  ground.  It  differs  from  Ex.  21-23  chiefly  in  the 
greater  amount  of  detail,  and  in  dealing  with  the  ceremonial, 
rather  than  with  the  civil,  side  of  an  Israelite's  life.  That  this 
collection  of  laws  is  not  preserved  in  its  original  integrity  is 

*  Comp.  also  v.^''  with  2518b.  i9b  .  y^io  (ggp.  j^;)  with  2522. 

t  For  a  systematic  exposition  of  the  legislation  of  H,  see  Baentsch, 
pp.  131-152.  When  it  is  compared  carefully  with  P,  differences  of  stand- 
point disclose  themselves.  For  instance,  H  seems  not  to  recognise  the 
distinction  of  **  Holy"  and  "  Most  holy"  (Wellh.  Comp.  p.  160 f.) ;  it  men- 
tions n'?iy  and  nat  (178  22"^-),  but  not  nNtDn  and  db-n  ;  it  forbids  (what  P 
allows)  the  slaughter  of  domestic  animals  for  food,  without  a  sacrifice  at  the 
central  sanctuary ;  and  the  hierarchical  system,  especially  in  what  concerns 
the  distinctive  pre-eminence  of  the  high  priest,  is  not  so  fully  developed  as 
in  P  (see  Baentsch,  pp.  22  f.,  39,  42,  106  f.}. 


LEVITICUS  59 

evident  from  many  indications :  some  subjects  are  treated  incom- 
pletely;* elsewhere  the  arrangement  is  imperfect,!  and  there  are 
several  instances  of  repetition.^  The  question  arises  whether 
other  excerpts  from  this  collection  of  laws  are  preserved  else- 
where in  the  Pentateuch.  If  the  list  on  p.  49  f.  be  considered 
carefully,  it  will  appear  that  several  of  the  expressions  character- 
istic of  the  "  Law  of  Holiness  "  are  combined  remarkably  in  the 
short  ordinance  on  the  Sabbath  in  Ex.  3ii'^-i4aj  v^^hjc^  may  accord- 
ingly, with  great  probability,  be  regarded  as  an  excerpt  from 
it  (so  Del.,  Dillm.,  Horst).  Lev.  ii43-45  (^f.  both  the  phrase- 
ology and  20^5)  may  be  another  excerpt :  Horst,  Kuenen,  and 
Dillm.  (partly)  would  even  include  the  entire  body  of  law  with 
which  ii43-45  ^as  primarily  connected,  viz.  11I-23. 41-47  g  A  third 
passage  that  may  be  plausibly  assigned  to  it  is  the  law  of 
"Tassels,"  Nu.  1537-41  (Del,  Horst,  Dillm.,  Kuen.).||  When 
the  collection  existed  as  a  complete  whole,  the  different  subjects 
[55]  which  it  embraced  were  no  doubt  treated  in  accordance 
with  a  definite  plan ;  at  present  only  excerpts  exist,  which  show 
what  some  of  the  subjects  included  in  it  were,  but  do  not  enable 
us  to  determine  what  principle  of  arrangement  was  followed  in  it. 
III.  C.  27.  On  the  commutation  of  vows  and  tithes,  (i)  Of 
vows ;  which  might  consist  of  persons,  v.^-s,  cattle,  v.^-^^,  houses, 
v.i4f.^  fields,  v.^^'^'^,  but  not  of  firstlings,  v.^^^-,  and  if  consisting  in 
some  object  banned  or  "devoted," IT  could  not  be  commuted, 

V.28f.  ;    (2)  of  fMeS,  V. 30-33. 

The  chapter  belongs  to  P,  and  presupposes  c.  25  (v.^^^-  the 
year  of  Jubile). 

*  E^.  ig^'^  (which  almost  necessarily  implies  that  laws  respecting  o^^er 
species  of  sacrifices  must  once  have  formed  part  of  the  code) ;  20'-^. 

t  As  i9«-8,  just  quoted  ;  1920-  21-22  20=7. 

+  1^3.80  262;  iQ^  26^;  I9»  2322;  1981  20".  From  the  facts  just  noted  it 
is  inferred  by  Dillm.  {NDJ.  p.  639)  that  the  collection,  before  it  reached  its 
present  form,  passed  through  several  hands. 

§  Or  (Paton)  the  nucleus  of  w'^-'^  (above,  p.  46),  and  w^-^. 

II  Dillm.  (NDJ.  p.  640)  considers  that  H  is  also  the  basis  of  Lev.  c^^'^ 
(cf.  i3iy  nmS)  2i-24a  (n'Dy),  Nu.  lo^'-.  Baentsch,  on  the  contrary  (p.  4ff.),  does 
not  find  sufficient  reason  for  referring  to  H  any  of  the  passages  mentioned, 
except  Lev.  ii'i3-45  ^^^^  close  of  a  brief  list  of  clean  and  unclean  animals, 
which  once  followed  2o2'*)  and  Nu.  15^"^-^^.     See  further  below,  p.  151  f. 

H  The  Din:  see  the  author's  Notes  on  Samuel  (1890),  pp.  100-102  ;  or 
more  fully  Ewald,  Antiquities  of  Israel^  pp.  101-106  (Eng.  tr.  pp.  75-78) ; 
Nowack,  Heh.  Afch.  ii.  266  ff. 


Co  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

§  4.  Numbers. 
Literature. — See  above,  p.  i  f. 

The  Book  of  Numbers  (called  by  the  Jews,  from  its  fifth 
word,  12*1^3)  carries  on  the  narrative  of  the  Pentateuch  to  the 
40th  year  of  the  exodus.  The  book  opens  on  the  ist  day  of 
the  2nd  month  in  the  2nd  year ;  the  departure  from  Sinai,  in  the 
20th  day  of  the  2nd  month,  is  related  in  lo^^-^S;  the  arrival  in 
the  wilderness  of  Paran  (or  Kadesh),  the  mission  of  the  spies, 
and  subsequent  defeat  at  Hormah  are  narrated  in  c.  13-14; 
the  arrival  in  the  desert  of  Zin  (or  Kadesh),  in  the  40th  year,  is 
recorded  20^ ;  Aaron's  death  (on  the  ist  day  of  the  5th  month  of 
the  40th  year,  33^^)  is  related  in  2o23-29. 

In  structure  the  Book  of  Numbers  resembles  Exodus,  JE 
reappearing  by  the  side  of  P,  though,  as  a  rule,  not  being  so 
closely  interwoven  with  it.  It  begins  with  a  long  extract  from 
P,  extending  from  i^  to  lo^^,  the  main  topics  of  which  are  the 
disposition  of  the  camp  and  the  duties  of  the  Levites. 

C.  I.  The  census  of  the  twelve  tribes,  exclusive  of  the  tribe 
of  Levi  (v.*''*^^),  who  are  to  be  appointed  guardians  of  the  Taber- 
nacle, and  to  be  located  around  it  in  the  centre  of  the  camp, 
apart  from  the  other  tribes.  The  number  of  males  above  20 
years  old  (exclusive  of  Levites)  is  given  at  603,550. 

C.  2.  The  position  of  the  tribeS  in  the  camp,  and  their  order 
on  the  march. 

[56]  C.  3-4.  The  Levites  taken  to  assist  the  priests,  in  lieu  of 
the  first-born,  in  doing  the  service  of  the  Tent  of  Meeting.  Their 
numbers,  their  position  in  the  centre  of  the  camp  about  the 
Tabernacle,  and  their  duties. 

3^"^  the  priests  (recapitulation) ;  v.^"^^  the  Levites  appointed  to  assist  the 
priests  in  subordinate  duties;  v.^^'^^  they  are  taken  for  this  purpose  in  lieu 
of  the  first-born  in  Israel ;  v.^^'^''  the  Levites  (from  one  month  old)  to  be 
numbered ;  v.^^"^'  the  numbers,  position,  and  charge  of  the  three  Levitical 
families — the  Gershonites,  Kohathites,  and  Merarites ;  v.^  the  priests  to  be 
on  the  east  of  the  Tabernacles ;  v.^^  the  whole  number  of  Levites  22,000 ; 
y  40-61  the  first-born  numbered  (22,273),  ^^^^  ^  ransom  taken  on  behalf  of  the 
273  in  excess  of  the  number  of  the  Levites. 

C.  4.  Particulars  (in  fuller  detail  than  in  c.  3)  respecting  the  duties  of  the 
Kohathites  v.^'^^,  Gershonites  v.^^'^^,  Merarites  v.^'^;  and  their  numbers 
(from  30  to  50  years  of  age),  viz.  Kohathites  v.^^"^  (2750),  Gershonites  v.^"*^ 
(2630),  and  Merarites  v.^^-^s  (3200),— in  all  (v, 46-49)  8580. 


NUMBERS  6l 

The  style  ot  c.  1-4  is  more  than  usually  diffuse.  Thus  in  c.  2  all  that 
is  essentially  new  as  compared  with  c.  i  are  the  statements  2^-  5*-  '^*-  ^^  &c. 
respecting  the  order  of  the  tribes ;  and  in  c.  3-4,  4^"^  is  largely  an  expan- 
sion of  what  is  stated  more  succinctly  in  324-88^  j^  jg  observable  that  3^"^^ 
exemplifies  by  actual  numerical  computation  the  more  general  thought  of  3^^, 
that  the  Levites  are  representative  of  the  first-born  of  Israel.  The  systematic 
development  of  a  subject,  capable  in  itself  of  being  stated  more  simply  and 
succinctly,  is  characteristic  of  the  narrative-sections  of  P. 

C.  5-6.  Laws  on  different  subjects  : — {a)  5I**  exclusion  of 
the  leprous  and  unclean  from  the  camp;  {b)  5^-10  the  officiat- 
ing priest  to  receive  the  compensation  for  fraud,  in  case  the 
injured  person  be  dead,  and  have  no  next-of-kin,  as  also  all 
heave-offerings  and  dedicatory  offerings :  {c)  ^^-^^  law  of  ordeal 
prescribed  for  the  woman  suspected  by  her  husband  of  unfaith- 
fulness ;  {d)  61-21  the  law  of  the  Nazirite ;  {e)  622-27  the  formula 
of  priestly  benediction. 

C.  7.  The  offerings  of  the  12  princes  of  the  tribes  at  the 
consecration  of  the  Tent  of  Meeting  and  of  the  altar,  viz.  (i) 
6  "  covered  wagons,"  or  litters,  for  the  transport  of  the  fabric  of 
the  Tabernacle  by  the  Gershonites  and  Merarites,  v.i-^;  (2) 
vessels  for  use  at  the  altar,  and  animals  for  sacrifice,  v.i^-^^. 

The  ch.  (in  the  names  of  the  12  princes,  and  the  use  of  the  6  wagons) 
presupposes  cc.  i.  4;  and  yet  the  occasion  to  which  it  x^2Xt%  precedes  Nu. 
ii  (comp.  7!-  i"*-  ^  with  Ex.  40",  Lev.  S^"-").  The  origin  of  this  incon- 
gruity must  remain  uncertain.  The  particularity  of  detail  which  characterizes 
P  generally  here  reaches  its  climax,  5  entire  verses  being  [57]  repeated  verbatim 
12  times.  But  the  aim  of  the  writer,  no  doubt,  was  to  dilate  upon  the 
example  of  liberality  displayed  upon  the  occasion  by  the  heads  of  the  people. 

C.  8.  {a)  V.1-*  instructions  for  fixing  (see  RV.  marg.)  the 
lamps  upon  the  golden  candlestick ;  {b)  v.  ^-22  consecration  of  the 
Levites  to  their  duties  (connecting  with  3^-i^) ;  (c)  v.23-26  the 
period  of  the  Levites'  service  (from  25  to  50  years  of  age). 

In  4^'  23-  30  the  limits  are  from  thirty  to  fifty  years  of  age.  The  law  here 
must  represent  the  practice  (or  theory)  of  a  different  time  from  that  of 
c.  4,  and  is  in  all  probability  a  later  modification  of  that  law.  The  supposi- 
tion that  the  regulations  in  c.  4  are  temporary  and  refer  only  to  the  transport 
of  the  Tabernacle  in  the  wilderness,  while  the  regulation  here  is  permanent, 
relating  to  the  service  of  the  Levites  generally,  introduces  an  arbitrary  distinc- 
tion :  the  terms  used  in  the  text  are  precisely  the  same  in  both  cases  (S^***  and 
^3b-4.  23b.  30b)^  jjj  ^Q_  jjj^g  Qf  tjjg  Chronicler  (r.  300  B.C.)  liability  to  service 
began  in  the  20th  year  (2  Ch.  31",  Ezr.  3*) :  the  change  from  the  30th  year 
is  attributed  (i  Ch.  233-  24-27)  to  Da^id. 


62  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

C.  9.  (a)  The  Passover  of  the  second  year,  followed  by  the 
institution  of  a  supplementary  or  "Little"  Passover,  a  month 
afterwards,  for  the  sake  of  those  hindered  accidentally  from  keep- 
ing the  Passover  at  the  regular  time,  v.^^^^ ;  {^)  the  signals  given 
by  the  cloud  for  the  marching  and  halting  of  the  camp,  v.^^"^^. 

C.  10.  (a)  The  use  of  the  silver  trumpets  in  starting  the 
several  camps,  and  on  other  occasions,  v.^^^*^;  (d)  the  departure 
of  the  Israelites  from  Sinai,  and  order  of  their  camps  on  the 
march,  v.^^^^S;  (^)  (JE)  the  services  of  Hobab  secured  for  the 
guidance  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness ;  and  the  functions 
of  the  ark  in  directing  the  movements  of  the  Israelites,  v.^^"^®. 

C.  1 1 -1 2  (JE).  The  murmuring  of  the  people  at  Taberah 
and  Kibroth-hattaavah.  Appointment  of  seventy  elders  to  assist 
Moses.     Quails  given  to  satisfy  the  people.     Miriam's  leprosy. 

C.  II  appears  to  show  marks  of  composition  (see  Dillm.),  though,  as  is 
often  the  case  in  JE,  the  data  do  not  exist  for  separating  the  sources  employed 
with  confidence.  Bacon  (agreeing  nearly  with  Wellh.)  refers  v.^"^*  •^^""'  ^^'^ 
to  E,  v.4-15-  18-23-  31-35  to  J.     C.  12  bclongs  probably  to  E. 

C.  13-14.  The  narrative  of  the  spies. 

j  p      131-17*  21  26.26a  to  ParUft)  32a 

I  T£  17b-20  22-24  26b-31  32b-33 

j  P     14I-2  (in  the  main)  "-7          lo  26-30  34-38 

(   J£  3-4  8-9  11-25  31-33  39-45 

[58]  The  double  character  of  the  narrative  is  very  evident. 
Observe  (i)  that  i^'^'^  \^ parallel  to  v.^i,  v.^^  to  v.^^-si^  and  1426-30 
to  14^^-  2-^-25^  observe  (2)  the  difference  of  representation  which 
characterizes  the  two  accounts  :  in  JE  the  spies  go  only  as  far  as 
the  neighbourhood  of  Hebrott,  in  the  south  of  Judah  (13^^"^^); 
in  P  they  explore  the  whole  country ^  to  Rehob  (Jud.  iS^^)  in  the 
far  north  (1321 :  with  this  agrees  the  expression  in  it,^^  diud  14'' 
^^  through  which  we  have  passed") ;  in  JE,  upon  their  return,  they 
represent  the  land  as  a  fertile  one,  but  one  which  the  Israelites 
have  not  the  means  of  conquering  (13^''*^^);  in  P  they  represent 
it  as  one  that  "  eateth  up  its  inhabitants,"  i.e.  as  an  impoverished 
land  (see  Lev.  26^^,  Ezek.  36^^),  not  worth  conquering  (13^^) :  in 
JE  Joshua  is  not  named  as  one  of  the  spies,  and  Caleb  alone  stills 
the  people,  and  is  exempted  in  consequence  from  the  sentence 
of  exclusion  from  Palestine  (13^^  14^'');  in  P  Joshua  as  well  as 
Caleb  is  among   the   spies;  both  are   named  as  pacifying  the 


NUMBERS  63 

people,  and  are  exempted  accordingly  from  the  sentence  of 
exclusion  (14^-  ^^'  ^^ ;  cf.  26^^  P).  This  last  difference  is  remark- 
able, and  will  meet  us  again  :  had  the  whole  narrative  been  by  a 
single  writer,  who  thought  of  Joshua  as  acting  in  concert  with 
Caleb,  it  is  difficult  not  to.  think  that  Joshua  would  have  been 
mentioned  beside  Caleb— not,  possibly,  in  13^^,  but — in  14^^, 
when  f/ie  exemption  from  the  se7itence  of  exclusion  from  Palestine 
is  first  promised.  In  P  the  spies  start  from  the  "wilderness  of 
Paran"  {13^;  cf.  v.^^) :  in  JE,  though  it  is  not  here  so  stated,  it 
may  be  inferred  from  Nu.  32^  (cf.  Dt.  i^^,  Josh.  14^)  that  they 
started  from  Kadesh ;  and  with  this  agree  the  words  to  Kadesh 
in  13-^.  If  the  passages  assigned  to  the  two  narratives  be  read 
continuously,  it  will  be  found  that  each  is  nearly  as  complete  as 
in  the  case  of  tjie  narrative  of  the  Flood  in  Genesis :  only  the 
beginning  in  JE  is  replaced  by  the  fuller  particulars  from  P. 
The  phraseology  of  the  two  narratives  differs  as  usual.* 

C.  15  (P).  {a)  V.i-16  the  Meal-  and  Drink-offering  appointed 
to  accompany  every  Burnt-offering  and  Peace-offering ;  {b)  v.^'*'"^^ 
a  cake  of  the  first  dough  of  the  year  to  be  offered  as  a  Heave- 
offering;  [c)  v.22-31  the  Sin-offering  of  the  community,  or  of  an 
individual,  for  accidental  derelictions  of  duty ;  {d)  v.^'^"^^  narrative 
of  the  punishment  inflicted  upon  a  Sabbath-breaker;  {e)  y.^'^-^^ 
the  law  of  "  Tassels." 

[59]  V. 22-31  belong  to  the  general  subject  of  Lev  4I-513 ;  the  Sin-offering  of 
the  congregation  having  been  already  prescribed  there  (4^^'2i),  but  the  animal 
being  a  different  one,  viz.  a  bullock.  The  language  of  v. 22  supports  the  view 
that  here  sins  of  omission  are  referred  to,  while  in  Lev.  4  the  reference  is  to 
sins  of  commission.  Those  who  are  not  satisfied  with  this  explanation  sup- 
pose that  the  two  laws  represent  the  practice  of  different  tim^s  (so  Dillm., 
remarking  that  in  v.24  the  language  of  <r(7wmission  is  used,  and  in  Lev.  5^  that 
of  i?mission).     On  v. ^'-^i  see  p.  59. 

C.  16-17.  The  rebellion  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram.  Con- 
firmation of  the  priestly  prerogatives  enjoyed  by  the  tribe  of  Levi. 

rp      J  51a  2b-7a.  (7b-ll)  (16-17).  18-24  27a       32b      35.  (36-40).  41-60  j,^    j^ 

\t£  lb-2a  12-15  25-26  27b-34 

Here  two,  if  not  three,  narratives  have  been  combined.  If  the 
parts  assigned  to  each  in  the  table  be  read  continuously,  the 
following  will  appear  as  their  several  characteristics  : — 

1.  In  JE  Dathan  and  Abiram,  Reubenites,  give  vent  to  their 
*  On  JE  in  Nu.  13-14,  see  also  Bacon.  Hebraica,  xi.  (1895)  p.  234 ff. 


64  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

dissatisfaction  with  Moses,  complaining  (v.^*)  that  his  promises 
have  been  unfulfilled,  and  resenting  the  authority  (v.^^^)  and 
judgeship  (v.^^^)  possessed  by  him ;  they,  with  their  tents  and 
households,  are  swallowed  up  by  the  earth  v.^^-s*.  This  is  a 
rebellion  of  laymen  against  the  civil  authority  claimed  by  Moses. 
The  narrative  is  nearly  complete,  there  being  only  some  slight 
omissions  at  the  beginning. 

2.  In  P  there  appear  to  be  two  strata  of  narrative.  In  the 
parts  not  enclosed  within  parentheses,  Korah,  at  the  head  of  250 
princes  of  the  congregation,  not  themselves  all  Levites,*  opposes 
Moses  and  Aaron  in  the  interests  of  the  community  at  large, 
protesting  against  the  limitation  of  priestly  rights  to  the  tribe  of 
Levi,  on  the  ground  (v.^)  that  "  all  the  congregation  are  holy." 
Invited  by  Moses  to  establish  their  claim  by  appearing  with 
censers  at  the  sanctuary,  they  are  consumed  by  fire  from  Jehovah. 
With  this  representation  agrees  i6^i-^o  c.  17,  the  point  of  [60] 
which  is  to  confirm — not  the  exclusive  rights  of  Aaron,  as  against 
the  rest  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  but — the  exclusive  right  to  the 
priesthood  possessed  by  Levi,  against  Israel  generally  (the 
opposition  is  clearly  not  between  Aaron  and  the  other  Levites, 
but  between  Levi  and  the  other  tribes;  the  words  in  17^^^-,  also, 
are  spoken  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  people  at  large). 

3.  This  narrative  appears  to  have  been  afterwards  enlarged  by 
additions  (the  parts  enclosed  within  parentheses),  emphasizing  a 
somewhat  different  point  of  view,  and  exhibiting  Korah,  at  the 
head  of  250  Levites,  as  setting  himself  in  opposition  to  Aaron, 
and  protesting  on  behalf  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  generally  against 
the  exclusive  rights  claimed  by  the  sons  of  Aaron  (observe  v?^  ye 
sons  of  Levi,  and  w.^^-  where  Korah's  company  are  described  as 
dissatisfied  with  their  menial  position,  and  claiming  equal  rights 
with  Aaron).  With  this  representation  agrees  i63^-^o  (see  v.'*^ 
"  that  no  stranger  that  is  not  of  the  seed  of  Aaron,"  &c.). 

Thus  JE  mentions  only  Dathan  and  Abiram,  P  only  Korah ; 
and  the  motives  and  aims  of  the  malcontents  are  in  each  case 
different.     The  phraseology  of  the  two  main  currents   of  the 

*  As  appears,  partly  from  the  general  expression  in  v.^  {"  princes  of  the 
congregation,"  with  no  limitation  to  Levites),  partly  from  the  fact  that  in 
27^  Manassites  disown,  on  behalf  of  their  father,  complicity  in  the  insurrection 
of  Korah,  which,  if  all  his  company  had  consisted  of  Levites,  would  evidently 
have  been  unnecessary. 


NUMBERS  65 

narrative  is  that  of  JE  and  P  respectively.  A  more  general 
ground,  tending  to  show  the  composite  character  of  the  narrative, 
is  the  inequality  of  the  manner  in  which  Korah,  Dathan,  and 
Abiram  appear  in  it :  whereas  in  v.^^-  they  are  represented  as 
taking  part  in  a  common  conspiracy,  they  afterwards  continually 
act  separately;  Moses  speaks  to  Korah  without  Dathan  and 
Abiram,  and  to  Dathan  and  Abiram  without  Korah  (v.^-^^,  v.^--^'*, 
y  16-22^  v.2^^-);  Dathan  and  Abiram  do  not  act  in  concert  with 
Korah  v.^^-^^,  but  remain  in  their  tents  at  a  distance  v. 26-27^ 
finally,  their  fate  is  different.  Of  course,  an  alliance  between 
an  ecclesiastical  and  a  civil  party  is,  in  itself,  nothing  incredible ; 
but  such  a  representation  of  their  cominon  action  is  not  probable, 
except  upon  the  supposition  of  a  combination  of  two  narratives 
describing  the  course  of  it  from  different  sides,  or  points  of 
view. 

The  important  distinction  between  the  two  strata  of  P  is  that 
in  the  main  narrative  there  is  no  indication  of  any  opposition 
between  Aaron  and  Levi  {i.e.  between  priests  and  Levites),  while 
in  the  secondary  narrative  this  opposition  is  palpable,  and  the 
gulf  separating  priests  and  Levites  is  strongly  emphasized  (cf. 
the  emphasis  laid  on  the  same  distinction  in  Nu.  3.  4.  8). 

[61]  The  analysis  is  that  of  Wellh.  {Cotnp.  p.  339  f.),  Dillmann  (p.  89), 
and  Baudissin  [Friesterthum,  p.  35).  In  v.^^-  27  it  jg  highly  probable  that  the 
original  reading  was  "  the  tabernacle  oi  Jehovah  ^^  (as  17^^) ;  not  only  is  the 
sing,  "tabernacle"  remarkable,  but  the  word  (pcD)  is  never  in  prose  (whether 
in  the  Pent,  or  elsewhere)  applied  to  a  human  habitation,  whereas  it  is  used 
repeatedly  of  " the  Tabernacle."  LXX  (each  time)  has  only  "the  tabernacle 
of  Korah." 

C.  18  (P).  {a)  V.i-''  duties,  and  relative  position,  of  priests 
and  Levites  :  the  sons  of  Aaron  to  act  as  priests,  to  be  responsible 
for  the  service  of  the  Sanctuary  and  Altar ;  the  other  Levites  to 
assist  them  in  subordinate  offices ;  {b)  v}^-'^^  the  revenues  of  the 
priests  defined ;  {c)  v.20-24  the  tithe  to  be  paid  by  the  people  to 
the  Levites ;  but  v. 25-32^  a  tithe  of  the  tithe  to  be  paid  by  the 
Levites  to  the  priests. 

The  ch.  stands  in  close  connexion  with  the  main  narrative  of  P  in  c. 
16-17,  17^^''  forming  the  transition  to  it :  notice  how,  as  there,  the  rights 
of  the  tribe  of  Levi  (whether  in  the  persons  of  "priests"  or  "  Levites")  are 
protected  against  the  "stranger"  belonging  to  another  tribe,  v,^*'-^-"'-^ 
(with  evident  allusion  to  16^'"'   17^^).     In  v.^   "bear  the  iniquity  of  the 


66  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

sanctuary  "=be  liable  for  any  damage  or  desecration  which  may  befall  it 
through  their  neglect,  in  one  word,  be  responsible  for  it  (cf.  p.  50,  No.  20*=). 
In  V.2  <' joined  "  there  is  in  the  Hebrew  a  play  on  the  name  Levi. 

C.  19  (P).  The  rite  of  purification  (by  means  of  water  mingled 
with  the  ashes  of  a  red  heifer)  after  defilement  with  a  corpse, 
y  1-13  ^  ;yi(;h  dircctions  for  the  application  of  the  rite  in  particular 
cases,  v.^^-22. 

C.  20-22^  (P  and  JE).  Israel  at  Kadesh;  with  their  journey- 
ings  thence  to  the  plains  of  Moab. 

20^'^^  death  of  Miriam  ;  murmurings  of  the  people  for  water,  and  sin  of 
Moses  and  Aaron  at  Meribah  ;  v.^^'^^  refusal  of  Edom  to  permit  the  Israelites 
to  pass  through  their  territory ;  v.^^'^^  death  of  Aaron,  and  investiture  of 
Eleazar  as  his  successor,  on  Mount  Hor.  21^-^  defeat  of  the  king  of  Arad  ; 
v.^'^  impatience  of  the  people  while  making  the  circuit  of  the  land  of  Edom  ; 
the  brazen  serpent;  v.^''"^'^  their  itinerary  to  the  "field  of  Moab"  at  Pisgah  ; 
y  21-23  refusal  of  Sihon  to  allow  Israel  to  cross  his  border  ;  v.24-35  conquest  by 
the  Israelites  of  the  territory  of  Sihon,  and  of  Og  the  king  of  Bashan ;  22* 
arrival  at  the  plains  of  Moab. 

fP    20^'' {io  month)        2        8b-4      6-13  22-29  21^  (to  ff or) 

\l^  lb         3a  6  14-21  211"^  *•>"• 

rP     2l"-"  22» 

IjE  12-35 

On  c.  20  comp.  Cornill,  ZATW.  1891,  p.  20ft'.;  Bacon, //5ZzV.  1S92, 
p.  197,  and  Triple  Tradition  of  the  Exodus^  pp.  195-197,  203  f.  [62]  2oi^"2i' 
2j4b-9. 12-30  jjjay  belong  in  particular  to  E. 

In  2ii°^'  it  is  observable  that  the  form  of  the  itinerary  in  P  and  JE  is 
slightly  different.  In  P  (v.io'-)  the  verb  stands  first;  in  JE  ( v.  12.  is.  16. 19. 20) 
the  place  stands  first  ("from  .  .  .  they  journeyed,"  &c.).  The  same  dis- 
tinction recurs  elsewhere  :  contrast  c.  33  {V)  passim  with  ii**.  21^"^  recurs 
(largely  verbatim)  in  Dt.  3I"',  and  is  so  Deuteronomic  in  style  that  Dillm. 
and  Bacon  {I.e.  p.  211)  may  be  right  in  thinking  the  passage  to  be  introduced 
here  from  Dt.  (observe  that  the  conquest  of  Og  is  not  alluded  to  in  222). 

C.  22^-361^  Israel  in  the  steppes  of  Moab. 

2  22-c.  24.  The  history  of  Balaam  (JE). 

2  22-41  (except  v.22-^^*)  may  be  assigned  with  some  confidence 
to  E ;  observe  God  almost  uniformly  {not  Jehovah)  ;  and  comp. 
V. 9a.  20a  ^ith  Gen.  20^  3124  (both  E).  V.22-35a  (the  episode  of  the 
ass)  is  taken  from  a  different  source,  viz.  J ;  notice  (a)  in  v.21 
Balaam  goes  "  with  the  princes  of  Moab,"  in  v.22ff'  he  is  evidently 
alone ;  (/^)  in  the  main  narrative  of  the  ch.  Balaam,  at  the  second 
message  from  Balak,  receives  permission  to  go,  provided  only 
that  he  speaks  what  is  put  into  his  mouth  by  God ;  the  episode 


NUMBERS  67 

plies  that  no  permission  to  go  had  been  given  to  him,  and  he 
first  taught  by  the  angel  on  the  wa.y  that  he  is  only  to  speak 
hat  is  put  into  his  mouth ;  {c)  Jehovah  (not  God).  The  narrative 
it  v.'''^*  reaches  the  same  point  as  v.^o^ :  v.^^^  (repeating  v.^i^) 
appears  to  have  been  added  by  the  compiler  for  the  purpose  of 
leading  back  into  the  text  of  E.  It  is  uncertain  whether  c.  23-24 
belong  to  J  or  E,  or  whether  they  are  the  work  of  the  compiler 
who  has  made  use  of  both  sources  :  critics  differ,  and  it  is  wisest 
to  leave  the  question  undetermined.  The  early  part  of  c.  22 
seems  to  contain  elements  derived  from  a  different  source  from 
the  main  body  of  the  ch. :  thus  v.^  is  superfluous  before  v.*^,  v.'^ 
and  v.^^  are  different  statements  of  substantially  the  same  fact ; 
and  the  notices  of  the  "  elders  of  Midian "  in  v."*-  '^  (and  not 
afterwards)  suggest  the  inference  that  they  are  derived  from  a 
narrative  which  told  more  fully  how  the  Midianites  made  common 
cause  with  Moab  against  Israel. 

C.  25.  The  Israelites  seduced  at  Shittim  into  idolatry  and 
immorality :  the  zeal  of  Phinehas  rewarded  with  the  promise  of 
the  permanency  of  the  priesthood  in  his  family.  V.i-^  belongs 
to  JE ;  v.6-18  to  P. 

The  beginning  of  P's  narrative  has  been  omitted  in  favour  of  that  of  JE. 
From  31^^  it  may  be  inferred  that  it  contained  some  account  of  the  treacherous 
(see  v.^^)  "counsel  of  Balaam,"  given  with  the  view  of  seducing  the  men  of 
Israel  into  sin,  and  so  of  bringing  them  into  disfavour  with  Jehovah.  Of  the 
two  narratives,  one  (JE)  names  the  Moabites,  the  other  (P)  the  Midianites,  as 
those  who  led  Israel  into  sin  ;  the  latter  supplies  the  [63]  motive  for  the  war 
against  Midian  described  in  c.  31  (comp.  Delitzsch,  ZKWL.  1888,  p.  121). 
For  Midianites  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Moab,  cf,  22^- '  Gen.  36^. 

C.  26-31  all  belong  to  P. 

C.  26.  The  second  census  of  Israel  (see  c.  if.)  during  the 
wanderings.  The  sum-total  of  males  (from  20  years  old)  is 
given  at  601,730,  exclusive  of  the  Levites  (from  one  month  old), 
23,000. 

V.^'^^,  which  are  based  upon  c.  16  in  its  present  (composite)  form,  are 
probably  an  insertion  in  the  orginal  text  of  the  ch. :  likewise  v.^^  (the  details 
of  which  are  not  in  harmony  with  P's  genealogy  of  Levi  in  Ex.  6""^^  Nu.  '^' 
21.  27. 33^  and  are  disregarded  in  the  verses  that  follow). 

C.  27.  {a)  V.i-ii  the  law  of  the  inheritance  of  daughters,  in 
families  in  which  there  was  no  son,  arising  out  of  the  case  of 
the  daughters  of  Zelophehad;  {b)  v.12-23  Moses  commanded  to 


68  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

view  Palestine  before  his  death ;  and  Joshua  instituted  as  his 
successor. 

C.  28-29.  A  priestly  calendar,  defining  the  public  sacrifices 
proper  for  each  season. 

28^'^  introduction  ;  v.^"^  the  daily  morning  and  evening  Burnt-offering ; 
v.^-^*^  the  Sabbath  ;  v."-^^  the  New  Moons  ;  v.^^the  Passover  ;  \.^'^'-^  Mazzoth  ; 
y  26-31  t]^e  Day  of  First-fruits  [i.e.  the  Feast  of  Weeks:  so  called  only  here, 
cf.  Ex.  23I6''  3422*] .  29I-6  New  Year's  Day  ;  v.'^""  Day  of  Atonement ;  v.  12-34 
the  seven  days  of  the  Feast  of  Booths,  with  the  supernumerary  eighth  day 
y  33-38  .  y  39-40  subscription. 

28^"^  is  largely  a  verbal  repetition  of  Ex.  2(f^'^^.  For  the  rest,  the  ch.  is 
supplementary  to  the  calendar  in  Lev.  23  (which,  as  a  rule,  alludes  to,  but 
does  not  describe  in  detail,  the  special  sacrifices),  from  which  some  of  the  par- 
ticulars are  repeated  (as  28"-  is-  ^'  ^^^  29^'  '•  i-  ^5 ;  cf.  Lev.  236-8-  21. 24f.  27.  34.  sej. 
The  New  Moons  (28ii"i^)  are  not  mentioned  in  Lev.  23. 

C.  30.  The  law  of  vows. 

V.2  a  vow  made  by  a  man  to  be  in  all  cases  binding :  v.^*^-  conditions  for 
the  validity  of  vows  made  by  women. 

C.  31.  The  war  of  vengeance  against  Midian  (see  25^*^'^^). 

Though  cast  into  narrative  form,  the  ch.  has  really  a  legislative  object, 
viz.  to  prescribe  a  principle  for  the  distribution  of  booty  taken  in  war.  Of 
the  place,  circumstances,  and  other  details  of  the  war  we  learn  nothing :  we 
[64]  are  told  only  of  the  issue,  how,  viz.,  12,000  Israelite  warriors,  without 
losing  a  man  (v.^^),  slew  all  the  males  and  married  women  of  Midian,  took 
captive  32,000  virgins,  and  brought  back  800,000  head  of  cattle,  besides 
other  booty.  In  the  high  figures,  and  absence  of  specific  details,  the  narrative 
resembles  the  descriptions  of  wars  in  the  Chronicles  or  in  Jud.  20.  The 
account,  as  we  have  it,  contains  elements  which  are  not  easy  to  reconcile  with 
historical  probability.  The  difficulties  of  the  section  are  mitigated  by  the 
supposition  that  the  simpler  materials  supplied  by  tradition  have  here  been 
elaborated  by  the  compiler,  in  accordance  with  his  love  of  system,  into  an 
ideal  picture  of  the  manner  in  which  a  sacred  war  must  have  been  conducted 
by  Israel. 

C.  32.  Allotment  by  Moses  of  the  trans-Jordanic  region  to  the 
tribes  of  Gad,  Reuben,  and  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh. 

rp  18-19  24-32.  (33) 

IjE  32I-"  (in  the  main)  '^^-"^  in  the  main)  84-42 

Throughout  v.^^^^  the  negotiations  with  Moses  are  conducted 
on  the  part  of  Gad  and  Reuben  alone  :  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh 
is  named  for  the  first  time — and  apparently  only  for  the  sake  of 
completeness — in  the  summary  statement,  v.^^^     ^g  regards  the 


DEUTERONOMY  69 

structure  of  the  ch.,  in  some  parts  the  style  of  P  is  manifest 
throughout;  in  others  only  in  traces.  It  would  seem  that  the 
compiler  has  combined  P  and  JE,  sometimes  following  P  ex- 
clusively, sometimes  following  in  the  main  JE,  but  introducing 
elements  from  P. 

Thus  in  vJ"^  "Eleazar  the  priest,"  the  "princes,"  and  the  "congrega- 
tion "  (J.e.  v.^''  and  part  of  v.'*)  belong  to  P:  in  v.^"^^  the  expressions  are  chiefly 
those  of  JE,  and  the  allusions  are  nearly  entirely  to  JE's  narrative  in  c.  13-14  ; 
but  isolated  phrases  appear  to  have  been  introduced  from  P  (v.**  "for  a  pos- 
session"; v.^^  "from  20  years  old  and  upward";  v.^^  "Joshua";  v.^  cf. 
14^  P) ;  similarly  in  v.^o-^^^  where  the  phrases  suggestive  of  P  might  even  be 
removed  without  injury  to  the  narrative  (v.^^  to  before  the  Lord;  v.^*>  from 
afid  this  land  [the  preceding  "then  afterward  .  .  .  and  be  "  may,  of  course, 
with  equal  propriety  be  rendered  "and  afterward  ...  ye  shall  be  guilt- 
less"] ;  perhaps  v.^^^  (cf.  30^^  P) ;  v.^  "every  one  that  is  armed  for  war"). 
On  the  other  hand,  v.^"^  evidently  points  back  to  v.^- 1^'-  -^  (JE).  It  is  not 
impossible  that  v.^  is  a  late  addition  to  the  ch.  On  v.^'^  comp.  Wellh. 
Comp.  p.  117  ;  Dillm.  p.  200  ;  and  Budde,  as  cited  below,  p.  163,  note  IF. 

C.  33.  P's  itinerary  of  the  journeyings  of  the  Israelites  from 
Rameses  to  the  plains  of  Moab,  v.^"^^;  followed  by  directions 
respecting  the  occupation  of  Canaan,  v.^^^^^^  (introductory  to  c.  34). 

[65]  In  w.^'^-^  directions  from  P  relative  to  the  method  of  allotment  of 
Canaan,  v.^"-^^-^^,  have  been  combined,  as  it  seems,  with  two  excerpts  from 
H  respecting  the  extirpation  of  Canaanitish  idolatry,  v. ^2-53. 55-56.  Observe 
the  two  rather  noticeable  terms  noa  and  not^D  (v.^^j^  occurring  elsewhere  in 
the  Pent,  only  Lev.  261-  ^  (H). 

C.  34  (P).  The  borders  of  Israel's  territory  W.  of  Jordan, 
v.i-^^,  with  the  names  of  those  appointed  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  Joshua  and  Eleazar  in  its  allotment,  v.^^'^^- 

C.  35  (P).  Appointment  of  48  cities  for  the  residence  of  the 
Levites,  v.^'^ ;  and  of  6  among  them,  3  on  each  side  of  Jordan, 
as  cities  of  refuge  for  the  manslayer,  with  conditions  regulating 
their  use,  v.^^^^* 

C.  36  (P).  Heiresses  possessing  landed  property  to  marry  into 
their  own  tribe  (in  order,  viz.,  to  preserve  the  inheritance  of  each 
tribe  intact). 

A  provision  rendered  necessary  by  the  ordinance  of  27^"i^* 

§  5.  Deuteronomy. 

Literature. — See  p.  if.;  and  add  :  Ed.  Riehm,  Gesetzgehung  Mosis  im 
Lande  Moab,   1854  (cf.  also  E^l.  i.  233-248,  311-318);  F.  W.  Schultz, 


70  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Das  Deut.  erkldrt,  1859  (the  Mosaic  authorship  here  maintained  was  after ■« 
wards  abandoned  by  the  author,  being  no  longer  considered  by  him  to  be 
required  by  the  terms  of  31^) ;  P.  Kleinert,  Das  Deut.  u.  der  Deuteronomiker^ 
1872,  with  Riehm's  review  in  the  Stud.  u.  Krit.  1873,  pp.  165-200 ;  Aug. 
Kayser,  Das  Vorexilische  Buck  der  Urgeschichte  Israels,  1874  (deals  in 
particular  with  the  relation  of  Dt.  to  Gen.-Nu.) ;  J.  Hollenberg  in  the  Stud, 
u.  Krit.  1874,  pp.  472-506  (on  the  "margins"  of  Dt.  [i.e.  Dt.  1-4,  29-34], 
and  their  relation  to  the  Deuteronomic  sections  of  Joshua)  j  W.  R.  Smith, 
OT/C.  p.  352  ff.  :  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Jeremiah,  his  Life  and  Times,  pp.  48-86 ; 
Westphal,  Les  Sources  du  Pent.  1892,  ii.  33-132,  262-318;  S.  Oettli  (in 
Strack  and  Zcckler's  Kgf.  Kommentar),  1893 ;  S.  R.  Driver  (in  the  "Inter- 
national Critical  Commentary  "),  Edinb.  1895 ;  also  W.  Staerk,  Das  Deut.,  sein 
Inhalt,  u.  seine  litt.  Form,  1894,  and  C.  Steuernagel,  Der  Rahmen  des  Deut., 
1894,  Die  Entstehung  des  Deut.  Gesetzes,  1896  (both  attempts  to  analyse  Dt. 
into  pre-existing  groups  of  laws). 

On  c.  32  the  monograph  of  Ad.  Kamphausen,  Das  Lied  Moses,  1862  ;  and 
on  c.  33  K.  H.  Graf,  Der  Segen  Mose'sy  1857  ;  A.  van  der  Flier,  Deuteronom- 
ium  33,  Leiden,  1895. 

Deuteronomy  is  called  by  the  Jews  (from  the  opening  words) 
Dnn^n  n^X,  or  more  briefly  Dnni.  The  English  name  is  derived 
from  the  (inexact)  rendering  of  17^^  n^?^^  nninn  T\'W\:;>*  in  the  \(/y\ 
LXX  TO  SiVTcpovojjLLov  TovTo.  It  records  the  events  of  the  last 
month  (i^  348)  of  the  forty  years'  wanderings  of  the  children  of 
Israel.  The  greater  part  of  the  book  is  occupied  by  the  dis- 
course in  which  Moses,  before  his  death,  sets  before  the  Israelites 
the  laws  which  they  are  to  obey,  and  the  spirit  in  which  they  are 
to  obey  them,  when  they  are  settled  in  the  Promised  Land.  This 
is  preceded  and  followed  by  other  matter,  the  nature  of  which 
will  appear  from  the  following  table  of  contents  : — 

i^"^  Historical  introduction,  stating  the  place  and  time  at  which  the 
discourses  following  were  delivered. 

16-440^  Moses'  frst  discourse,  consisting  of  a  review  of  the  circum- 
stances under  which  the  Israelites  had  reached  the  border  of  the 
Promised  Land,  and  concluding  with  an  eloquent  practical  appeal 
(c.  4)  not  to  forget  the  great  truths  impressed  upon  them  at 
Horeb. 

^^4i-43_  Historical  account  of  the  appointment  by  Moses  of  three  cities  of 
refuge  east  of  Jordan. 
*-'^  Su 
proper. 


*  Which  signifies  a  repetition  (i.  e.  copy)  of  this  law,  not  this  repetition  of 
the  law. 


DEUTERONOMY  yi 

C  5-26.  The  Exposition  of  the  Law,  consisting  of  two  parts  :  (l)  c.  5-1 1 
hortatory  introduction,  developing  the  first  commandment  of  the 
Decalogue,  and  inculcating  the  general  theocratic  principles  by  which 
Israel,  as  a  nation,  is  to  be  guided  ;  (2)  c.  12-26  the  Code  of  special 
laws. 

C.  27.  Injunctions  (interrupting  the  discourse  of  Moses,  and  narrated  in 
the  third  person)  relative  to  a  symbolical  acceptance  by  the  nation  of 
the  preceding  Code,  after  entering  Canaan. 

C.  28-29^.  Conclusion  to  the  Code  (connected  closely  with  26^^),  and 
consisting  of  a  solemn  declaration  of  the  consequences  to  follow  its 
observance  or  neglect. 

29^-30^^.  Moses'  third  discourse,  of  the  nature  of  a  supplement,  insist- 
ing afresh  upon  the  fundamental  duty  of  loyalty  to  Jehovah,  and 
embracing  (i)  an  appeal  to  Israel  to  accept  the  terms  of  the  Deuter- 
onomic  covenant,  with  a  renewed  warning  of  the  disastrous  con- 
sequences of  a  lapse  into  idolatry  (c.  29) ;  (2)  a  promise  of  restoration, 
even  after  the  abandonment  threatened  in  c.  28,  if  the  nation  should 
then  exhibit  due  tokens  of  penitence  (30^"^°) ;  (3)  the  choice  set  before 
Israel  (3o"-20). 

2 1 1-13^  Moses'  last  words  of  encouragement  to  the  people  and  Joshua. 
His  delivery  of  the  Deuteronomic  law  to  the  Levitical  priests. 

3ii4_3247.  Institution  of  Joshua  by  Jehovah  {li^^-^^-"^).  The  Song  of 
Moses   (32^^^),   with   accompanying    historical    notices    (3116-22.24-30^ 

3244-47). 

32^-3412.  Conclusion  of  the  whole  book,  containing  the  Blessing  of 
Moses  (c.  33),  and  describing  the  circumstances  of  his  death. 

Throughout,  the  author's  aim  is  pareftetic :  he  does  not  merely 
collect,  or  repeat,  a  series  of  laws,  he  "expounds"  them  (i^),  i.e. 
he  develops  them  with  reference  to  the  moral  purposes  which 
they  subserve,  and  the  motives  by  which  the  Israelite  should  feel 
prompted  to  obey  them. 

The  structure  of  Dt.  is  relatively  simple.  The  main  part  of 
the  book  is  pervaded  throughout  by  a  single  purpose,  and  bears 
the  marks  of  being  the  work  of  a  single  writer,  who  has  taken  as 
the  basis  of  his  discourses,  partly  the  narrative  and  laws  of  JE 
as  they  exist  in  the  previous  books  of  the  Pentateuch,  partly  laws 
derived  [67]  from  other  sources.  Towards  the  end  of  the  book 
either  the  same  author,  or  a  writer  imbued  with  the  same  spirit, 
has  incorporated  extracts  from  JE,  and  other  sources,  recording 
incidents  connected  with  the  death  of  Moses.  One  of  the  final 
redactors  of  the  Pentateuch  has  brought  the  whole  thus  con- 
stituted into  relation  with  the  literary  framework  of  the  Hexa- 
teuch,  by  the  addition  of  excerpts  from  P.  The  analytical 
scheme  of  the  book  is  accordingly  as  follows  : — 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


270 

3l8_428  ^32-40  5I-26I9 

,14-17  4-'J-31  441-43.  44-49  27^"^ 


27^-'"  c.  28.  29i-« 

JQ2  277b-8  11-13.(14-26) 

P  32^ 


(c.  33*)  34'*t 


{{ 


p    34la+ 


JE  34^ 

D 

D2 


On  c.  1-4.  27.  29-34  see  more  fully  pp.  93-98.  Certain  parts  of  Dt.,  while 
displaying  the  general  Deut.  style,  connect  imperfectly  with  the  context,  or 
present  differences  of  representation,  which  make  it  probable  that  they  are 
the  work  of  a  later  Deuteronomic  hand  (or  hands),  by  whom  the  original 
Dt.  was  supplemented  or  enlarged :  these  are  indicated  in  the  Table  by  the 
symbol  D^.  (The  line  dividing  D  and  D^  cannot  in  every  case,  especially  in 
c.  29-34,  be  fixed  with  confidence.) 

It  will  be  convenient  to  consider  first  the  character  and  scope 
of  the  central  part  of  the  book,  c.  5-26,  and  c.  28. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  table  of  contents,  the  Deuteronomic 
legislation^  properly  so  called,  is  contained  in  c.  12-26,  to  which 
c.  5-1 1  form  an  introduction,  and  c.  27,  28  a  conclusion.  In 
Dt.  itself  the  Code  (including  c.  28)  is  referred  to  frequently 

(1548   17I8.I9  27  3.8.26    28^8.61    j5C)29   318.  11.  12.  24   32*6)    aS    tMs   laW, 

or  as  this  book  of  the  law  (29^1  7p^^  31"^;  cf.  Josh.  i^). 

That  these  expressions  refer  to  Dt.  alone  (or  to  the  Code  of  laws  contained 
in  it),  and  not  to  the  entire  Pent.,  appears  (i)  from  the  terms  of  l^  4^  which 
point  to  a  law  about  to  be,  or  actually  being,  set  forth  ;  (2)  from  the  parallel 
phrases,  this  conimandment,  these  statutes^  these  judgments,  often  spoken  of 
as  inculcated  to-day  (7^^^,  see  v.^^;  15^  19^  26^^  30^^)j  and  this  covenant 
(29^- 1'*),  which  clearly  alludes  to  the  Deuteronomic  legislation  (cf.  v.^^-  ^  "the 
curse  written  in  this  book,^^  i.e.  in  c.  28),  and  is  distinguished  from  the 
covenant  made  before  at  Sinai  (29^). 

*  Incorporated  from  independent  sources. 

t  The  words,  "And  Moses  went  up  to  the  top  of  Pisgah." 

X  The  rest  of  clause  "■  {to  Jericho). 


DEUTERONOMY 


73 


In  order  rightly  to  estimate  the  character  of  Dt.,  it  is  necessary 
to  compare  it  carefully  with  the  previous  books  of  the  Pentateuch. 
The  accompanying  synopsis  of  laws  in  Dt.  will  show  immediately 
which  of  the  enactments  in  it  relate  to  subjects  not  dealt  with  in 
the  legislations  of  JE  and  P,  and  which  are  parallel  to  provisions 
contained  in  either  of  those  codes. 


[68] 


SYNOPSIS   OF  LAWS   IN  DEUTERONOMY. 


JE. 

Deuteronomy. 

P  (including  H). 

Ex.   202-". 

56-21  (the  Decalogue). 

2024.  * 

121-28  (place  of  sacrifice). 

Lev 

171-9  * 

2324  34I2.  15f.. 

,,  29-32    (not   to    imitate    Canaanite 

rites). 
13  (seduction  to  idolatry). 

Nu. 

33^^.  ■ 

14"-  (disfigurement  in  mourning). 

Lev 

1928. 

„  3-20  (clean  and  unclean  animals). 

>> 

II2-22.    2025. 

2231. 

„  2ia  (food  improperly  killed). 

5> 

I7I5.    ii40. 

2319b.    3426b. 

„  21b  (kid  in  mother's  milk). 

„  22-29  (tithes). 

JJ 

2730-33.     Nu. 

1821-32.* 

2310'-.* 

15I-11  (Year  of  Release). 

J  J 

^s::-: 

212-11.* 

„  12-18  (Hebrew  slaves). 

,, 

21-39-46  * 

2230.  1311-12.  34I9. 

,,  19-23  (firstlings  of  ox  and  sheep: 

Nu. 

i8i7*-*(cfEx. 

cf.  I2«'i«-;  1423). 

13"-;  Lev. 

2726  ;  Nu. 
3l3;8"). 

23I4-I7  .       34I8.  20b, 

1 61-"  (the  three  annual  pilgrimages). 

Lev 

23*;Nu.28- 

22-25^ 

,,  18  (appointment  of  judges). 

29.* 

23I-3.6-8. 

,,  19^-  (just  judgment). 

»> 

19;=. 

,,  2"-    (erection    of    Asherahs    and 

3> 

26l^ 

•'pillars"  prohibited). 

1 7I  (sacrifices  to  be  without  blemish  : 

>> 

2217-24. 

cf.  15''). 

22™. 

,,  2-'  (idolatry,  especially  worship  of 

the  "host  of  heaven"). 
,,  8-13  (supreme  tribunal). 
,,14-20  (law  of  the  king). 

1 81-8  (rights  and  revenues  of  the  tribe 

>» 

732-34*.      Nu. 

of  Levi). 

1 81-20.* 

,,  9-22  (law  of  the  prophet). 

„  10^  (Molech- worship;  cf.  I23i). 

)> 

l821  ;   202-5. 

22^8       (sorceress 

^^lOb-u   (different   kinds  of  divina- 

>> 

1926b.  31.     20 

alone). 

tion). 

6.  27_ 

2 1 12-1^. 

19I-13    (asylum    for    manslaughter: 

Nu. 

35;  Lev.   24 

murder). 

17.  21^ 

„  1*  (the  landmark). 

23^ 

„  15-21  (law  of  w^nesses). 

Lev 

1916b, 

74 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


[69]      JE. 

Deuteronomy. 

P  (INCLUDING  H). 

20   (military   service  and   war:   cf. 

245). 

21^-9  (expiation  of  untraced  murder). 

„  "-"  (treatment  of  female  captives). 

,,  ^^'-^^  (primogeniture). 

Ex.   2ll5". 

,,  18-21  (undutiful  son). 

„  22f-  (body  of  malefactor). 

Lev.  20*. 

23«-. 

22^"^  (animals  straying  or  fallen). 
„  ^  (sexes  not  to  interchange  gar- 
ments). 
„  «•  (bird's  nest). 
„  8  (battlement). 

>>  ^'^^  (against  non-natural  mixtures). 

,y       19''. 

„  12  (law  of  "  tassels  "). 

Nu.    1537-41. 

,,  i^"2i  (slander  against  a  maiden). 

„  22-27  (adultery). 

Lev.  i820;  2oi». 

22*'''. 

„  2«*-  (seduction). 

,,  2^  (incest  with  step-mother). 

„     188;  20". 

23^"^  (conditions  of  admittance  into 

the  theocratic  community). 

,,  ^-^  (cleanliness  in  the  camp). 

Nu.  51-4.* 

,,  1"-  (humanity  to  escaped  slave). 

,,  i'^^'  (against  religious  prostitution). 

22=». 

,.f  (usury). 

Lev.  2535-37. 

„  ^1-23  (vows). 

Nu.  3o2ff-. 

,,  2Jf-  (regard  for  neighbour's  crops). 

24^'^  (divorce). 

22«'«.. 

„  6- i«-i3  (pledges). 

2ll». 

, ,  ^  (man-stealing). 

,,  8f.  (leprosy). 

Lev.  13-14. 

, ,  1^*-  (justice  towards  hired  servants). 
, ,  1^  (the  family  of  a  criminal  not  to 
suffer  with  him). 

»     19^^. 

2221-24.    239. 

,,  !''•     (justice     towards     stranger, 
widow,  and  orphan). 

„     19^'-. 

,,  1^**  (gleanings). 

„     I9»S232». 

251"^  (moderation  in  the  infliction  of 

the  bastinado). 

,,*  (ox   not  to  be  muzzled  while 

threshing). 

,,  5-10  (law  of  the  levirate). 

,,!"•  (modesty). 

,,  13-16  (just  weights). 

„     i9'='-. 

17". 

„  17-19  (Amalek  !). 

Cf.      2229a;     23"^ 

261-11  (thanksgiving  at  the  offering 

cf.  Nu.  1 812'-. 

34''"' 

of  first-fruits). 
,,  12-15  (thanksgiving  at  the  offering 

[70] 

of  triennial  tithes). 

20^-^3.    3^17. 

27]5{-cf.  4ic.23.25.  725J. 

Lev.  194 ;  26i». 

20^2.    21". 

,,i«[cf.  2118-21]. 

„     2o9. 

„  "  [19"]. 

18 
it      • 

„     19^^. 

2221-24.    239 

„  ''  [24"]. 

„     19^^ 

DEUTERONOMY 


75 


JE. 

Deuteronomy. 

P  (including  H). 

2720  [2230]. 

Lev.  188;  20". 

Ex.  2219. 

21. 

„       1823;   20I5. 

"  22' 
>»      • 

„      1 89;  20". 

„^. 

„     I8i7;20i4. 

20^3;    2ll3. 

24 
>> 

„  24". 

23«. 

,,25  [1619"]. 

2320.33. 

28  (closing  exhortation). 

„      263-« 

20^-23;    34IV. 

4I6-I8. 23  .  725  (against  images). 

Lev.  194";  26I. 

23^^ 

5"b  (object  of  Sabbath). 

cf.  139- 1«. 

6^  ;  1 1 18  (law  of  frontlets). 

203.23I3  53414. 

614  .  1 1I6  (against  "other  gods "). 

„     19**. 

I226f.  .    13I4 

620*-  (instruction  to  children). 

23321..   34l3.I5f.. 

y2-4. 16  (jjQ  compact  with  Canaan- 

ites). 
75 ;  123  (Canaanite  altars,  "pillars," 

Nu.  33» 

232453413. 

„    33^^. 

&c.  to  be  destroyed). 

196;    2230. 

76.    142.21.    2619;    289  (Israel    a 

Lev.      Il44'-;      192; 

holy  people), 
(in  different  connexions). 

20'-26.   Nu. 

i5^«. 

2221  .    239. 

1019  (to  love  the  stranger). 

„  19^. 

12I6. 23 .  1^23  (blood  not  to  be  eaten). 

„  17^°-";  19^^; 

(cf.  3";  7 
26^- ;  Gen. 
9^). 

2318a.    3425a 

1 63*  (no  leavened  bread  with  Pass- 
over). 

Ex.  128. 

I3'''-;    23^5.    34I8. 

J  53b.  4a.  8  (unleavened  cakes  for  seven 

„       1215-18-20;  Lev. 

days  afterwards). 

23«. 

2318b.    3425b. 

1 64"  (flesh  of  Passover  not  to  remain 
till  morning). 

„    1210;  Nu.  912. 

1 613. 16  (feast  of  "booths,"  "seven 

days  "). 
176.  1 915  ( ' '  t  wo  or  three  witnesses  "). 

Lev.   2334-  39.  41-43. 

Nu.  3530, 

2123-25. 

1921  {lex  talionis) 

(but  in  a  different  application  in 
each  case). 

Lev.  2419^-. 

The  passages  should  be  examined  individually :  for  sometimes, 
especially  in  the  case  of  the  right-hand  column,  the  parallelism 
extends  only  to  the  subject-matter,  the  details  being  different, 
or  even  actually  discrepant.  The  instances  in  which  the  diver- 
gence is  most  marked  are  indicated  by  an  asterisk  (*).  The  first 
important  fact  that  results  from  such  an  examination  is  this,  that 
the  laws  in  JE^  viz.  Ex.  20-23  (repeated,  partially,  in  34^^"^^), 
and  the  kindred  section  \'^-^^^form  the  foundation  of  the  Deutero- 


76  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

nomtc  legislation.  This  is  evident  as  well  from  the  numerous 
verbal  coincidences  *  as  from  the  fact  which  is  plain  from  the 
[71]  left-hand  column,  viz.  that  nearly  the  whole  ground  covered 
by  Ex.  20-23  is  included  in  it,  almost  the  only  exception  being 
the  special  compensations  to  be  paid  for  various  injuries  (Ex. 
2i^®-22^5),  which  would  be  less  necessary  in  a  manual  intended 
for  the  people.  In  a  few  cases  the  entire  law  is  repeated  verbatim^ 
elsewhere  only  particular  clauses  {e.g.  6^-20  y2  j^i2.  le.  17)^  more 
commonly  it  is  explained  (16^^^  22^^)  or  expanded;  fresh  defini- 
tions being  added  (id^-^^),  or  a  principle  applied  so  as  to  cover 
expressly  particular  cases  (17^""^  iS^o^-i^).  Sometimes  even  the 
earlier  law  is  modified;  discrepancies  arising  from  this  cause 
will  be  noticed  subsequently.  The  additional  civil  and  social 
enactments  make  provision  chiefly  for  cases  likely  to  arise  in  a 
more  complex  and  developed  community  than  is  contemplated 
in  the  legislation  of  Ex.  20-23. 

In  the  right-hand  column  most  of  the  parallels  are  with  Lev. 
17-26  (the  Law  of  Holiness).  These  consist  principally  of 
specific  moral  injunctions ;  but  it  cannot  be  said  that  the 
legislation  in  Dt.  is  based  upon  this  code,  or  connected  with 
it  organically,  as  it  is  with  Ex.  20-23.  With  the  other  parts  of 
Lev.-Nu.  the  parallels  are  less  complete,  the  only  remarkable 
verbal  one  being  aflbrded  by  the  description  of  clean  and  un- 
clean animals  in  144*.  6-i9a  (  =  Lev.  112^-20^  with  immaterial  dif- 
ferences t) :  in  some  other  cases  the  differences  are  great, — in 
fact,  so  great  as  to  be  incapable  of  being  harmonized. 

An  example  or  two  will  illustrate  the  different  relation  in  which  Dt.  stands 
to  the  other  Pentateuchal  codes.  If  16^""  be  compared  with  the  parallels  in 
JE,  it  will  be  seen  to  be  an  expansion  of  them,  several  clauses  being  quoted 
verbally  (see  below,  note  *),  and  only  placed  in  a  new  setting.  If  it  be  com- 
pared with  Lev.  23,  the  general  scope  will  be  seen  to  be  very  different, 
though,  with  the  parts  of  Lev.  23  which  belong  to  H,  there  are  two  or  three 
expressions  in  common,  viz.  in  i6^^**  ^^-  ^^  With  the  table  of  sacrifices  in  Nu. 
28  f.  there  is  no  point  of  contact  in  Dt.  The  laws  in  1422-29  1519-23  igi-s 
diverge  most  remarkably  from  those  on  the  same  subjects  in  Lev.-Nu.  In 
other  instances,  also,  there  are  differences,  though  less  considerable. 

The  different  relation  in  which  Dt.  stands  to  the  other  codes 
may  be  thus  expressed.  It  is  an  expajtsion  of  that  in  JE  (Ex. 
20-23) ;   it  is,  in  several  features,  parallel  to  that  in  H  (Lev. 

'•  E.g.  Dt.  68  t  10"  16=^-  *•  ^^-  ^^  with  the  parallels  cited  in  the  Table. 

f  149-10-20  arc  briejcr  than  Lev.  ii^-^^.  21-22  .  j^4b-5  js  not  in  Lev.  (cf.  p.  46). 


DEUTERONOMY  JJ 

17-26);  it  contains  allusions  to  laws  such  as  those  codified  in 
[72]  some  parts  of  P,  while  from  those  contained  in  other  parts 
its  provisions  differ  widely.* 

In  so  far  as  it  is  a  law-book,  Dt.  may  be  described  as  a 
manual,  which  without  entering  into  technical  details  (almost 
the  only  exception  is  1 4^-20,  which  explains  itself)  would  instruct 
the  Israelite  in  the  ordinary  duties  of  life.  It  gives  general 
directions  as  to  the  way  in  which  the  annual  feasts  are  to  be 
kept  and  the  principal  offerings  paid.  It  lays  down  a  few 
fundamental  rules  concerning  sacrifice  (i25f'20. 23  1^23  17I)  :  for 
a  case  in  which  technical  skill  would  be  required,  it  refers  to  the 
priests  (24^).  It  prescribes  the  general  principles  by  which 
family  and  domestic  life  is  to  be  regulated,  specifying  a  number 
of  the  cases  most  likely  to  occur.  Justice  is  to  be  equitably  and 
impartially  administered  {\Q^-'^^).  It  prescribes  a  due  position 
in  the  community  to  the  prophet  (13^"^  i8^'22j^  and  shows  how 
even  the  monarchy  may  be  so  established  as  not  to  contravene 
the  fundamental  principles  of  the  theocracy  (17^^^-). 

Deuteronomy  is,  however,  more  than  a  mere  code  of  laws ; 
it  is  the  expression  of  a  profound  ethical  and  religious  spirit, 
which  determines  its  character  in  every  part.  The  author  wrote, 
it  is  evident,  under  a  keen  sense  of  the  perils  of  idolatry ;  and 
to  guard  Israel  against  this  by  insisting  earnestly  on  the  debt  of 
gratitude  and  obedience  which  it  owes  to  its  Sovereign  Lord,  is 
the  fundamental  teaching  of  the  book.  Accordingly  at  the  head 
of  the  hortatory  introduction  (c.  5-1 1)  stands  the  Decalogue; 
and  the  First  Commandment  forms  the  text  of  the  chapters 
which  follow.  Having  already  (4^^^-)  dwek  on  the  spirituality 
of  the  God  of  Israel,  the  lawgiver  emphasizes  here,  far  more 
distinctly  than  had  been  before  done.  His  unity  and  unique 
Godhead  (6*  lo^^  :  cf.  32*  435.  39)^  drawing  from  this  truth  the 
practical  consequence  that  He  must  be  the  sole  object  of  the 
Israelite's  reverence  (6i3  lo^o).  He  exhorts  the  people  to  keep 
His  statutes  ever  in  remembrance  (5^  d^-^-  ^^^-  &c.),  warning 
them  again  and  again,  upon  peril  of  the  consequences,  not  to 
follow  after  "other  gods"  (612-15  74  811-20  iii^f.  28  3oi7f. ;  cf. 
423-28  2925-28  ^jief.  20f.  29)^  not  to  be  tempted,  even  by  the  most 

*  From  what  has  been  said  in  the  text,  it  will  be  apparent  how  incorrect 
is  the  common  description  of  Deuteronomy  as  a  *'  recapitulation  "  of  the  laws 
contained  in  the  preceding  book* 


yS  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

specious  representations,  to  the  practice  of  idolatry  (13^'^^),  and 
declaring  emphatically  that  obedience  to  Jehovah's  will  will 
bring  with  it  the  Divine  blessing,  and  be  the  sure  avenue  to 
national  prosperity  (cf.  the  passages  cited,  p.  99  f.,  Nos.  3,  13, 
21).  He  reminds  them  of  the  noble  privileges,  undeserved  on 
their  part  (7'^^-  9^'^;  and  the  retrospect  following,  as  far  as  10^^), 
which  had  been  bestowed  [73]  upon  them  (lo^^^-  ^^ ;  so  4^'') ;  and 
reasserts  with  fresh  emphasis  the  old  idea  (Ex.  19^  24^  34^0)  of 
the  covenant  subsisting  between  the  people  and  God  (52-  ^ 
26IG-19  .  so  423.  31  299-  12-15.  25^^  assuring  them  that  if  they  are 
true  on  their  side  God  will  be  true  Hkewise  (y^-i^  g^^  ii^--^^). 
Particularly  he  emphasizes  the  love  of  God  (7^-  ^^  10^^  23^^  :  so 
4^''),  tracing  even  in  his  people's  affliction  the  chastening  hand 
of  a  father  (8'^^*  ^-  ^^),  and  dwelling  on  the  providential  purposes 
which  His  dealings  with  Israel  exemplified. 

Duties,  however,  are  not  to  be  performed  from  secondary 
motives,  such  as  fear,  or  dread  of  consequences  :  they  are  to 
be  the  spontaneous  outcome  of  a  heart  penetrated  by  an  all- 
absorbing  sense  of  personal  devotion  to  God  ("with  a//  the 
heart,  and  with  a//  the  soul";  see  p.  10 1),  and  prepared  to 
renounce  everything  inconsistent  with  loyalty  to  Him.  Love 
to  God,  as  the  motive  of  human  action,  is  the  characteristic 
doctrine  of  Deuteronomy  (6^  lo^^  jji.  13.  22  j^s  jg9  ^o^-  i^-  ^o) : 
as  here  dwelt  upon  and  expanded,  the  old  phrase  f/iose  that  love 
me  is  filled  with  a  moral  significance  which  the  passing  use  of  it, 
in  passages  like  Ex.  20^,  Jud.  5^^  would  scarcely  suggest.  The 
true  principle  of  human  action  cannot  be  stated  more  profoundly 
than  is  here  done  :*  it  was  a  true  instinct  which  in  later  times 
selected  Dt.  6^-^  for  daily  recitation  by  every  Israelite ;  *  and  it 
is  at  once  intelligible  that  our  Lord  should  have  pointed  to  the 
same  text,  both  as  the  "  first  commandment  of  all "  (Matt.  22^'^^- 
Mark  I2-9*"-),  and  as  embodying  the  primary  condition  for  the 
inheritance  of  eternal  life  (Luke  lo^^^*). 

The  code  of  special  laws  (c.  12-26)  is  dominated  by  similar 
principles.  Sometimes,  indeed,  the  legislator  is  satisfied  to  leave 
an  enactment  to  explain  itself:  more  commonly  he  insists  upon 
the  object  which  it  is  to  subserve  {e.g.  \a^^  21^3  &c.)  or  the 
motive  which  should  be  operative  in  its  observance.  An  ethical 
and  religious  .im  should  underlie  the  entire  life  of  the  com- 
*  The  Shema\  Schurer,  Gesch,  d.  Jud,  Volkes,  ii,  377  f.,  382  f. 


DEUTERONOMY  79 

munity.  Local  sanctuaries  were  apt  to  be  abused,  and  to 
degenerate  into  homes  of  superstition  and  idolatry  :  all  offer- 
ings and  public  worship  generally  are  to  take  place  at  the  central 
sanctuary,  "  the  place  which  Jehovah  thy  God  shall  choose  "  (c. 
12,  and  often).  Old  enactments  are  repeated  (12^;  cf.  7-''),  [74] 
and  fresh  enactments  to  meet  special  cases  (c.  13.  20^^-18)  are 
added,  for  the  purpose  of  neutralizing  every  inducement  to 
worship  "  other  gods."  The  holiness  of  the  nation  is  to  be  its 
standard  of  behaviour,  even  in  matters  which  might  appear 
indifferent  (14^^*  ^'-^-  ^^) ;  its  perfect  devotion  to  its  God  is  to 
exclude  all  customs  or  observances  inconsistent  with  this  (18^-1^). 
In  particular  the  duties  of  humanity,  philanthropy,  and  bene- 
volence are  insisted  on,  towards  those  in  difficulty  or  want  (121^ 
157-11  22I-*  24i2f-  i4f-  27I8),  and  towards  slaves  (1513^-  231^^-), 
especially  upon  occasion  of  the  great  annual  pilgrimages  (1212-  is 
1427.  29  j511.  14  2611-  13).  Gratitude  and  a  sense  of  sympathy 
evoked  by  the  recollection  of  their  own  past,  are  the  motives 
again  and  again  inculcated  :  two  forms  of  thanksgiving  form  the 
termination  of  the  code  (c.  26).  Already  in  the  Decalogue  the 
reason  assigned  for  the  observance  of  the  fourth  commandment, 
"  that  thy  man-servant  and  thy  maid-servant  may  rest  as  well  as 
thou,"  and  the  motive,  "And  thou  shalt  remember  that  thou 
wast  a  bondman  in  the  land  of  Egypt "  (51*^-  1^),  indicate  the 
lines  along  which  the  legislator  moves,  and  the  principles  which 
it  is  his  desire  to  impress  (add  135-10  1515  1 63b.  12  ^-^  241^-22). 
Forbearance,   equity,  and  forethought  underlie  the   regulations 

2o5-ll.  19f.     2110-14.15-17    228    2324-25    245-6.16.19-22    258-     humanity 

towards  animals,  those  in  22^  25^  Not  indeed  that  similar 
considerations  are  absent  from  the  older  legislation  (see  e.g.  Ex. 
2  221-24.27  g^Q- 11-12)^  and  (as  the  table  will  have  shown)  some  of 
the  enactments  which  have  been  cited  are  even  borrowed  from  it ; 
but  they  are  developed  in  Dt.  with  an  emphasis  and  distinctness 
which  give  a  character  to  the  entire  work.  Nowhere  else  in  the 
OT.  do  we  breathe  such  an  atmosphere  of  generous  devotion  to 
God,  and  of  large-hearted  benevolence  towards  man;  and  nowhere 
else  is  it  shown  with  the  same  fulness  of  detail  how  these  prin- 
ciples may  be  made  to  permeate  the  entire  life  of  the  community.* 
Dt.  contains,  however,  two  historical  retrospects,  1^-322  and 

*  See  further,  on  the  leading  principles  of  Deut.,  Holzinger,  Einl.  p.  313  ff., 
and  the  writer's  Commentary ^  pp.  I^ix-xxxiv. 


So 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


p6_iQii^  besides  allusions  to  the  history  in  other  places  ;  and  the 
relation  of  these  to  the  four  preceding  books  must  next  be 
examined.  The  following  table  of  verbal  coincidences  shows 
that  in  the  history  Dt.  is  even  more  closely  dependent  upon 
the  earlier  narrative  than  in  the  laws.  The  reader  who  will  be 
at  [75]  the  pains  to  underline  (or,  if  he  uses  the  Hebrew,  to 
overline)  in  his  text  of  Dt.  the  passages  in  common,  will  be  able 
to  see  at  a  glance  (i)  the  passages  of  Ex.-Nu.  passed  over  in 
Dt.,  (2)  the  variations  and  additions  in  Dt. 


Dt. 

I7a 

(Nu 

14^5).* 

9b 

(Nu. 

iii^ 

12 

(Nu 

Il"b). 

13a 

Cf. 

Ex.  i8^'i». 

15 

Ex. 

i82». 

17b 

)) 

1822-28. 

g6  end 

J) 

329333.5349. 

9a 

)> 

24I2. 

9  mtdcile 

>> 

2418b. 

9  end 

(Ex 

•  34^«^). 

10a 

Ex 

3ll8b_ 

12 

>» 

327.8a. 

IS 

>> 

329 

14b 

n 

32io»'  (Nu.  1412b). 

15 

)) 

3215. 

IS 

i) 

32l9a.8a. 

17 

»> 

32l9b. 

18-19 

it 

34^  (cf.  V.9). 

20 

, 

, 

21  ^. 

>> 

32^^. 

22 

SeeNu.  1 1 1-3  Ex.  17'' Nu.  ii*-^^. 

23-24 

[SeeDt.  ii9-<^.26.32j. 

26 

(Resumption  of  Dt.  9I8). 

26  + 

(E 

X.   32llb). 

*  The  parenthesis  indicates  that,  though  there  is  a  coincidence  in  the 
language,  the  passage  quoted  does  not  describe  the  same  event,  but  is 
borrowed  from  another  part  of  the  narrative.  Thus  Dt.  i^"!'^  alludes  to  the 
appointment  of  judges  to  assist  Moses,  described  in  Ex.  18  ;  but  some  of  the 
phrases  are  borrowed  from  the  narrative  of  the  70  elders  in  Nu.  11.  So  in 
227b.  28b.  29b^  alluding  to  Nu.  2i22  (the  message  to  Sihon),  the  expressions  are 
borrowed  from  Nu.  2o"- 1**  (the  message  to  Edoin). 

t  This  verse  does  not  necessarily  describe  the  sequel  of  v.  20  ;  it  may  be 
rendered:   "  And  your  sin  .  .  .  \\.oo\i{  =  had  taken).'" 

X  V. 26-29  cannot  refer  actually  to  Ex.  3211-1^,  because  the  intercession  there 
recorded  was  made  before  Moses'  first  descent  from  the  mount,  whereas  in  Dt. 
V.25  points  back  to  v.i^,  which  clearly  relates  what  took  place  after  it. 


[76] 


DEUTERONOMY 

Dt.    (f'' 

(Ex.  3213). 

28 

(Nu.  I4i« ;  cf.  Ex.  32^2^ 

29b 

(Ex.  32"'>). 

„     iqI* 

Ex.  34^^ 

lb 

»,    34-. 

^'^  (the  ark) 

. 

2ft 

Ex.  34^^ 

5ib-3a  (the  ark) 

.     . 

Sb 

Ex.  34^. 

4 

,,    34^^ 

5.6-9 

;;    10(^918) 

Cf.  Ex.  34^^  28 

11 

(Ex.  33^). 

8i 


The  dependence  of  Dt. 


-40.  41-4 


on    Nu.     I3^7_i425    1^40-45 


2o^  and  of  2^-3^  on  Nu.  2i^-3^*  (s'^"^^  being  an  expansion  of  Nu. 
2i35b^^-x-  jj.  must  be  left  to  the  reader  to  work  out  for  himself. 
Apart  from  the  verbal  coincidences,  while  there  are  sometimes 
omissions,  as  a  rule  the  substance  of  the  earlier  narrative  is 
reproduced  freely  with  amplificatory  additions.  A  singular 
characteristic  of  both  retrospects  is  the  manner  in  which,  on 
several  occasions,  a  phrase  describing  originally  one  incident 
is  applied  in  Dt.  to  another.  Allusions  to  the  narrative  of  Gen.- 
Nu.  occur  also  in  other  parts  of  Dt.t  But  the  remarkable  cir- 
cumstance is  that,  as  in  the  laws,  so  in  the  history,  Dt.  is 
dependent  upon  JE.  Throughout  the  parallels  just  tabulated 
(as  well  as  in  the  others  occurring  in  the  book),  not  the  allusions 
only,  but  the  words  cited,  will  be  found,  all  but  uniformly,  to  be 
in  JE,  not  in  P.  An  important  conclusion  follows  from  this 
fact.  Inasmuch  as,  in  our  existing  Pent.,  JE  and  P  repeatedly 
cross  one  another,  the  constant  absence  of  any  reference  to  P 
can  only  be  reasonably  explained  by  one  supposition,  viz.  that 
when  Dt.  was  composed  JE  and  P  were  not  yet  united  into  a 
single  ivork^  and  JE  alone  formed  the  basis  of  Dt.\ 

*  Unless  indeed  Dillm.'s  view  of  Nu.  21^^  (above,  p.  66)  be  correct. 

+  As  18  610  and  often  (the  oath)  to  Gen.  22i«-  24^  26^;  6i«  to  Ex.  \f ; 
116  to  Nu.  i6ib.32a  .  248  to  Nu.  1210.  Comp.  also  ^'^^''^^  (the  hornet)  22  and 
Ex.  2326-  28.  30.  29b  .  716b  and  Ex.  2333b  ;  93b  and  Ex.  2323-  27. 3ib  .  ^^tz.  25  and 
Ex.  2327  ;  1220  and  Ex.  342^  ;  &c. 

%  Notice  esp.  the  transition  from  Dt.  \^^  (  =  Nu.  142°^)  to  Dt.  i^^  (=Nu. 
14^°),  the  intervening  passage,  v.  26-39,  which  belongs  in  the  main  to  P,  being 
disregarded.  A  single  instance  of  this  kind  would  not  be  conclusive  ;  but 
the  consistent  disregard  of  P  in  Dt.  admits  of  but  one  interpretation. 


S2  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

This  conclusion,  derived  primarily  from  the  two  retrospects, 
is  confirmed  by  other  indications.  Dt.  speaks  regularly,  not  of 
Sinai,  but  of  Horeb  (as  Ex.  3^  17^  33^),  a  term  never  used  by 
P:  Dt.  names  Dathan  and  Abiram  (n^),  but  is  silent  as  to 
Korah  ;  in  the  composite  narrative  of  Nu.  16  Dathan  and  [77] 
Abiram  alone  (p.  64)  belong  to  JE.  Similarly  the  exception  of 
Caleb  alone  (without  Joshua)  in  i^^  agrees  with  JE,  Nu.  14^* 
(p.  63).  The  allusions  to  Gen.-Ex.  are  likewise  consistently  to 
JE  :  thus,  while  the  promise  (i^)  is  found  both  in  JE  and  P,  the 
oath  is  peculiar  to  JE.  If  the  author  of  Dt.  was  acquainted  with 
P,  he  can  only  have  referred  to  it  occasionally,  and  certainly  did 
not  make  it  the  basis  of  his  work.  The  verdict  of  the  historical 
allusions  in  Dt.  thus  confirms  that  of  the  laws  (p.  75  f.).* 

Authorship  and  date  of  Deuteronomy. 

Even  though  it  were  clear  that  the  first  four  books  of  the 
Pent,  were  written  by  Moses,  it  would  be  difficult  to  sustain  the 
Mosaic  authorship  of  Deuteronomy.  For,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
remarkable  difference  of  style,  Dt.  conflicts  with  the  legislation 
of  Ex.-Nu.  in  a  manner  that  would  not  be  credible  were  the 
legislator  in  both  one  and  the  same.  Even  in  Dt.  15^'^^  com- 
pared with  Ex.  2i2ff-  and  Dt.  15^"^^  compared  with  Ex.  23^^^* 
(both  JE),  there  are  variations  difficult  to  reconcile  with  both 
being  the  work  of  a  single  legislator  (for  they  are  of  a  character 
that  cannot  reasonably  be  attributed  to  the  altered  prospects  of 
the  nation  at  the  close  of  the  40  years'  wanderings,  and  point 
rather  to  the  people  having  passed  during  the  interval  into 
changed  social  conditions) ;  but  when  the  laws  of  Dt.  are  com- 
pared with  those  of  P,  such  a  supposition  becomes  impossible. 
For  in  Dt.  language  is  used  implying  that  fundamental  institu- 
tions of  P  are  unknown  to  the  author.  Thus,  while  Lev.  2^"^-^^ 
enjoins  the  release  of  the  Hebrew  slave  in  the  year  of  Jubile,  in 
Dt.  1512-18  tjig  legislator,  without  bringing  his  new  law  into 
relation  with  the  different  one  of  Lev.,  prescribes  the  release 
of  the  Hebrew  slave  in  the  7tn  year  of  his  service.  In  the  laws 
of  P  in  Leviticus  and  Numbers  a  sharp  distinction  is  drawn 
between  the  priests  and  the  common  Levites  :  in  Dt.  it  is  implied 
(18^*)  that  all  members  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  are  qualified  to 
exercise  priestly  functions  ;  and  regulations  are  laid  down  (i8^-^) 

*  The  dependence  of  Dt.  upon  JE  is  generally  recognised  by  critics ;  see 
e.g.  Delitzsch,  ZKWL.  1882,  p.  227  ;  Dillm.  NDf.  p.  609. 


DEUTERONOMY  83 

to  meet  the  case  of  any  member  coming  from  the  country  to 
the  central  sanctuary,  and  claiming  to  officiate  there  as  priest* 
Moreover,  in  P  particular  [78]  provision  is  made  for  the  main- 
tenance of  both  priests  and  Levites,  and  in  Nu.  35  (cf.  Josh.  21) 
48  cities  are  appointed  for  their  residence.  In  Dt,  under  both 
heads,  the  provisions  are  very  different.  Dt.  18^  is  in  conflict 
with  Lev.  7^2-34  .  ^nd  Dt.  18^  is  inconsistent  with  the  institution 
of  Levitical  cities  prescribed  in  Nu.  35  :  it  implies  that  the 
Levite  has  no  settled  residence,  but  is  a  "  sojourner "  in  one 
or  other  of  the  cities  ("  gates,"  see  p.  99)  of  Israel.  The  terms 
of  the  verse  are  indeed  entirely  compatible  with  the  institution 
of  Levitical  cities,  supposing  it  to  have  been  imperfectly  put  in 
force ;  but  they  fall  strangely  from  one  who,  ex  hypothesis  had 
only  6  months  previously  assigned  to  the  Levites  permanent 
dwelling-places.  The  same  representation  recurs  in  other  parts 
of  Dt.  :  the  Levites  are  frequently  alluded  to  as  scattered  about 
the  land,  and  are  earnestly  commended  to  the  Israelite's  charity 
(1212.18.19  1427.29  1611.14  2611-12-13).     Further,  Dt.  126- i7f.  i^iof. 

conflict  with  Nu.  i8i^  :  in  Nu.  the  firstlings  of  oxen  and  sheep 
are  assigned  expressly  and  absolutely  to  the  priest)  in  Dt.  they 
are  to  be  eaten  by  the  owner  himself  at  the  central  sanctuary. 
Lastly,  the  law  of  tithes  in  Dt.  is  in  conflict  with  that  of  P  on 
the  same  subject.  In  Nu.  18=^1-2*  the  tithes — viz.  both  animal 
and  vegetable  alike  (Lev.  27^^-  ^2) — are  definitely  assigned  to  the 
Levites,  who,  in  their  turn,  pay  a  tenth  to  the  priests  (Nu. 
jg26-28)  .  in  Dt.  there  appears  to  be  no  injunction  respecting 
the  tithes  of  animal  produce ;  but  the  reservation  of  a  tithe  of 
vegetable  produce  (i2i7^-  1422^-)  is  enjoined,  which  is  to  be  con- 
sumed by  the  offerer,  like  the  firstlings,  at  a  sacrificial  feast,  in 
which  the  Levite  shares  only  in  company  with  others  as  the 
recipient  of  a  charitable  benevolence.  A  large  proportion, 
therefore,  of  what  is  assigned  in  Nu.  to  the  Levites  remains 
implicitly  the  property  of  the  lay  Israelite  in  Dt.f     It  is  held, 

*  The  terms  used  in  v.^  to  describe  the  Levites'  services  are  those  used 
elsewhere  regularly  of  priestly  duties,  uwi  mB'  to  minister  in  the  name,  as 
18^  (of  the  priest :  cf.  17^^  2i5) ;  ^i*h  noy  to  stand  before — i.e.  to  wait  on  (see 
e.g.  I  Ki.  10^)— fehovah,  as  Ez.  441^  Jud.  2028,  cf.  Dt.  if^  iS^.  (The 
Levites  "  stand  before" — i.e.  wait  upon — the  congregation  Nu.  16^  Ez.  44"^ 
In  2  Ch.  2^"^^ priests  are  present :  see  v.*.) 

t  The  common  assumption  that  in  Dt.  a  secoftd  tithe,  on  vegetable  produce 
only,  in  addition  to  that  referred  to  in  Nu.  is  meant,  is  inconsistent  with  the 


84  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

then,  that  these  [79]  differences  of  detail  between  the  laws  of 
Dt.  and  those  of  P  are  greater  than  could  arise  were  the  legis- 
lator the  same  in  both,  and  that  they  can  only  be  explained  by 
the  supposition  that  the  two  systems  of  law  represent  the  usage 
of  two  distinct  periods  of  the  nation's  life.  For  though  it  is  no 
doubt  thoroughly  conceivable  that  Moses  may  have  foreseen 
the  neglect  of  his  own  institution,  this  will  not  explain  his 
enjoining  observances  in  conflict  with  those  which  he  had 
already  prescribed;  while,  as  regards  the  impoverished  con- 
dition of  the  Levites,  there  is  no  indication  that  this  is  merely 
a  future  contingency  for  which  the  legislator  is  making  pro- 
vision ;  it  is  represented  throughout  as  the  condition  which  the 
writer  sees  around  him  (cf.  Jud.  I'f^-  iq^^*). 

There  are  also  discrepancies  between  Dt.  and  other  parts  of  P,  as  i^^  (the 
people  suggest  spying  out  the  land  of  Canaan)  and  Nu.  131^-  (the  same  sug- 
gestion referred  to  Jehovah) ;  10^  {Moses  makes  the  ark  before  ascending  Sinai 
the  second  time)  and  Ex.  37^  {Bezaleel  makes  it  after  Moses'  return  from  the 
mount) ;  lo^  and  Nu.  3331-  38 ;  iqS  and  Ex.  28  f.  Lev.  8  &c.  In  the  light  of 
the  demonstrated  dependence  of  Dt.  upon  JE,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted 
that  the  real  solution  of  these  discrepancies  is  that  the  representation  in  Dt.  is 
based  upon  parts  of  the  narrative  of  JE,  which  were  still  read  by  the  author 
of  Dt.,  but  which,  when  JE  was  afterwards  combined  with  P,  were  not 
retained  by  the  compiler.  Notice  that  in  10'  the  form  of  the  itinerary  agrees 
with  that  ofJE  (p.  66). 

There  are,  moreover,  expressions  in  the  retrospects  (esp.  the 
repeated  "  at  that  time  "  2^*  34-  »•  12.  is.  21.  23^  ^^d  "  unto  this  day  " 
3^^)  implying  that  a  longer  interval  of  time  than  6  months  (i^ 
compared  with  Nu.  33^^  and  2022-28)  had  elapsed  since  the 
events  referred  to  had  taken  place.*  And  the  use  of  the  phrase 
"beyond  Jordan"  for   Eastern    Palestine   in    i^-s  38  44i.46f.49^ 

manner  in  which  it  is  spoken  of  in  Dt. :  even  supposing  the  first  tithe  to  be 
taken  for  granted  as  an  established  usage,  it  is  not  credible  that  a  second  tithe 
should  be  thus  for  the  first  time  instituted  without  a  word  to  indicate  that  it 
was  an  innovation,  or  in  any  respect  different  from  what  would  be  ordinarily 
understood  by  the  word  "  tithe."  And  if  a  larger  and  more  important  tithe 
had  to  be  paid,  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  there  should  be  no  reference  to  it  in 
the  solemn  profession  26^^^-. 

*  The  curious  transition  in  l^  from  the  2nd  to  the  40th  year  of  the  exodus, 
and  back  again  to  the  2nd  year  in  i^'*  points  in  the  same  direction — unless, 
indeed  (which  is  quite  possible),  the  solution  suggested  above  be  here  also  the 
true  one,  and  the  reference  be  to  some  incident  of  the  second  year  recorded  in 
JE,  but  not  preserved  in  our  existing  Pentateuch. 


DEUTERONOMY  85 

exactly  as  in  Josh.  2'^^  f  910  &c.  Jud.  51^  iqS,  implies  that  the 
author  was  resident  in  Western  Palestine  (the  same  usage,  im- 
plying the  same  fact,  in  Nu.  22^  34^^).* 

[80]  But  in  fact  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  Gen.-Nu.  cannot 
be  sustained.  P,  at  any  rate,  must  belong  to  a  widely  different 
age  from  JE.  Can  any  one  read  the  injunctions  respecting 
sacrifices  and  feasts  in  Ex.  23^*-^^  beside  those  in  P  (Lev.  1-7, 
Nu.  28-29,  for  instance),  and  not  feel  that  some  centuries  must 
have  intervened  between  the  simplicity  which  characterizes  the 
one  and  the  minute  specialization  which  is  the  mark  of  the 
other  ?  The  earliest  of  the  Pentateuchal  sources,  it  seems  clear, 
is  JE  :  but  at  whatever  date  this  be  placed,  Dt.  must  follow  it  at 
a  considerable  interval ;  for  the  legislation  of  Dt.  implies  a  more 
elaborately  organized  civil  community  than  that  for  which  pro- 
vision is  made  in  the  legislation  of  JE.  Nor  is  this  more 
elaborate  organization  merely  anticipated  in  Dt.;  it  is  presupposed 
as  already  existing.  And  in  fact  the  historical  books  afford  a 
strong  presumption  that  the  law  of  Dt.  did  not  originate  until  after 
the  establishment  of  the  monarchy.  In  Dt.  the  law  respecting 
sacrifice  is  unambiguous  and  strict :  it  is  not  to  be  offered  in 
Canaan  "in  every  place  that  thou  seest"  (12^^),  but  only  at  the 
place  chosen  by  God  "  out  of  all  thy  tribes  to  set  his  name  there  " 
^j25. 14. 18  1^23  ^Y\d  often),  t'.e.  at  some  central  sanctuary.  Now 
in  Ex.  it  is  said  (20-^^^),  "in  every  place  where  I  record  my 
name,  I  will  come  unto  thee  and  bless  thee";  and  with  the 
principle  here  laid  down  the  practice  of  Josh.-i  Ki.  6  conforms  : 
in  these  books  sacrifices  are  frequently  described  as  offered  in 
different  parts  of  the  land,  without  any  indication  (and  this  is 
the  important  fact)  on  the  part  of  either  the  actor  or  the  narrator 
that  a  law  such  as  that  of  Dt.  is  being  infringed.  After  the 
exclusion  of  all  uncertain  or  exceptional  cases,  such  as  Jud.  2^ 
520-24^  where  the  theophany  may  be  held  to  have  justified  the 
erection  of  an  altar,  there  remain  as  instances  of  either  altars  or 
local  sanctuaries  Josh.  24!^. -'6b  j  g^.  y^f-i^  912-14  lo^-s-s  (139^-), 
Ills  14.35  206  2  Sa.  1512.32, 

*  The  variations  between  Dt.  and  Ex.-Nu.,  in  connexion  with  the 
attempts  that  have  been  made  to  reconcile  them,  as  well  as  other  features 
inconsistent  with  Moses'  authorship,  are  considered  more  fully  in  an  article  on 
Dt.  by  the  author  in  Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible,-  §§  11,  14,  16-18,  20,  31-33  : 
and  in  his  Commentary,  pp.  xxxi^^-xliv,  Ixii-lxiv. 


S6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

The  inference  which  appears  to  follow  from  these  passages  is  sometimes 
met  by  the  contention  that  the  period  from  the  abandonment  of  Shiloh  to  the 
erection  of  the  Temple  was  an  exceptional  one.  The  nation  was  in  disgrace, 
and  undergoing  a  course  of  discipline,  its  spiritual  privileges  being  withheld 
till  it  was  ripe  to  have  them  restored  ;  and,  in  so  far  as  Samuel  appears  often 
[8i]  as  the  agent,  his  function  was  an  extraordinary  one,  limited  to  himself.  It 
may  be  doubted  whether  this  answer  is  satisfactory.  There  is  no  trace  in 
the  narrative  of  such  disciplinary  motives  having  actuated  Samuel ;  and  the 
narrator  betrays  no  consciousness  of  anything  irregular  or  abnormal  having 
occurred.  See  especially  i  Sa.  9^^^'  10^"^,  where  ordinary  and  regular  customs 
are  evidently  described ;  and  14^^,  which  implies  that  Saul  was  in  the  habit 
of  building  altars  to  Jehovah. 

The  sanctuary  at  which  the  Ark  was  for  the  time  located  had 
doubtless  the  pre-eminence  (cf.  Ex.  23^^,  i  Sa.  1-3);  but,  so  far 
as  the  evidence  before  us  goes,  sacrifice  was  habitually  offered  at 
other  places,  the  only  limitation  being  that  they  should  be  pro- 
perly sanctioned  and  approved  ("in  every  place  wkere  I  record 
my  name  ").*  The  non-observance  of  a  law  does  not,  of  course, 
imply  necessarily  its  non-existence ;  still,  when  men  who  might 
fairly  be  presumed  to  know  of  it,  if  it  existed,  not  only  make  no 
attempt  to  put  it  in  force,  but  disregard  it  without  explanation  or 
excuse,  it  must  be  allowed  that  such  an  inference  is  not  altogether 
an  unreasonable  one. 

The  history  thus  appears  to  corroborate  the  inference  derived 
above  from  c.  1-4  &c.,  and  to  throw  the  composition  of  Dt.  to 
a  period  considerably  later  than  the  Mosaic  age.  Can  its  date 
be  determined  more  precisely?  The  terminus  ad  quern  is  not 
difficult  to  fix :  it  must  have  been  written  prior  to  the  i8th  year 
of  King  Josiah  (b.c.  621),  the  year  in  which  Hilkiah  made  his 
memorable  discovery  of  the  "  book  of  the  law  "  in  the  Temple 
(2  Ki.  2  2^^^-).  For  it  is  clear  from  the  narrative  of  2  Ki.  22-23 
that  that  book  must  have  contained  Deuteronomy;  for  al- 
though the  bare  description  of  its  contents,  and  of  the  effect 
produced  by  it  upon  those  who  heard  it  read  (22^1- 1^-  ^^) 
might  suit  Lev.  26  equally  with  Dt.  28,  yet  the  allusions  to  the 
covenant  contained  in  it  (232-3),  which  refer  evidently  to  Dt. 
(29I.  9. 21. 25 .  cf.  27^6),  and  the  fact  that  in  the  reformation 
based   upon  it  Josiah  carries  out,  step  by  step  (2  Ki.  22!^-  ^^ 

*  The  expression  Dipnn  '?Dn  may  include  equally  places  conceived  as  exist- 
ing contemporaneously  (cf.  the  same  idiomatic  use  of  '?3,  Lev.  152^''  Dt.  IJ-^ 
&c.),  or  selected  successively. 


DEUTERONOMY  87 

2^3-5. 7.9-11. 24  5^^.),  the  principles  of  Dt,  leave  no  doubt  upon 
the  matter. 

How  much  earlier  than  B.C.  621  it  may  be  is  more  difficult  to 
determine.  The  supposition  that  Hilkiah  himself  was  concerned 
in  the  composition  of  it  is  not  probable :  for  a  book  compiled 
by  the  high  priest  could  hardly  fail  to  emphasize  the  interests  of 
the  [82]  priestly  body  at  Jerusalem,  which  Dt.  does  not  do 
(18^"^).*  The  book  is  stated  to  have  been  found  while  some 
repairs  were  being  carried  on  in  the  Temple  :  and  there  is  force 
in  the  argument  that  it  could  hardly  have  been  lost  during  the 
early  years  of  Josiah  (who  appears  to  have  been  throughout 
devoted  to  the  service  of  Jehovah) ;  but  this  might  easily  have 
happened  during  the  heathen  reaction  under  Manasseh.  Hence 
it  is  probable  that  its  composition  is  not  later  than  the  reign  of 
Manasseh.  t 

The  conclusion  that  Dt.  belongs,  at  least  approximately,  to 
this  age,  is  in  agreement  with  the  contents  of  the  book. 

(i.)  The  differences  between  Dt.  and  Ex.  21-23,  point  with 
some  cogency  to  a  period  considerably  removed  from  that  at 
which  the  Israelites  took  possession  of  Canaan,  and  presuppose 
a  changed  social  condition  of  the  people. 

(2.)  The  law  of  the  kingdom,  ly^^^^;  is  coloured  by  reminis- 

*  W.  R.  Smith,  OTJC.^  p.  363 ;  Dillm.  p.  614.  Cdlenso's  opinion,  that 
Jeremiah  was  the  author,  has  found  no  favour  with  critics,  and  is  certainly 
incorrect ;  it  is  true,  the  language  of  Jeremiah  often  remarkably  resembles 
that  of  Dt.,  but  when  the  two  are  compared  minutely,  it  appears  that  many 
of  the  characteristic  expressions  of  each  are  absent  from  the  other  (cf.  Kleinert, 
pp.  185-190,  235,  and  the  writer's  Commentary^  pp.  xciii,  xciv). 

t  So  Ewald,  Hist.  i.  127,  iv.  221;  W.  R.  Smith,  Add.  Answer  (Edin. 
1878),  p.  78  (cf.  OTJC.^  p.  355);  Kittel,  pp.  57-59;  Kautzsch,  Abriss, 
p.  168  ;  Wildeboer,  Letterkunde  des  O.V.  §  ii.  10.  Reuss,  La  Bible  (1879), 
i.  156 ff. ;  Kuenen,  Hex.  p.  214  ;  Dillmann,  NDJ.  p.  613  f.  (less  confidently); 
Stade,  G.  i.  650  ff.  ;  Holzinger,  p.  327  f.,  prefer  the  reign  of  Josiah  :  Cornill, 
Einl.^  p.  30,  "not  long  before  621."  Delitzsch,  Stttdien,  x.  509;  Riehm, 
Einl.  p.  246  f.j  Konig,  p.  217;  Westphal  (i.  278  ff.);  Oettli  (p.  19 f.),  assign 
it  to  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  considering  that  it  was  in  its  origin  connected 
with,  or  even  gave  the  impulse  to,  the  reform  of  2  Ki.  i8'*-22.  G.  A.  Smith 
{Crit.  Rev.  1895,  p.  341  f.)  assigns  it  to  the  close  of  the  same  reign,  remark- 
ing that  if  it  had  been  written  later,  it  might  have  been  expected  to  exhibit 
traces  of  the  opposition  and  persecution  to  which  faithful  Israelites  were  then 
exposed.  It  is  true,  the  data  showing  Dt.  to  be  post-Mosaic  are  more  definite 
and  distinct  than  those  which  we  possess  for  fixing  the  precise  part  of  the 
century  before  B.C.  621  to  which  it  is  to  be  assigned. 


88  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

cences  of  the  monarchy  of  Solomon.  The  argument  does  not 
deny  that  Moses  may  have  made  provision  for  the  estabUshment 
of  a  monarchy  in  Israel,  but  affirms  that  the  form  in  which  the 
provision  is  here  cast  bears  traces  of  a  later  age. 

(3.)  The  forms  of  idolatry  alluded  to,  specially  the  worship  of 
the  "host  of  heaven"  (4^^  17^),  seem  to  point  to  the  middle 
period  of  the  monarchy.  It  is  true,  the  worship  of  the  sun 
and  moon  is  ancient,  as  is  attested  even  by  the  names  of  places 
in  Canaan ;  but  in  the  notices  (which  are  frequent)  of  idolatrous 
practices  in  Jud.-Kings  no  mention  occurs  of  "the  host  of 
heaven"  till  the  period  of  the  later  kings.*  That  the  cult  is 
presupposed  in  Dt.  and  not  merely  anticipated  prophetically, 
seems  clear  from  the  terms  in  which  it  is  referred  to.  While 
we  are  not  in  a  position  to  affirm  positively  that  the  danger  was 
[83]  not  felt  earlier,  the  law,  as  formulated  in  Dt.,  seems  designed 
to  meet  the  form  which  the  cult  assumed  at  a  later  age. 

(4.)  The  influence  of  Dt.  upon  subsequent  writers  is  clear 
and  indisputable.  It  is  remarkable,  now,  that  the  early  prophets, 
Amos,  Hosea,  and  the  undisputed  portions  of  Isaiah,  show  no 
certain  traces  of  this  influence ;  Jeremiah  exhibits  marks  of  it  on 
nearly  every  page ;  Ezekiel  and  II  Isaiah  are  also  evidently 
influenced  by  it.  If  Dt.  were  composed  in  the  period  between 
Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  these  facts  would  be  exactly  accounted 
for. 

(5.)  The  language  and  style  of  Dt,  clear  and  flowing,  free 
from  archaisms,  but  purer  than  that  of  Jeremiah,  would  suit  the 
same  period.  It  is  difficult  in  this  connexion  not  to  feel  the 
force  of  Dillmann's  remark  (p.  611),  that  "the  style  of  Dt. 
implies  a  long  development  of  the  art  of  public  oratory,  and 
is  not  of  a  character  to  belong  to  the  first  age  of  Israelitish 
Hterature." 

(6.)  The  prophetic  teaching  of  Dt.,  the  dominant  theological 
ideas,  the  point  of  view  from  which  the  laws  are  presented,  the 
principles  by  which  conduct  is  estimated,  presuppose  a  relatively 
advanced  stage  of  theological  reflexion,  as  they  also  approximate 
to  what  is  found  in  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel. 

(7.)  In  Dt.    1 6^2  we  read,  "Thou  shalt  not  set  thee  up  a 

*  2  Ki.  2312  names  Ahaz  (cf.  Is.  i78««^j  belonging  to  the  same  reign); 
2  Ki.  2i'-  ^  [cf.  23'*-  5]  Manasseh  ;  17^^  is  vague  ;  Zeph.  i^,  Jer.  7^^  g^  1913  ^^17^ 
Ezek.  8^*  belong  to  a  somewhat  later  period. 


DEUTERONOMY  89 

mazz'ehah  (obelisk  or  pillar),  which  the  Lord  thy  God  hateth." 
Had  Isaiah  known  of  this  law  he  would  hardly  have  adopted  the 
mazzebah  (19^^)  as  a  symbol  of  the  conversion  of  Egypt  to  the 
true  faith.  The  supposition  that  heathen  pillars  are  meant  in  Dt. 
is  not  favoured  by  the  context  (v.^i^) ;  the  use  of  these  has,  more- 
over, been  proscribed  before  (7^  12^). 

When  once  Deuteronomy  is  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  age 
which  gave  it  birth,  its  true  significance  appears.  It  was  a  great 
manifesto  against  the  dominant  tendencies  of  the  time.  It  laid 
down  the  lines  of  a  great  religious  reform.  Whether  written  in 
the  dark  days  of  Manasseh,  or  during  the  brighter  years  which 
followed  the  accession  of  Josiah,  it  was  a  nobly-conceived  en- 
deavour to  provide  in  anticipation  a  spiritual  rallying-point,  round 
which,  when  circumstances  favoured,  the  disorganized  forces  of 
the  national  religion  might  range  themselves  again.  It  was  an 
emphatic  reaffirmation  of  the  fundamental  principles  which 
Moses  had  long  ago  insisted  on,  loyalty  to  Jehovah  and  repudia- 
tion of  all  false  gods  :  it  was  an  endeavour  to  realize  in  practice 
the  ideals  of  the  prophets,  especially  of  Hosea  and  Isaiah,  to 
transform  the  Judah  demoralized  by  Manasseh  into  the  "holy 
nation"  pictured  in  Isaiah's  vision,  and  to  awaken  in  it  that 
devotion  to  God,  and  love  for  man,  which  Hosea  had  declared 
to  be  the  first  of  human  duties.  In  setting  forth  these  truths  the 
author  exhausts  all  his  eloquence :  in  impressive  and  melodious 
periods,  he  dilates  upon  the  claims  which  Jehovah  has  upon  the 
Israelite's  allegiance,  and  seeks,  by  ever  appealing  to  the  most 
generous  and  powerful  motives,  to  stir  Israel's  heart  to  respond 
with  undivided  loyalty  and  affection. 

If,  however,  it  be  true  that  Deuteronomy  is  the  composition 
of  another  than  Moses,  in  what  light  are  we  to  regard  it  ?  In 
particular,  does  this  view  of  its  origin  detract  from  its  value  and 
authority  as  a  part  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon  ?  The  objection 
is  commonly  made,  that  if  this  be  the  origin  of  the  book  it  is  a 
"  forgery  " :  the  author,  it  is  said,  has  sought  to  shelter  himself 
under  a  great  name,  and  to  secure  by  a  fiction  recognition  or 
authority  for  a  number  of  laws  devised  by  himself.  In  estimat- 
ing this  objection,  there  are  two  or  three  important  distinctions 
which  must  be  kept  in  mind.  In  the  first  place,  though  it  may 
appear  paradoxical  to  say  so,  Dt.  does  ftot  claim  to  be  written  by 
Moses :  whenever  the  author  speaks  himself,  he  purports  to  give 


90  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

a  [84]  description  in  the  third  person  of  what  Moses  did  or  said.* 
The  true  "  author  "  of  Dt.  is  thus  the  writer  who  introduces  Moses 
in  the  third  person ;  and  the  discourses  which  he  is  represented 
as  having  spoken  fall  in  consequence  into  the  same  category  as 
the  speeches  in  the  historical  books,  some  of  which  largely,  and 
others  entirely,  are  the  composition  of  the  compilers,  and  are 
placed  by  them  in  the  mouths  of  historical  characters.  This 
freedom  in  ascribing  speeches  to  historical  personages  is  charac- 
teristic, more  or  less,  of  ancient  historians  generally  f  ;  and  it 
certainly  was  followed  by  the  Hebrew  historians.  The  proof 
lies  in  the  great  similarity  of  style  which  these  speeches  con- 
stantly exhibit  to  the  parts  of  the  narrative  which  are  evidently 
the  work  of  the  compiler  himself.  In  some  cases  the  writers  may 
no  doubt  have  had  information  as  to  what  was  actually  said  on 
the  occasions  referred  to,  which  they  recast  in  their  own  words ; 
but  very  often  they  merely  give  articulate  expression  to  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  which  it  was  presumed  that  the  persons  in 
question  would  have  entertained.  The  practice  is  exemplified 
with  particular  clearness  in  the  Book  of  Chronicles,  where  David, 
Solomon,  and  different  prophets  constantly  express  ideas  and  use 
idioms  which  are  distinctively  late,  and  are  mostly  peculiar  to 
the  compiler  of  Chronicles  himself ;  but  there  are  many  instances 
in  other  books  as  well.|  An  author,  therefore,  in  framing  dis- 
courses appropriate  to  Moses'  situation,  and  embodying  prin- 
ciples which  (see  p.  91)  he  would  have  cordially  approved, 
especially  if  (as  is  probable)  the  elements  were  provided  for  him 
by  tradition,  would  be  doing  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  literary 
usages  of  his  age  and  people. 

Secondly,  it  is  an  altogether  false  view  of  the  laws  in  Dt.  to 
treat  them  as  the  author's  "inventions."  Many  are  repeated 
from  the  Book  of  the  Covenant ;  the  existence  of  others  is  inde- 
pendently attested  by  the  "Law  of  Holiness";  others,  upon 
intrinsic  grounds,  are  clearly  ancient.  In  some  cases,  no  doubt, 
an  aim  formerly  indistinctly  expressed  is  more  sharply  formulated, 

*  See  ii-«  4«"^^  5I  271- 9-"  292  (Heb.i)  3ii-3«.  Undoubtedly,  the  third 
person  may  have  been  used  by  Moses  ;  but  it  is  unreasonable  to  assert  that  he 
must  have  used  it,  or  to  contend  that  passages  in  which  it  occurs  could  only 
have  been  written  by  him.  See  Delitzsch,  Studien,  x.  p.  503  f.  ;  or,  more 
briefly,  Genesis  (1887),  p.  22.     On  wrote  in  Dt.  31^  see  below,  p.  124  n. 

t  See  Arnold's  Thucydides,  on  i.  22  (ed.  5,  1861,  vol.  i.  p.  28). 

X  See  below,  under  Joshua,  Kings,  and  Chronicles. 


DEUTERONOMY  9I 

as  in  others  modifications  or  adaptations  are  introduced  which 
the  tendencies  of  the  age  required ;  but,  on  the  whole,  the  laws 
of  [85]  Dt.  are  unquestionably  derived  from  pre-existent  usage ; 
and  the  object  of  the  author  is  to  insist  upon  their  importance, 
and  to  supply  motives  for  their  observance.  The  new  element 
in  Dt.  is  thus  not  the  laws,  but  their  parenetic  setting.  And  even 
this  is  new,  not  in  substance,  but  only  in  form.  The  point  of 
capital  importance  in  Dt.  is  the  attitude  of  the  nation  towards 
Jehovah  :  throughout  the  discourses  the  author's  aim  is  to  provide 
motives,  by  which  to  secure  loyalty  to  Him.  But  Moses  also  (as 
critics  themselves  do  not  doubt  *)  laid  the  greatest  stress  upon 
Jehovah's  being  the  sole  and  exclusive  object  of  Israel's 
reverence :  the  principles  on  which  Dt.  insists  are  thus  in  sub- 
stance Mosaic ;  all  that  belongs  to  the  post-Mosaic  author  is  the 
rhetorical  form  in  which  they  are  presented.  Deuteronomy  may 
be  described  as  the  prophetic  re -formulation^  and  adaptation  to 
new  needs,  of  an  older  legislation.  It  is  highly  probable  that 
there  existed  the  tradition  of  a  final  legislative  address  delivered 
by  Moses  in  the  plains  of  Moab  :  there  would  be  a  more  obvious 
motive  for  the  plan  followed  by  the  author,  if  it  could  be  sup- 
posed that  he  worked  thus  upon  a  traditional  basis.  But  be  that 
as  it  may,  the  bulk  of  the  laws  contained  in  Dt.  is  undoubtedly 
far  more  ancient  than  the  time  of  the  author  himself:  and  in 
dealing  with  them  as  he  has  done,  in  combining  them  into  a 
manual  for  the  guidance  of  the  people,  and  providing  them  with 
hortatory  introductions  and  comments,  conceived  in  the  spirit  of 
Moses  himself,  he  cannot,  in  the  light  of  the  parallels  that  have 
been  referred  to,  be  held  to  be  guilty  of  dishonesty  or  literary 
fraud.  There  is  nothing  in  Dt.  implying  an  interested  or  dis- 
honest motive  on  the  part  of  the  (post-Mosaic)  author :  and 
this  being  so,  its  moral  and  spiritual  greatness  remains  un- 
impaired ;  its  inspired  authority  is  in  no  respect  less  than  that 
of  any  other  part  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  which 
happens  to  be  anonymous. 

The  view  of  Dt.  as  the  re-formulation,  with  a  view  to  new 
needs,  of  an  older  legislation,  meets  the  objection  that  is  sometimes 
urged  against  the  date  assigned  to  it  by  critics,  viz.  that  it  con- 
tains provisions  that  would  be  nugatory  in  the  7th  cent.  B.C. ;  for 
instance,  the  injunction  to  give  no  quarter  to  the  inhabitants  of 
*  Cornill,  Der  Isr.  Propheiismus  (1894),  p.  25  f. 


92  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Canaan  (7^^^  20^^''^^).  Of  course,  as  the  creation  of  that  age,  such 
an  injunction  would  be  absurd  :  but  it  is  repeated  from  Ex.  23^1-33 ; 
in  a  recapitulation  of  Mosaic  principles,  supposed  to  be  addressed 
to  the  people  when  they  were  about  to  enter  Canaan,  it  would 
be  naturally  included ;  and  so  far  from  being  nugatory  in  the  7  th 
cent.  B.C.,  it  would  indirectly  have  a  real  value :  occurring,  as  it 
does,  in  close  connexion  with  the  prohibition  of  all  intercourse 
with  the  Canaanites,  it  would  be  an  emphatic  protest  against 
tendencies  which,  under  Ahaz  and  Manasseh,  became  disastrously 
strong.  The  injunction  respecting  Amalek  [86]  {2$^'^'^^)  is  re- 
peated for  a  similar  reason;  it  formed  an  indisputable  part  of 
the  older  legislation  (Ex.  17^^),  and  would  be  suitable  in  Moses' 
mouth  at  the  time  when  the  discourses  in  Dt.  are  represented  as 
having  been  spoken. 

The  much-debated  "law  of  the  kingdom"  (ly'^'^-'^^)  appears 
also  in  its  kernel  to  be  old.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  limi- 
tations laid  down  are  all  theocratic :  the  law  does  not  define  a 
political  constitution,  or  limit  the  autocracy  of  the  king  in  civil 
matters.  It  stands  thus  out  of  relation  with  i  Sam.  S^'^-'^'^  lo^^ 
Its  object  is  to  show  how  the  monarchy,  if  established,  is  to 
conform  to  the  same  Mosaic  principles  which  govern  other  de- 
partments of  the  theocracy.  V.^^  asserts  the  primary  condition 
which  the  monarchy  must  satisfy, — "Thou  mayest  not  set  a 
foreigner  to  be  king  over  thee  "  :  a  condition  conceived  thoroughly 
in  the  spirit  of  Ex.  23^^^-,  and  designed  to  secure  Israel's  dis- 
tinctive nationality  against  the  intrusion  of  a  heathen  element  in 
this  most  important  dignity.  The  prohibitions,  v:^^^;  guard 
against  the  distractions  too  often  caused  by  riches  and  luxury 
at  an  Oriental  Court;  danger  from  this  source  may  well  have 
been  foreseen  by  Moses :  still,  these  verses  certainly  wear  the 
appearance  of  being  coloured  by  recollections  of  the  court  of 
Solomon  (i  Ki.  lo^^-^s  ii^-*),  or  even  of  the  eagerness  of  a 
powerful  party  in  the  days  of  Isaiah  to  induce  the  king  to 
strengthen  himself  by  means  of  Egyptian  cavalry  (Isa.  30^^  31^; 
cf.  Jer.  218-36).  The  injunctions,  v.^^^^-,  secure  the  king's  per- 
sonal familiarity  with  the  principles  of  the  Deuteronomic  law, 
for  the  reason  assigned  in  v.-^.  As  the  re-formulation  of  an 
older  law,  embodying  the  theocratic  ideal  of  the  monarchy,  the 
law  of  the  kingdom  contains  nothing  that  is  ill-adapted  to  a  date 
in  the  7th  cent.  B.C.,  or  that  would  have  sounded  "  absurd "  to 


DEUTERONOMY  93 

the  author's  contemporaries,  supposing  that  to  have  been  the 
period  in  which  he  Hved.* 

For  reasons  that  have  been  stated,  the  law  of  the  Central 
Sanctuary  appears,  in  its  exclusiveness^  to  be  of  comparatively 
modern  origin ;  but  this  law  in  reality  only  accentuates  the  old 
pre-eminence  in  the  interests  of  a  principle  which  is  often  insisted 
[87]  on  in  JE,  viz.  the  segregation  of  Israel  from  heathen  in- 
fluences. History  had  shown  that  it  was  impossible  to  secure  the 
local  sanctuaries  against  abuse,  and  to  free  them  from  contam- 
ination by  Canaanitish  idolatry.  The  prophets  had  more  and 
more  distinctly  taught  that  Zion  was  emphatically  Jehovah's  seat ; 
and  it  became  gradually  more  and  more  plain  that  the  progress 
of  spiritual  religion  demanded  the  unconditional  abolition  of  the 
local  shrines.  It  was  not  enough  (Ex.  23^*  34!^)  to  demolish 
heathen  sanctuaries :  other  sanctuaries,  even  though  erected  osten- 
sibly for  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  must  not  be  allowed  to  take 
their  place.  Hezekiah,  supported,  it  may  be  presumed,  by  pro- 
phetical authority,  sought  to  give  practical  effect  to  this  teaching 
(2  Ki.  1 8*- 22  2i3).  But  he  was  unable  to  bring  it  really  home  to 
the  nation's  heart ;  and  the  heathen  reaction  under  Manasseh 
ensued.  Naturally,  this  result  only  impressed  the  prophetical 
party  more  strongly  with  the  importance  of  the  principle  which 
Hezekiah  had  sought  to  enforce ;  and  it  is  accordingly  codified, 
and  energetically  inculcated,  in  Deuteronomy.  Josiah  (2  Ki.  22- 
23),  acting  under  the  influence  of  Dt.,  abolished  the  high  places 
with  a  strong  hand ;  but  even  he,  as  Jeremiah  witnesses  {passim\ 
could  not  change  radically  the  habits  of  the  people ;  and  the  ends 
aimed  at  in  Dt.  were  only  finally  secured  after  the  nation's  return 
from  the  Babylonian  captivity. 

It  has  been  shown  above  that  the  legislation  proper  of  Dt.  is 
comprised  in  c.  5-26,  to  which  4^^-*^  forms  a  superscription  and 
c.  28  a  conclusion.  What  relation,  now,  do  the  other  parts  of 
Dt.,  sometimes  called  its  "margins,"  bear  to  this?  By  the 
majority  of  recent  critics  c.  1-4^^  is  held— partly  on  account  of 
*  With  the  last  three  paragraphs  comp.  Delitzsch,  Studien^  xi.  passim. 
That  the  legislation  of  Dt.  is  based  generally  upon  pre-existing  sources  is  fully 
recognised  by  critics ;  see  e.g.  Graf,  Gesch,  Biicher^  pp.  20,  22,  24 ;  Reuss, 
La  Bible,  i.  I59f. ;  Dillmann  in  his  commentary,  passim,  esp.  p.  604  ff.  On 
the  relation  of  Dt.  17"^-  to  i  Sa.  8,  io"-27*  12,  cf.  Kon.  p.  217,  and  the 
writer's  Deut.  p.  213  (the  law  may  have  been  known  to  the  author  of  the 
narrative,  but  it  was  clearly  unknown  to  the  actors  in  the  incidents  described). 


94  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

slight  disagreements  in  representation  and  expression  with  c.  5-26 
which  it  exhibits,  partly  on  account  of  the  separate  heading 
^44-40^  which  appears  to  be  superfluous  after  1 1-2. 4-5 — to  be  not 
part  of  the  original  Dt.,  but  to  have  been  added,  as  an  intro- 
duction, by  a  somewhat  later  hand,  for  the  purpose,  partly  of 
supplying  the  reader  with  an  account  of  the  antecedents  of  the 
Dt.  legislation  (c.  1-3),  partly  of  inculcating  fresh  motives  for 
its  observance  (4^*^^).  It  is  doubtful  if  this  view  is  correct.  The 
inconsistencies,*  though  they  no  doubt  exist,  are  scarcely  suffici- 
ently serious  to  outweigh  the  strong  impression  produced  by  the 
predominant  linguistic  character  of  c.  1-4^*^,  that  it  is  by  the 
same  hand  as  c.  5  ff.  But  the  separate  heading,  especially  if  its 
circumstantiality  be  considered,  can  hardly  be  due  to  the  same 
author  who  had  already  prefaced  his  work  with  1 1-2- 4-5^  A 
heading,  however,  lends  itself  readily  to  expansion ;  and  there  is 
nothing  unreasonable  in  the  supposition  that,  as  formulated  by 
the  original  author,  this  title  was  considerably  briefer  than  it 
now  is,  and  not  longer  than  sufficed  to  mark  the  commencement 
of  the  "  exposition  "  of  the  law,  after  the  introduction,  1^-4.^^.  f 

[88]  C.  27.  This  chapter,  which  enjoins  certain  ceremonies  to 
be  performed  after  the  Israelites  have  entered  Canaan,  interrupts 
the  connexion  between  c.  26  and  c.  28,  and  has  probably  been 
removed  from  the  position  which  it  originally  occupied.  V.^-i^ 
may  have  once  formed  the  connecting  link  between  c.  26  and 
c.  28.  In  the  rest  of  the  ch.  four  distinct  ceremonies  are 
enjoined — (i)  the  inscription  of  the  Deuteronomic  law  on  stones 
upon  Mount  Ebal  v.^-*-  ^ ;  (2)  the  erection  of  an  altar  and  offer- 
ing of  sacrifices  on  the  same  spot  v.^"''^;  (3)  the  ratification  of 
the  new  covenant  by  the  people  standing  on  do^/i  Ebal  and 
Gerizim  v.^^-i^;  (4)  the  twelve  curses  uttered  by  the  Levites 
and  responded  to  by  the  whole  people  v.i^-26.     V.^-^  appears  to 

*  The  most  noticeable  is  that  between  2^^"^^  and  5^^*'  1 1 "'''.  The  question 
whether  c.  1-4^^  is  by  the  same  hand  as  c.  5  ff.  was  made  recently  the  sub- 
ject of  an  interesting  discussion  between  A.  Van  Hoonacker  (affirming  it),  in 
Le  Museon,  vii.  (1888)  p.  464 ff.,  viii.  (1889)  pp.  67  ff.,  141  ff.,  and  L.  Horst 
(denying  it),  in  the  Rev.  de  VHist.  des  Religio7is^  xxiii.  (1891),  p.  i84ff.  See 
an  outHne  of  the  arguments  on  both  sides  in  the  writer's  Deuteronomy ^ 
pp.  Ixvii-lxxii. 

+  4^''  is  based  upon  3^'  :  so  that,  if  it  be  true  (cf.  p.  72  ;  and  see  Dillm. , 
or  the  author's  Comm.  ad  loc.)  that  3^^"^'  is  an  insertion  in  c.  1-3,  4^'^^  vnistf 
in  its  present  form,  be  of  later  origin  than  c.  1-3. 


DEUTERONOMY  95 

be  based  upon  an  older  narrative,  which  has  been  expanded  and 
recast  by  the  author  of  Dt.  V.^^-i^  is  disconnected  with  i-^, 
the  situation  and  circumstances  being  both  different;  but  it 
must  be  taken  in  connexion  with  ii^^^-,  and  understood  to  par- 
ticularize the  symbolical  ceremony  which  is  there  contemplated. 
The  connexion  of  v.^^'^^  with  v.^^^^^  is  very  imperfect.  V.^^f. 
represents  six  of  the  tribes  (including  Levi,  which  is  reckoned 
here  as  a  lay-tribe,  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  being  treated  as  one) 
on  Gerizim  and  six  on  Ebal — in  tolerable  accordance  with 
Josh.  8^^;  and  we  expect  (cf.  ii^^)  some  invocation  of  blessings 
and  curses  on  the  two  mountains  respectively.  V.^*^-,  on  the 
contrary,  describe  only  a  series  of  curses,  uttered  by  the  Levites, 
to  which  all  Israel  respond.  The  two  representations  are 
evidently  divergent,  and  give  an  inconsistent  picture  of  the  entire 
scene.  Either  something  which  made  the  transition  clear  has 
dropped  out  between  v.^^  and  v.  1*,  or  v.^**'^-  have  been  incorporated 
from  some  independent  source  (see  Dillmann,  pp.  367-9) :  the 
imprecations,  namely,  do  not  present  an  epitome  of  the  sins 
most  earnestly  warned  against  in  Dt.  (as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, were  they  drawn  up  by  the  same  author),  but  correspond 
closely  to  some  of  the  laws  of  H  (see  p.  74  f.). 

292-3020.  Here  the  standpoint  is  not  throughout  the  same  as 
in  Dt.  generally;  for  whereas  in  c.  5-26,  28,  the  alternatives  of 
national  obedience  and  disobedience  are  balanced  one  against 
the  other,  and  one  is  not  represented  as  more  likely  to  follow 
than  the  other,  in  2922^-,  and  esp.  in  30^'^^  the  latter  is  assumed 
to  have  definitely  taken  place,  and  the  writer  even  contemplates 
the  conditions  of  Israel's  restoration  from  exile :  the  connexion 
is  also  in  parts  imperfect  (notice  the  transition  from  the  individual 
in  29^^-21  to  the  nation  in  2922^- ;  and/^r  in  30^1,  introducing  the 
reason  for  a  present  duty,  whereas  in  30I-10  Israel  is  represented 
as  being  in  exile) ;  hence  it  is  probable  that  292-3020  is  a  supple- 
ment, embracing  original  Deuteronomic  material  (esp.  30^^*20)^ 
but  due,  in  its  present  form,  to  a  later  Deuteronomic  hand. 

31I-3247,  including  the  "Song  of  Moses"  (321-^8). 

Argument  of  the  Song.  After  an  exordium  (v.^''),  the  poet  states  his 
theme  (v.'**  As  for  the  Rock,  His  work  is  perfect),  the  uprightness  and  faith- 
fulness of  Jehovah,  as  illustrated  in  His  dealings  with  a  corrupt  and  ungrate- 
ful nation  (v.'*"^).  He  dwells  on  the  providential  care  with  which  the  [89] 
people  had  been  guided  to  the  home  reserved  for  them,  how  prosperity  had  there 


96  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

tempted  it  to  be  untrue  to  its  ideal  ("Jeshurun'")  character,  until  the  punish- 
ment decreed  for  this  had  all  but  issued  in  national  extinction,  and  the  final 
step  had  only  been  arrested  by  Jehovah's  "dread"  of  the  foe's  malicious 
triumph  {v."^'^).  Now,  therefore,  in  His  people's  extremity,  Jehovah  will 
interpose  on  their  behalf ;  and  when  the  gods  whom  they  have  chosen  are 
powerless  to  aid  them,  will  Himself  take  up  and  avenge  His  servants'  cause 
(v.^-^).  Thus  the  main  idea  of  the  poem  is  the  rescue  of  the  people  by 
an  act  of  grace,  at  a  moment  when  ruin  seemed  imminent.  The  poem  begins 
reproachfully ;  but  throughout  tenderness  prevails  above  severity,  and  at  the 
end  the  strain  becomes  wholly  one  of  consolation  and  hope. 

The  Song  shows  great  originality  in  form,  being  a  presenta- 
tion of  prophetical  thoughts  in  a  poetical  dress,  which  is  unique 
in  the  OT.  Nothing  in  the  poem  points  to  Moses  as  the  author. 
The  period  of  the  Exodus,  and  of  the  occupation  of  Canaan, 
lies  in  a  distant  past  (v.^'-^^) .  Israel  is  settled  in  Palestine,  has 
lapsed  into  idolatry,  and  been  brought  in  consequence  to  the 
verge  of  ruin  (v.^^-so^  .  ^H  that  is  future  is  its  deliverance  (v.^^ff-). 
The  thought,  and  the  style  of  composition,  exhibit  also  a 
maturity  which  points  to  a  period  considerably  later  than  that 
of  Moses.  The  style  of  treatment,  as  a  historical  retrospect,  is 
in  the  manner  of  Hos.  2,  Jer.  2,  Ezek.  20,  Ps.  106.  The  theme 
is  developed  with  great  literary  and  artistic  skill ;  the  images  are 
varied  and  expressive;  the  parallelism  is  usually  regular,  and 
very  forcible. 

It  would  be  going  too  far  to  affirm  that  the  Song  cannof  be 
by  the  same  hand  as  the  body  of  Deut.  At  the  same  time,  most 
of  the  characteristic  expressions  are  different,  and  it  presents 
many  fresh  thoughts ;  so  that  internal  evidence,  though  it  does 
not  absolutely  preclude  its  being  by  the  same  author,  does  not 
favour  such  a  supposition,  and  the  context  hardly  leaves  it  a 
possibility.  For  if  3ii4ff.  be  examined  carefully,  it  will  be  seen 
that  there  are  really  fwo  introductions  to  the  Song,  viz.  v.  1^-22  and 
V. 24-30^  These  are  evidently  by  different  hands  ;  the  first  exhibit- 
ing several  phrases  not  found  elsewhere  in  Dt,  the  second  being 
in  the  general  style  of  the  body  of  the  book.  By  many  critics 
it  has  been  taken  for  granted  that  v.^^"^^  (with  the  concluding 
notice  32'**)  formed  part  of  JE,  the  author  of  which,  finding  the 
Song  attributed  to  Moses,  incorporated  it  as  such  in  his  work, 
whence  it  was  excerpted  afterwards  by  the  author  (or  redactor) 
of  Dt.,  who,  adding  3124-30  ^nd  32''^"^^,  gave  it  the  place  that  it 
now  holds.      Upon  this  view,  the   date  of  the  poem  will  be 


DEUTERONOMY  97 

earlier  than  the  compilation  of  JE ;  and  Israel's  foe,  the  "  not 
people  "  of  V.21,  will  have  been  either  (Ew.  Kamp.)  the  Assyrians, 
or  (Schrader,  Dillm.,  Oettli)  the  Syrians, — Dillm.  referring  the 
poem  to  the  interval  in  the  Syrian  wars  {c.  800  b.c.)  between 
2  Ki.  13*-'''  and  1 3-3- 25  ^^'^■tf.^  when  Israel  under  Jehoahaz  was 
reduced  to  the  utmost  straits  by  the  successes  of  Hazael.  It 
has,  however,  been  observed  that  in  its  theological  standpoint — 
for  instance,  in  the  terms  in  which  idolatry  is  reprobated,  the 
contrasts  drawn  between  Jehovah  and  other  gods,  the  thought  of 
Israel's  lapse,  punishment,  and  subsequent  restoration — as  well 
as  in  its  literary  characteristics,  the  Song  presents  far  greater 
affinities  with  the  prophets  of  the  Chaldaean  than  with  those  of 
the  Assyrian  age ;  and  hence  Kuenen  (§  13.  30)  may  be  right  in 
assigning  it  to  the  age  of  Jer.  and  Ezek.,  and  treating  it  as  a  pro- 
phetic meditation  on  the  lessons  to  be  deduced  from  Israel's 
national  history.  As  v.16-22  ^^j^g  introduction  to  the  Song) 
separates  awkwardly  v.^^*^^  from  its  sequel  in  v.^^,  and  displays 
also  literary  differences  from  the  usual  style  of  JE,  the  supposition 
is  a  reasonable  one  that  the  Song  once  formed  part  of  a  separate 
source  (later  than  JE),  whence  (together  with  31I6-22  g^^d  32*^)  it 
was  inserted  in  Dt.  by  a  second  Deuteronomic  hand, — the  same, 
no  doubt,  which  (p.  72)  supplemented  the  original  Dt.  by  various 
other  additions  in  c.  29-34. 

[90]  C.  32*^-5-.  This  short  passage  bears  evident  marks  of 
P's  style  ;  it  is  a  slightly  expanded  duplicate  of  Nu.  27^2-14^ 

C.  33.  The  Blessing  of  Moses.  This  offers  even  fewer  points 
of  contact  with  the  discourses  of  Dt.  than  the  Song.  It  was 
probably  handed  down  independently,  and  inserted  here,  when 
Dt.  as  a  whole  was  incorporated  in  the  Pent.  It  should  be 
compared  with  the  Blessing  of  Jacob  in  Gen.  49 ;  for  though 
(with  the  exception  of  the  blessing  on  Joseph,  which  contains 
reminiscences  from  Gen.  4925^-)  the  thoughts  here  are  original, 
there  is  a  general  similarity  of  character  and  structure  between 
the  two  blessings.  A  difference  in  external  form  may  be  noted  : 
each  blessing  here  is  introduced  by  the  narrator  separately, 
speaking  in  his  own  person.  Compared,  as  a  whole,  with  the 
Blessing  of  Jacob,  it  may  be  said  to  be  pitched  in  a  higher  key  : 
the  tone  is  more  buoyant ;  while  the  former  in  the  main  has  in 
view  the  actual  characteristics  of  the  different  tribes,  the  Blessing 
of  Moses  contemplates  them  in  their  ideal  glories,  and  views 


98  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

them  both  separately  and  collectively  (v.-^-^Q)  as  exercising 
theocratic  functions  and  enjoying  theocratic  privileges.  The 
most  salient  features  are  the  (apparent)  isolation  and  depression 
of  Judah,  the  honour  and  respect  with  which  Levi  is  viewed,  the 
strength  and  splendour  of  the  double  tribe  of  Joseph,  and  the 
burst  of  grateful  enthusiasm  with  which  (v. 26-29)  the  poet  cele- 
brates the  fortune  of  his  nation,  settled  and  secure,  with  the  aid 
of  its  God,  in  its  fertile  Palestinian  home.  There  is  also  a 
special  exordium  (v. 2"^),  describing  how  Jehovah,  coming  from 
[not  t6\  Sinai,  gave  His  people  a  law  through  Moses,  and  held 
the  tribes  together  under  His  sovereignty. 

[91]  V.^,  if  not  also  v.^'^'  ^  [drave  outy  said,  dwelt)  ^  implies  a  date  later 
than  Moses  ;  as  regards  the  rest  of  the  Blessing,  opinions  differ,  and,  in  fact, 
conclusive  criteria  fail  us.  The  external  evidence  afforded  by  the  title  (v.^) 
is  slight.  Internal  evidence,  from  the  obscure  nature  of  some  of  the  allusions, 
is  indecisive,  and  offers  scope  for  diverging  conclusions.  Kleinert  (pp. 
169-175),  urging  v.'^  (Judah's  isolation,  in  agreement  with  its  non-mention 
in  Deborah's  song),  assigns  it  to  the  period  of  the  Judges.  Graf,  under- 
standing v.*^  differently,  and  remarking  the  allusion  to  the  Temple  in  v.^^^ 
and  the  terms  in  which  the  power  of  Joseph  is  described  in  v.",  thinks  of  the 
prosperous  age  of  Jeroboam  II.  (2  Ki.  14^'),  which  is  accepted  by  Kuenen, 
Reuss,  Stade  {Gesch.  i.  150,  152),  Cornill  (§  13.  6),  and  others.  Dillmann 
(p.  415  f.),  interpreting  v.*^- ^^  similarly,  considers  that  the  terms  in  which 
Levi  and  Judah  are  spoken  of  are  better  satisfied  by  a  date  very  shortly  after 
the  division  of  the  kingdom,  in  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  1. ,  and  remarks  that 
the  sympathy  shown  in  it  for  the  northern  tribes  may  be  taken  as  an  indica- 
tion that  the  author  was  a  poet  of  the  northern  kingdom  (so  also  Westphal, 
ii.  50  :  cf.  the  writer's  Detit.  p.  388).  V.*^  *'  And  bring  him — not,  unto 
his  land,  but — unto  his  people  "  is  very  difficult.  Perhaps  the  allusion  is  to 
some  circumstance  on  which  the  historical  books  are  silent :  in  default  of  a 
better  explanation,  it  is  interpreted  by  many  as  a  prayer,  uttered  from  the 
point  of  view  of  an  Ephraimite,  for  the  reunion  of  Judah  and  Israel,  either, 
viz.  after  the  rupture  of  the  kingdom  under  Jeroboam  I.  (Dillm.  &c.),  or 
(Riehm,  Einl.  p.  313)  during  the  rivalry  between  the  two  kingdoms  of  David 
and  Ishbosheth  (2  Sa.  2-4),  or  (Graf,  &c.)  under  Jeroboam  II.  The  style 
of  c.  33  suggests  a  higher  antiquity  than  c.  32.  The  Blessing  is  best 
regarded  —  like  the  poems  attributed  to  Balaam  in  Nu.  22-24  —  as  the 
poetical  development  of  an  ancient  popular  tradition  ;  and  as  having  been 
(Dillm.)  ''written  from  the  first  under  Moses'  name,  in  order  to  rally  the 
nation  anew  under  the  banner  of  the  Mosaic  institutions,  and  to  awaken  in  it 
a  fresh  and  vivid  consciousness  of  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  it  as  Jehovah's 
people." 

Style  of  Deuteronomy.     The  literary   style   of  Dt.   is   very 
marked  and   individual.      In   vocabulary,   indeed,   it    presents 


DEUTERONOMY  99 

comparatively  few  exceptional  words  ;  but  particular  words  and 
phrases,  consisting  sometimes  of  entire  clauses,  recur  with  extra- 
ordinary frequency,  giving  a  distinctive  colouring  to  every  part 
of  the  work.  In  its  predominant  features  the  phraseology  is 
strongly  original,  but  in  certain  particulars  it  is  based  upon  that 
of  the  parenetic  sections  of  JE  in  the  Book  of  Exodus  (esp. 
133-16  1526  193-8^  parts  of  20^-17  2320^-  3410-26).  The  possibility 
must,  however,  be  admitted  (cf.  p.  35)  that  some  of  these  passages 
owe  in  reality  their  present  form  to  Deuteronomic  influence. 

In  the  following  select  list  of  phrases  characteristic  of  Dt., 
the  first  10  appear  to  have  been  adopted  by  the  author  from 
these  sections  of  JE ;  those  which  follow  are  original,  or  occur 
so  rarely  in  JE,  that  there  is  no  ground  to  suppose  them  to  have 
been  borrowed  thence.  For  the  convenience  of  the  synopsis, 
the  occurrences  in  the  Deuteronomic  sections  of  Joshua  are 
annexed  in  brackets. 

1.  nnx  to  love,  with  God  as  object :  6»  7»  1012  ni-  w-  22  133  [Heb.  -»].  198 

306. 16. 20,  (Josh.  22«  23".]  So  Ex.  20«  { =  Dt.  510).  A  character- 
istic principle  of  Dt.  Of  God's  love  to  [92]  His  people  :  4*^  7^-  ^^ 
iq15  235  [Heb.  ®].  Not  so  before.  Otherwise  first  in  Hos.  3^  9^° 
III,  cf.  V.4  144  [Heb.  «]. 

2.  Dnnx  u^rhm  other  gods  :  6^4  7^  S^^  iii^-  28  132.  e.  13  [Heb.  »•  '•  "]  178  i82» 

28I4.  36.  64   2926  [Heb.  25]    30"  31I8.  20.       [Josh.   2^^^  2/^-  !«.]      So  Ex. 

20^  ( =  Dt.  5')  2313  ;  cf.  34I4  (^nK  *?«).  Always  in  Dt.  (except  5'' 
jg20  3 1 18.  20)  ^ith  to  serve  or  go  after.  Often  in  Kings  and 
Jeremiah,  but  (as  Kleinert  remarks)  usually  with  other  verbs. 

3.  That  your  {thy)  days  may  be  long  [or  to  prolong  days] :    4^-  ^  S^ 

[Heb.  30]  62b  ii9  1720  22'  2515  30I8  32«.  So  Ex.  20^2  (  =  Dt.  5"). 
Elsewhere,  only  Is.  531°,  Prov.  28^^  Eccl.  S^^;  and,  rather  dif- 
ferently. Josh.  24^1 =Jud.  2'.  I 

4.  The  land  (pNH  :  less  frequently  the  ground,  T\'cr\'».'r()  which  Jehovah  thy 

God  is  giving  thee  (also  us,  you,  them,  i20  &c.)  :  44°  15',  and  con- 
stantly.    So  Ex.  2012  (  =  Dt.  5I8)  HDiKn. 

5.  onny  nn  house  of  bondage  (lit.  of  slaves)  :  6^2  78  8"  13°- 1«  [Heb.«-  "]. 

[Josh.  24".]  So  Jud.  68,  Mic.  6S  Jer.  341^.  From  Ex.  133- 1^  2^ 
(  =  Dt.  5«).t 

6.  In  thy  gates  (of  the  cities  of  Israel)  :  1212-  is.  n.  is.  21  1^21.  27-29  157.  22 

l65.  11.  14.  18    172.  8    186  23I8   [Heb.  "]   24I4   26I2   28«2.  55.  57  3,12^        go 

Ex.  20IO  (  =  Dt.  5").     Hence  i  Ki.  83'  =  2  Ch.  628.1     Cf.  (perhaps) 

Jer.  I4\ 
7a.  nSjD  oy  a  people  of  special  possession-.  7«  14^  26^8.1     Cf.    Ex.    19' 

nVjD  '■?  Dn"ni. 
7^.  tynp  oy  a  holy  people-.   7*  14^21   ^(P  289.1     Varied  from  Ex.    19* 

vy^p  'ij  a  holy  nation  :  cf.  22^0  and  holy  men  shall  ye  be  unto  me. 
• 


TOO  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

8.  Which  I  am  commanding  thee  this  day  :  4'''*  6"  7^^  and  repeatedly.     So 

Ex.  34^1. 

9.  Take  heed  to  thyself  {yourselves)  lest,  &c.  :  d^'  ^3  6^2  8^1  ii^^  x^P-  is-  3o 

159  (cf.  248)  ;  comp.  2^  4I5.  [Josh.  23".]  So  Ex.  34I2  .  ^f.  1912. 
(Also  Ex.  lO^s,  Gen.  24^  31^4,  cf.  v.^^  ;  but  with  no  special  force.) 

10.  A  mighty  hand  and  a  stretched  out  arm  :    4^  5^°  71^  ii^  26^.     The 

combination  occurs  first  in  Dt.  Mighty  hand  alone  :  Dt.  3^^  6^^  7^ 
926  3412  [cf.  Josh.  424].  So  in  JE  Ex.  3^9  6^  138  32".  (Nu.  20^ 
differently. )  Stretched  out  arm  alone  :  Dt.  9^  (varied  from  Ex. 
32".     So  Ex.  6«  P. 

11.  -inn  to  choose  :  of  Israel  4^  7^-  "^  lo^^  14^, — the  priests  18*^  21'', — of  the 

future  king  17^^, — and  especially  in  the  phrase  *'  the  place  which 
Jehovah  shall  choose  to  place  {or  set)  His  name  there,"  I2°-  ^^-  ^^ 
1423.24  1^20  162.6.11  262,  or  "the  place  which  Jehovah  shall 
choose,"  12I4.  18.  26  1425  167.16. 16  178.10  186  31I1.  [Josh.  927.] 
Very  characteristic  of  Dt.  :  not  applied  before  to  God's  choice 
of  Israel;  often  in  Kings  of  Jerusalem  (i  Ki.  8^  11^2  ^c.)  ;  in 
Jeremiah  once,  332^,  of  Israel.  Also  charact.  of  II  Isaiah  (41*^-  ^ 
4310  44I.  2  .  of.  chosen  [93]  4320  45^.  Of  the  futjtre,  14I  659- 1»-  22  : 
and  applied  to  Jehovah's  ideal  Servant,  42I  49*^). 

12.  ('?NnB''D)  impD  ynn  myai  a^id  thou  shalt  extirpate  the  evil  from  thy  midst 

{ox from  Israel)  :  \f  [Heb.  6]  17?.  12  1919  2121  2221.  22.  24  247.1  This 
phrase  is  peculiar  to  Dt. ;  but  Jud.  2oi^  is  similar. 

13.  That  the  Lord  thy  God  may  (or  Because  He  will)  bless  thee  :   142'*.  ^ 

154. 10  1 610- 15  2320  [Heb.  21]  2419 :  cf.  12'  156- 1*. 

14.  The  stranger,  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow.   lo^^  24"-  i^-  20.  21  2719. 

Cf.  Ex.  222"..  Hence  Jer.  f  22^,  Ezek.  22'.  Together  with  the 
Leviie  :  1429  i6"-  ^^  26^2.  i*. 

15.  p3T  to  cleave,  of  devotion  to  God:    io2^  1122  134  [Heb.  ^j  3020  :   the 

corresponding  adjective,  4^.  [Josh.  22''  23^]  So"  2  Ki.  18^  :  cf.  3^ 
(of  devotion  to  sin),  i  Ki.  ii2  (to  false  gods).]" 

16.  And  remember  that  thou  wast  a  bondman  in  the  laitd  of  Egypt:  5^' 

1515  161224I8.22.1 

17.  (1'*?^)  13'y  Dinn  nV  thine  eye  shall  not  spare  {hi?n) :  71"  138  [Heb.  "]  19^'-  21 

25^2,     Also  Gen.  4520,  Is.  13I8,  and  frequently  in  Ezek. 

18.  Non  13  n'm  and  it  be  sin  in  thee  :  1$^^  2321  [Heb.  22]  24^^  ;  cf.  2122 : 

with  not,  2322  [Heb.  23]. 

19.  naiian  yian  the  good  land  (of  Canaan) :  \^  -^  421-  22  6I8  gio  (cf.  v.')  96  n". 

[Josh.  23I6.]  So  I  Ch.  288.  t  Dt.  i25  (Nu.  14^)  and  Ex.  38  are 
rather  different. 

20.  Which  thou  (ye)  knowest  (or  knewest)  not:  83.1^  ii28  132.  6.  i3  [Heb. 

8.  7. 14]  2833.  86.  64  2926  [Heb.  2«].  Chiefly  with  reference  to  strange 
gods,  or  a  foreign  people.     Cf.  32". 

21.  That  it  may  be  well  with  thee  (l"?  ati"  jyo"?  or  ncx)  :  440  5I6.  29  [Heb.  28] 

68.  18  1225.  28  22'.  Similarly  (dd"?)  n"?  3it3i :  533  [Heb.  ^]  19"  and 
aiB*?  624  10". 

22.  3'B'n,  inf.  abs.,  used  adverbially = M<?r^M^/i /j/ .'   9^^  13^^  [Heb.  i5]  17* 

19I8  278.     Elsewhere,  as  thus  applied,  only  2  Ki.  ii^^  | 


DEUTERONOMY  lOI 

23.  To  fear  God  (nKT"? :  often  with  that  they  may  leaitt  prefixed) :  4"  s^^ 

[Heb.  26]  624  8«  1012  1423  1719  2858  31W  cf.  V.12. 

24.  (Vdv)  "rDin  K*?,  in  the  sense  of  not  to  be  allowed;  722^2"  16'  17^'  21^* 

228. 19.  29  244^     ^  ygjy  uncommon  use  ;  cf.  Gen.  43^2^ 

25.  7<?  fl^b  that  which  is  right  (nK^'n)  in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah'.    122*    13I8 

[Heb.  ^»]  2i3  :  with  3iBn  Ma/  w/5zV/i  w  good  added,  6"  1228,  So 
Ex.  1526,  then  Jer.  34^^^  ^nd  several  times  in  the  Deuteronomic 
framework  of  Kings  and  in  the  parallel  passages  of  Chronicles. 

26.  To  do  that  which  is  evil  (ynn)  in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah  :  4^  g^^  172  3129. 

So  Nu.  3213 ;  often  in  the  framework  of  Judges  and  Kings, 
Jeremiah,  and  occasionally  elsewhere.  Both  25  and  26  gained 
currency  through  Dt.,  and  are  rare  except  in  passages  written 
under  its  influence. 
[94]  27.  The  priests  the  Levites  (  =  the  Levitical  priests):  17^  18^  24^  27^: 
the  priests  the  sons  of  Levi,  21°  318.  [Josh.  38  S^^.]  So  Jer.  33^8, 
Ezek.  43^^  44^^,  2  Ch.  5^  23^^  302^.  P's  expression  **  sons  of  Aaron  " 
is  never  used  in  Dt. 

28.  With  all  thy  {your)  heart  and  with  all  thy  {your)  soul :  i^  6"  10^2 

II"  133  [Heb.  4]  26i«  3O2-6-10.  [Josh.  22«  2314.]  A  genuine 
expression  of  the  spirit  of  the  book  (p.  78).  Only  besides  (in  the 
third  person)  i  Ki.  24  8^8  (  =  2  Ch.  638),  2  Ki.  238  (  =  2  Ch.  348^)  ^, 
2  Ch.  1 5^2  .  and  (in  the  first  person,  of  God)  Jer.  3241. 

29.  "JsV  jnj,  in  the  sense  of  delivering  up  to  :    i^-  21  2^^-  ^-  ^  72-  23  23I4 

[Heb.  15]  287  and  '^  (with  ^a:)  318.  [Josh.  10^2  116.]  Also  Jud. 
II*  I  Ki.  8^^,  Is.  4i2.|     The  usual  phrase  in  this  sense  is  T3  jna. 

30.  7!?  turn  (no)  neither  to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left :  22^  lit.  (Nu.  2<:P 

has  naj)  :  so  i  Sa.  6^2.  Metaph.  f^  [Heb.  29]  1711.  20  2814.  Qosh. 
i'  236.]     So  2  Ki.  222  (  =  2  Ch.  342).! 

31.  on'  ntf-yD  the  work  of  the  hands  (  =  enterprise) :  2'  1429  16^5241928^2 

30^  :  in  a  bad  sense,  3i29. 

32.  m£3,  of  the  redemption  from  Egypt :  7^  (Mic.  6^)  92^  135  [Heb.  *]  15^" 

21^  24^^  Not  so  before:  Ex.  15^^  (the  Song  of  Moses)  uses  *?«: 
(to  reclaim). 

33.  3"3i"5  midst,  in  different  connexions,  especially  impn,  imps.    A  favourite 

word  in  Dt.,  though  naturally  occurring  in  JE,  as  also  elsewhere. 
In  P  im  is  preferred. 

34.  To  rejoice  before  Jehovah  :  12'- 12. 18  1426  16II.  14  (cf.  Lev.  234°)  26"  27'. 

35.  To  make  His  name  dwell  there  {\sv,  \w\)  :  12"  \^  i62-  6.  "  262.    Only 

besides  Jer.  7^^  Ezr.  6^2,  Neh.  \\\  With  uS^h  {to  set):  I25- 21 
1424.  This  occurs  also  in  Kings  :  see  below,  at  the  end  of  Kings, 
in  the  list  of  phrases,  No.  14. 

36.  (D3T,  yT)  IT  nStJ'D  that  to  which  thy  {your)  hand  is  put -.  12'*  ^^  15^" 

2320  [Heb.  21]  288- 20. 1 

37.  And  .  .  .  shall  hear  a^idfear  (of  the  deterrent  effect  of  punishment) : 

i3ii[Heb.i2]i7i3i920  2i2i.| 

38.  To  observe  to  do  (nicy"?  idk')  :  51-  82  [Heb.  29]  68-  ^  7"  8^  &c.  (seventeen 

times  :  also  three  times  with  an  object  intervening).  [Josh,  i^*  ^ 
225.]     Also  2  Ki.  1737  218  (  =  2  Ch.  338  :  hence  also  i  Ch.  22"). 


I02  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

39.  To  observe  and  do :   4«  712  \(P  2^^  [Heb.  ^4]  248  26^^  28^3 ;   cf.  2(f 

[Heb.8J.     Qosh.  236.] 

40.  The  land  whither  ye  are  going  over- {ox  entering  in)  to  possess  it :  4'*  ^* 

and  repeatedly.  Hence  Ezr.  9^^.  rw^ra-h  to  possess  it  follows  also 
which  Jehovah  is  giving  thee  (No.  4) :  12^  19^*  ^*  21^.  [Josh,  i^^^] 
Cf.  Gen.  15''.  In  P,  with  similar  clauses,  nmN'?  is  used  :  Lev.  14^^ 
2545,  Nu.  3229,  Dt.  3249. 

41.  a.  mn'   nnyin  Jehovah'' s  abomination,    esp.    as  the  final  ground  of  a 

[95]  prohibition  :  'j^  (cf.  ^e)  1281  171  iS^sa  22^  23I8  [Heb.  i^]  24"  2516 
27^° :  ^.  riavm  alone,  chiefly  of  heathen  or  idolatrous  customs,  13^^ 
[Heb.  15]  143  174  i89. 12b  20I8  32I6.  a.  So  often  in  Prov.  ;  comp. 
in  H,  Lev.  iS^^-  26f.  m  2oi3  (but  only  of  sins  of  unchastity).* 

There  are  one  or  two  points  of  contact  between  Dt.  and  H 
{e.g.  in  the  use  of  the  term  thy  brother,  153.7.9.11.12  jyi5  22I-4 
23i9f.  253  (cf.  his  brother,  iqI^-i^),  as  Lev.  191^  2525.35.36.39.47). 
but  with  P  generally  it  shows  no  phraseological  connexion  what- 
ever. In  the  few  laws  covering  common  ground,  identical  ex- 
pressions occur  (as  c.  14  pD,  24^  ny"ivn  yjj) ;  but  these  are  either 
quotations  or  technical  expressions,  and  do  not  constitute  any 
real  phraseological  similarity  between  the  two  writings ;  they  are 
not  recurrent  in  Dt. 

Most  of  the  expressions  noted  above  occur  seldom  or  never 
besides,  or  only  in  passages  modelled  upon  the  style  of  Dt.  In 
addition,  other  recurring  features  will  be  noticed  by  the  attentive 
reader,  which  combine  with  those  that  have  been  cited  to  give  a 
unity  of  style  to  the  whole  work.  The  original  features  prepon- 
derate decidedly  above  those  that  are  derived.  The  strong  and 
impressive  individuality  of  the  writer  colours  whatever  he  writes ; 
and  even  a  sentence,  borrowed  from  elsewhere,  assumes,  by  the 
setting  in  which  it  is  placed,  a  new  character,  and  impresses  the 
reader  differently  (so  especially  in  the  retrospects,  c.  1-3.  9-10). 
His  power  as  an  orator  is  shown  in  the  long  and  stately  periods 
with  which  his  work  abounds :  at  the  same  time  the  parenetic 
treatment,  which  his  subject  often  demands,  always  maintains  its 
freshness,  and  is  never  monotonous  or  prolix.  In  his  command 
of  a  chaste,  yet  warm  and  persuasive  eloquence,  he  stands  unique 
among  the  writers  of  the  Old  Testament. 

The  influence  of  Dt.  upon  subsequent  books  of  the  OT.  is 
very  great.  As  it  fixed  for  long  the  standard  by  which  men 
and  actions  were  to  be  judged,  so  it  provided  the  formulae  in 
*  See  further  Holzinger,  Einl.  p.  283  ff. 


JOSHUA  103 

which  these  judgments  were  expressed;  in  other  words,  it 
provided  a  religious  terminology  which  readily  lent  itself  to 
adoption  by  subsequent  writers.  Its  influence  upon  parts  of 
Joshua,  Judges,  Kings  will  be  apparent  when  the  structure  of 
those  books  comes  to  be  examined:  in  a  later  age  it  shows 
itself  in  such  passages  as  Neh.  i^^-  9^^- ;  Dan.  9.  Among  the 
prophets,  Jeremiah's  phraseology  is  modelled  most  evidently 
[96]  upon  that  of  Dt. ;  and  reminiscences  may  frequently  be 
traced  in  Ezekiel  and  Deutero-Isaiah. 

Differences  should,  however,  be  noted,  as  well  as  resemblances ;  for 
instance,  the  Deuteronomic  passages  in  the  historical  books  contain  new 
expressions  not  found  in  Dt.  {e.g.  Josh.  24^^  to  incline  the  heart ;  i  Ki.  2^  to 
observe  their  way ;  8^^  a  perfect  hearty  &c.) :  on  Jeremiah,  comp.  p.  87,  note. 


§  6.  Joshua. 

Literature. — See  p.  if.;  and  add:  Hollenberg  in  the  Studien  una 
Kritiken,  1874,  pp.  462-506 ;  and  Der  Charakter  der  Alexandrinischen 
Uebersetzung  des  Buches  Jostia,  Moers,  1876  ;  Budde,  Richter  und  Samuel^ 
1890,  pp.  1-89;  Albers,  Die  Quellenberichte  in  Jo  sua  i-xii,  1891  ;  W.  H. 
Bennett  in  Haupt's  SBOT.     Comp.  Delitzsch,  Genesis  (1887),  pp.  30-33. 

The  Book  of  Joshua  is  separated  by  the  Jews  from  the  Penta- 
teuch (the  Tordh  or  Law),  and  forms  with  them  the  first  of  the 
group  of  writings  called  the  "Former  Prophets"  {i.e.  Joshua, 
Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings).  This  distinction  is,  however,  an 
artificial  one,  depending  on  the  fact  that  the  book  could  not  be 
regarded,  like  the  Pentateuch,  as  containing  an  authoritative 
rule  of  life;  its  contents,  and,  still  more,  its  Uterary  structure, 
show  that  it  is  intimately  connected  with  the  Pentateuch,  and 
describes  the  final  stage  in  the  history  of  the  Origines  of  the 
Hebrew  nation. 

The  book  divides  itself  naturally  into  two  parts,  the  first 
(c.  1-12)  narrating  the  passage  of  Jordan  by  the  Israelites,  and 
the  subsequent  series  of  successes  by  which  they  won  their  way 
into  Canaan;  the  second  (c.  13-24)  describing  the  allotment  of. 
the  country  among  the  tribes,  and  ending  with  an  account  of  the 
closing  events  in  Joshua's  life.  Chronological  notes  in  the  book 
are  rare  (4^'-^  ^^^  \  and  incidentally  \^^).  The  period  of  time 
covered  by  the  book  can  be  determined  only  approximately; 
for  though  Joshua  is  stated  to  have  died  at  the  age  of  1 10  years. 


104  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

there  is  no  distinct  note  of  his  age  on  any  previous  occasion.''^ 
From  a  comparison  of  i4i<^  with  Dt.  2^^  it  would  seem  that  in 
the  view  of  the  writer  of  the  section  14^-15  the  war  of  conquest 
occupied  about  7  years. 

The  Book  of  Joshua  consists,  at  least  in  large  measure,  of  a 
continuation  of  the  documents  used  in  the  formation  of  the  Penta- 
teuch. In  c.  1-12  the  main  narrative  consists  of  a  work,  itself 
[97]  also  in  parts  composite,  which  appears  to  be  the  continua- 
tion of  JE,  though  whether  its  component  parts  are  definitely 
J  and  E,  or  whether  it  is  rather  the  work  of  the  writer  who 
combined  J  and  E  into  a  whole,  and  in  this  book,  perhaps,  per- 
mitted himself  the  use  of  other  independent  sources,  may  be  an 
open  question.  The  use  of  P  in  these  chapters  is  rare.  In 
c.  13-24,  on  the  contrary,  especially  in  the  topographical  descrip- 
tions, the  work  of  P  predominates,  and  the  passages  derived 
from  JE  are  decidedly  less  numerous  than  in  the  first  part  of 
the  book.  There  is,  however,  another  element  in  the  Book  of 
Joshua  besides  JE  and  P.  In  this  book,  JE,  before  it  was 
combmed  with  P,  passed  through  the  hands  of  a  writer  who 
expanded  it  in  different  ways,  and  who,  being  strongly  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  Deuteronomy,  may  be  termed  the  Deuteronomic 
editor,  and  denoted  by  the  abbreviation  D^.f  The  parts  added 
by  this  writer  are  in  most  cases  readily  recognised  by  their 
characteristic  style.  The  chief  aim  of  these  Deuteronomic 
additions  to  JE  is  to  illustrate  and  emphasize  the  zeal  shown  by 
Joshua  in  fulfilling  Mosaic  ordinances,  especially  the  command 
to  extirpate  the  native  population  of  Canaan,  and  the  success 
which  in  consequence  crowned  his  efforts.!  In  point  of  fact,  as 
other  passages  show  (p.  115),  the  conquest  was  by  no  means 
effected  with  the  rapidity  and  completeness  which  some  of  the 
passages  quoted  imply ;  but  the  writer,  as  it  seems,  generalizes 
with  some  freedom.  Another  characteristic  of  the  same  ad- 
ditions is  the  frequent  reference  to  the  occupation  of  the 
trans-Jordanic  territory  by  Reuben,  Gad,  and  the  half-tribe  of 
Manasseh,  not  merely  in  i^^af.  ^nd  22!-^,  but  also  2^^  9^^  122-6 
138-12  ig7b, 

*  He  is  called  a  "young  man,"  Ex.  33",  in  the  first  year  of  the  exodus, 
t  No  account  is  here  taken  of  the  distinction  drawn  by  Kittel,  p.  60. 

t  See    ll-»  3^-  10  4"  5I  62  8^-  2»  (Dt.  2l23)  30-35  IO40-42  I  jl«.  16-23  2i43-45  23*.  »• 
14b  2^11  >nidci/e.  13^ 


JOSHUA  105 

I .   I  - 1 2 .   The  Conquest  of  Palestine. 

C.  1-2.  Preparations  for  the  passage  of  the  Jordan  and 
conquest  of  Canaan.  Joshua  is  encouraged  by  God  for  the  task 
imposed  upon  him,  and  receives  (according  to  the  stipulation, 
Nu.  3220-27)  the  promise  of  assistance  from  the  2J  tribes  whose 
territory  had  already  been  allotted  to  them  on  the  E.  of  Jordan 
(c.  i).  The  mission  of  the  spies  to  Jericho  and  the  compact 
with  Rahab  (c.  2). 

[98]   jJE  2I-9  12-24 

(D2  c.  I  210-" 

C.  I  is  based  probably  upon  an  earlier  and  shorter  narrative,  from  which, 
for  instance,  the  substance  of  v.^*  2«  io- "  may  be  derived,  but  in  its  present 
form  it  is  the  composition  of  D^.  It  is  constructed  almost  entirely  of  phrases 
borrowed  from  Dt.:  comp.  v. 3-5*  and  Dt.  ii24.  25a.  y.si'-e  Dt.  3123^^.  6.  vi..  a 
(also  i38  328) ;  V.7  Dt.  532  (Heb.  29)  298  (Heb.  «) ;  v.^  Dt.  316,  also  ib.  \^  f^ 
2o3  (the  uncommon  py) ;  v.^^^  Dt.  ii^i ;  v.i^b-is  Dt.  3I8-20  ;  v."b  as  v."  ;  v.^^'^ 
as  v.^.  Even  where  the  phrases  do  not  actually  occur  in  Dt.,  the  tone  and 
style  are  those  of  Dt. 

The  greater  part  of  c.  2  shows  no  traces  of  the  Deut.  style  ;  it  is,  however, 
very  evident  in  the  two  verses  w.^^''^^ ;  see  Dt.  31^  T^,  and  esp.  ^^  (the  phrase 
He  is  God  in  heaven  above,  &c.  occurring  nowhere  else  in  the  OT. ) ;  comp. 
also  Josh.  423  5I  (both  D2).  V.^  contains  reminiscences  from  the  Song  in 
Ex.  15  (v.i«-i5). 

C.  3-4.  The  passage  of  the  Jordan,  and  the  erection  of  two 
monuments  in  commemoration  of  the  event,  consisting  of  two 
cairns  of  stones,  one  set  up  in  the  bed  of  the  river  itself,  the 
other  at  the  first  camping-place  on  the  West  side,  Gilgal,  which 
henceforth  becomes  the  headquarters  of  the  Israelites  till  the 
conquest  is  complete. 


6  10-11        13-17  a-3  8 

12  4-7        9-lla  15-18 

^2  32-4         6-9  nb-12  14 


'Hi' 


The  composite  structure  of  c.  3-4  is  apparent  from  the  follow- 
ing considerations,  (i)  After  it  has  been  stated,  3^^,  in  express 
terms,  that  the  passage  of  the  Jordan  was  completed,  the 
language  of  4*-  ^-  ^^^  implies,  not  less  distinctly,  that  the  people 
have  not  yet  crossed ;  in  fact,  at  4^1  the  narrative  is  at  precisely 
the  same  point  which  was  reached  at  3^''.  (2)  4®  and  4^  speak 
of  two  different  ceremonies — the  location  of  stones,  taken  from 


I06  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Jordan,  at  Gilgal,  and  the  erection  of  stones  in  the  bed  of  the 
river  itself-,  v.^,  now,  is  plainly  the  sequel  of  v.^,  while  v/^  coheres 
with  V.'*-'',  which,  on  the  other  hand,  interrupts  the  connexion  of 
V.3  with  v.^  (3)  3^2  is  superfluous,  if  it  and  4^  belong  to  the 
same  narrative ;  it  is,  however,  required  [99]  for  4*.  The  verses 
assigned  to  a  form  a  consecutive  narrative,  relating  to  the  stones 
deposited  at  Gilgal.  The  narrative  b  is  not  complete,  part  having 
been  omitted  when  the  two  accounts  were  combined  together. 
In  the  parts  which  remain,  4*  is  the  sequel  to  3^^;  the  twelve 
men  pass  over  before  the  ark  into  Jordan  4^^'^ ;  the  stones  are 
erected  in  the  river  v.^ ;  after  this,  the  people  "  hasten  and  pass 
over "  (v.  10^) :  in  the  other  narrative  the  people  have  "  clean 
passed  over  "  before  the  ceremony  is  even  enjoined.  The  com- 
bined narrative  a  b  has  been  slightly  amplified  by  D^  in  the 
verses  assigned  to  him  in  the  analysis — in  32-4-  6-^,  probably,  upon 
the  basis  of  notices  belonging  to  JE.  It  is  not,  however,  clear 
that  the  two  main  narratives  are  J  and  E  respectively;  and 
hence  the  letters  a  and  b  have  been  used  to  designate  them. 
With  421  (iK^x)  comp.  Dt.  ii^^  1822 ;  with  v.'^sb,  c.  210  5I;  with 
V.24,  Dt.  2810  410^;  and  above,  p.  100,  No.  10. 

C.  5-8.  Joshua  circumcises  the  people  at  Gilgal ;  and  the 
Passover  is  kept  there  (s^"^^).  He  receives  instructions  respect- 
ing the  conquest  of  Jericho  :  the  city  is  taken  and  "  devoted  " 
(Dt.  72-  25f.)^  Rahab  and  her  household  being  spared  according 
to  the  compact  of  c.  2.  After  this  Joshua  advances  against  Ai, 
in  the  heart  of  the  land,  near  Bethel  ;  he  is  at  first  repulsed  in 
consequence  of  Achan's  offence  in  having  appropriated  a  portion 
of  the  spoil,  which  had  been  "  devoted  "  at  Jericho.  Achan 
having  been  punished,  the  Israelites  succeed  in  obtaining  posses- 
sion of  the  city  by  a  stratagem  (yi-S^^).  Joshua  erects  an  altar 
on  Ebal,  the  mountain  on  the  north  of  Shechem,  and  fulfils  the 
injunctions  Dt.  272-8. 

c     P      5^0-12 7I 

J     (JE'      "     »-8  "    "    8-l>  ^  5l3_627'     ^  72-26  81-29 

t   j  D2     5I  -1-7  88«-»3 

6--  "'  shows  signs  of  the  hand  of  D^  :  with  v.-''  comp,  8^  Dt.  2-^ ;  with  v.-'', 
c.  i^^  8^  lo'^ ;  v."^  recalls  i^-  ^-  ^'^  9^^  On  the  question  (which  cannot  here  be 
properly  considered)  whether  the  rest  of  c.  6  exhibits  marks  of  composition, 
reference  must  be  made  to  Wellh.  {Comp.  pp.  1 21-124)  and  the  Commentary 
of  Dillm. 

In  8^'"^  short  additions  or  expansions  due  to  D^  are  v.^  (*'  Fear  not, 


JOSHUA  107 

neither  be  thou  dismayed":  cf.  Dt.  i^^  318,  c.  lo^")  ^b.  27  (^f.  Dt.  2^),  and 
probably  a  few  phrases  besides,  both  here  and  in  c.  7.  (Comp.  the  additions 
often  made  by  the  Chronicler  in  his  excerpts  from  Sam.  and  Kings,  [lOO] 
e.g.  I  Ch.  2i"b  [2  Sa.  2413],  2  Ch.  7i2b-i6a  gub  jgsib  [j  Ki.  98.  24  2282].)  Qn  the 
rest  of  8i-»  see  Wellh.  Comp.  125  f.,  and  Dillm.  p.  472  flF. 

With  regard  to  S^^-^^  a  difficulty  arises  from  the  position 
which  it  occupies  in  the  book.  Ebal  lies  considerably  to  the 
north  of  Ai,  and  until  the  intervening  territory  was  conquered 
(respecting  which,  however,  the  narrative  is  silent)  it  is  difficult 
to  understand  how  Joshua  could  have  advanced  thither.  Either 
the  narrative  is  misplaced,  and  (as  has  been  suggested)  should 
follow  n23  j  or  (Dillm.)  JE  has  been  curtailed  by  the  compiler 
of  the  book,  and  the  details  which,  no  doubt,  it  once  contained 
respecting  the  conquest  of  Central  Palestine — similar  to  those 
respecting  that  of  the  South  (c.  10)  and  of  the  North  (c.  11) — 
have  been  omitted. 

g30-32  agrees  with  Dt.  27^"®;  v.^  also  agrees  tolerably  with  Dt.  Ii^-* 
2711-w  \y^^  jjQt  completely,  there  being  no  mention  of  the  curse.  The  read- 
ing oi\}c^&  law  v.^*"-  is  not  enjoined  in  Dt.  In  v.^*  the  words  "the  blessing 
and  the  curse  "  (which,  though  they  seem  to  be  epexegetical  of  "  all  the  words 
of  the  law,"  cannot  be  so  in  reality)  may  be  a  late  insertion,  designed  to 
rectify  the  apparent  omission  in  v.^.  With  the  expressions  in  v.**  cf.  ii^'', 
Dt.  31^"  20^^  :  notice  also  in  v.^  the  Deut.  phrase,  "  the  priests  the  Levites  " 
(p.  loi,  No.  27). 

C.  9.  The  Gibeonites,  by  a  stratagem  which  disarms  the 
suspicions  of  the  Israelites,  secure  immunity  for  their  lives,  and 
are  permitted  to  retain  a  position  within  the  community  as  slaves, 
performing  menial  offices  for  the  sanctuary  (UpoSovAot). 

{p  15b        17-21 

,  j£  3^^^:  IFIsi        16  icT^  26-27<i  (to  day) 

I  D-   Q^'^  ^^"-^^  ^"^  ^^ 

V.22.  23.  26f.  form  evidently  part  of  a  narrative  parallel  to  that  of  v.^'^J, 
and  not  the  sequel  of  it ;  and  the  style  of  the  latter  shows  that  it  belongs  to 
P  (notice  especially  "the  congregation,"  and  "  the  princes"  [p.  133 f-l  who 
here  take  the  lead  rather  than  Joshua).  In  v.^?  "  for  the  congregation,  and," 
and  perhaps  in  v."^-  ^  "  (both)  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water,"  will 
likewise  be  elements  derived  from  P. 

C.  10.  The  conquest  oi  Southern  Canaan  :  Joshua  first  defeats 
at  Beth-horon  the  five  kings  of  Jerusalem,  Hebron,  Jarmuth, 
Lachish,  Eglon,  and  afterwards  gains  possession  of  Makkedah, 
Libnah,   Lachish,   Gezer,   Eglon,    Hebron,   Debir :   further  par- 


Io8  i^ITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

ticulars  are  not  given,  but  Joshua's  successes  in  this  direction 
are  generalized,  v.'*^"*^. 

[lOl]   j  JE  IOI-7  »-"  12b.l4a  15-24  26-27 

I  £)2  8  12a  14b  25  28-43 

lo^-i*  forms  a  whole  from  JE,  with  additions  (to  which  the 
middle  clause  of  v.^  may  be  added)  revealing  the  hand  of  D'^, 
and  similar  in  style  to  those  made  by  him  in  c.  6  and  c.  8. 
Y  i2b-i3a  ^^.Q  enemies)  is  an  extract  from  an  ancient  collection  of 
national  songs,  called  the  Book  of  Jashar  or  of  the  Upright  (see 
also  2  Sa.  i^^)  :  v.^^^^^^*  is  the  comment  of  the  narrator  (here, 
perhaps,  E)  upon  it.  In  v.^^a  g^j^^j  y  i4b  notice  the  phraseology  : 
delivered  up  (lit.  gave  before)  as  ii^  and  frequently  in  Dt.  (p.  loi) ; 
i'KiC'"'  "yyb  as  Dt.  31^;  fought  for  Israel  as  v.'^^  238^  Dt.  i^*^  -^'^ 
20^.  As  regards  the  account  in  v.^s-^s  of  the  manner  in  which 
Joshua  pursued  his  victory,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  in  Jud.  i^'^^ 
the  conquest  of  the  South  of  Palestine  is  attributed  to  Judah ; 
and  Hebron  and  Debir  are  represented  in  Josh.  151^-19  (  =  Jud. 
1 10-15)  as  having  been  taken  under  circumstances  very  different 
from  those  here  presupposed.  It  seems  that  these  verses  are  a 
generalization  by  D^,  in  the  style  of  some  of  the  latter  parts  of 
the  book,  attached  to  the  victory  at  Gibeon,  and  ascribing  to 
Joshua  more  than  was  actually  accomplished  by  him  in  person. 
With  v.40  comp.  iiii-  ^\  Dt.  20I6. 

C.  II.  The  conquest  of  Northern  Canaan;  Joshua  defeats 
Jabin,  king  of  Hazor,  with  his  allies,  at  the  waters  of  Merom, 
and  captures  the  towns  belonging  to  him  (v.^-^^).  The  ch. 
closes  {y}^-'^^)  with  a  view  of  the  entire  series  of  Joshua's  suc- 
cesses, in  the  South  as  well  as  in  the  North  of  Canaan.  V.^-^ 
is  from  JE,  amplified  by  D2  in  parts  of  v. 2-  3.  6.  7.  8b .  ^^  10-23 
belongs  to  D^. 

In  v.^""^^  the  consequences  of  the  victory  by  the  waters  of  Merom  are 
generalized  by  D^  in  the  same  manner  as  those  of  the  victory  at  Beth-horon 
in  lo^^"^**.  The  survey  in  v.^^^^^  is  also  in  the  style  of  D'^.  In  v.^"-  "  what 
in  other  accounts  (14^2  1515-19^  jud.  jio-i^)  jg  referred  to  Caleb  and  Judah  is 
generalized  and  attributed  to  Joshua  "  (Dillmann). 

C.  12.  A  supplementary  list  of  the  kings  smitten  by  the 
Israelites— Sihon  and  Og  (with  a  notice  of  the  territory  belong- 
ing to  them)  on  the  East  of  Jordan,  and  31  kings  slain  under 
Joshua,  on  the  West  of  Jordan. 


JOSHUA  109 

Another  generalizing  review  by  D^.  The  retrospective  notice  of  Sihon 
and  Og  is  in  the  manner  of  this  writer  (p.  104).  Of  the  31  (or,  if  v.^^  be  [102] 
corrected  after  the  LXX,  30)  kings  named,  16  (15)  are  not  mentioned  else- 
where, at  least  explicitly,  among  those  conquered  under  Joshua,  viz.  the 
kings  of  Geder,  Adullam,  Bethel,  Tappuah,  Hepher,  Aphek  of  the  Sharon 
(LXX),  Taanach,  Megiddo,  Kedesh,  Jokneam,  Dor,  the  nations  of  Galilee 
(LXX),  Tirzah  (on  Hormah  and  Arad,  comp.  Jud.  i",  Nu.  2i^'3) ;  hence, 
probably,  either  omissions  have  been  made  in  the  narrative  of  JE  (comp. 
what  was  said  above  on  8^°"^)  in  the  process  of  incorporation  by  the  compiler, 
or  this  list  is  derived  from  an  independent  source. 

II.  C.  13-24.   The  Distribution  of  the  Territory. 

C.  13.  (i)  V.i-i*.  Joshua  receives  instructions  to  proceed  with 
the  allotment  of  the  conquered  territory,  v.^- ".  V.^-^  contains  a 
parenthetic  notice  of  the  districts,  chiefly  in  the  South-West  and 
in  Lebanon,  not  yet  conquered.  V.*-^^  describes  the  limits  of 
the  territory  assigned  by  Moses  to  the  2  J  trans- Jordanic  tribes  ; 
y}^  is  a  notice  of  tribes  on  the  East  of  Jordan  not  dispossessed 
by  the  Israelites.  (2)  V.^^-^^  the  borders  and  cities  of  the  trans- 
Jordanic  tribes,  Reuben,  Gad,  and  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh. 
Y_i5-32  belongs  to  P  (except,  probably,  parts  of  v.29-3i),  y.is  to  JE, 
v,i-i2. 14. 33  to  D^. 

V.^'*^  may  also  be  derived  from  JE,  For  a  difficult  question  arising  out 
of  v.^  in  connexion  with  v.  2-6,  it  must  suffice  to  refer  to  Wellh.  p.  130  f., 
or  Kuen.  Hex.  §  7.  27.  At  the  beginning  of  v.^  the  text  (which  yields  an 
incorrect  sense)  must  be  imperfect ;  see  Dillm.,  or  QFB^.  V.*^  is  a  repetition 
of  v.^^,  added  probably  by  a  late  hand  :  it  is  not  found  in  LXX. 

In  the  parts  of  this  ch.  assigned  to  P,  observe  the  recurring  superscriptions 
and  subscriptions  v.i^-  28.  24.  28.  29.  32  .  similarly  1520  168  191-  s- 10.  le  &c.  The 
framework  is  that  of  P  ;  but  the  details  are  in  some  cases  (especially  in  c.  16) 
derived  from  JE. 

C.  14.  Preparations  for  the  division  of  the  land  by  lot  by 
Joshua  and  Eleazar  (v.^-^) ;  Caleb  receives  from  Joshua  his 
portion  at  Hebron  in  accordance  with  the  promise  Dt.  i^^ 
^y  6-15)^  V.i-5  belongs  to  P,  v.^-^^  may  be  a  narrative  of  JE, 
expanded  or  recast,  in  parts,  by  D^. 

In  introducing  his  account  of  the  division  of  West  Palestine 
among  the  tribes,  the  compiler  of  the  book  has  followed  P ; 
v.i-5  being  evidently  dependent  on  Nu.  34^^-^^  35^'^  and  show- 
ing, moreover,  the  usual  marks  of  P's  style.  The  corresponding 
subscription,  from  the  same  source,  is  19^^ 

Wellh.  Kuen.  Dillm.  agree  in  supposing  that  18^  (which  certainly  reads 


no  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

more  appropriately  as  an  introduction  to  the  narrative  of  the  partition  of  the 
whole  land  than  to  that  of  a  part  only)  stood  originally  before  14^"^. 

[103]  V.^*^''  display  traits  pointing  to  D^,  though  not  so  numerous  as  is 
usually  the  case.  They  also  contain  allusions  to  phrases  found  in  Dt.,  but 
not  in  Nu.  13-14 ;  as  v.'*  ^yh  to  spy  otU  to  Dt.  i^  (the  idea  is  expressed 
by  other  words  in  Nu.  13-14  ;  v.**  to  Dt.  i^^;  v.^''  to  Dt.  i^  ;  v.^^  Q^p^y  jq 
Dt.  i28  D^pjy  '33  (Nu.  1322.  28  ^^,jr\  n'"?')  ;  v.i^b  to  Dt.  \^.  The  passage  in  its 
original  form  appears,  like  JE  in  Nu.  13-14  (p.  62  f.),  to  have  presupposed 
Caleb  alone  as  a  spy  :  for  the  terms  used  in  v.'-  ^  ("  sent  /7z^,"  "  went  up  with 
me  ")  are  not  those  of  a  person  addressing  another  who  was  his  companion  on 
the  occasion  referred  to  ;  so  that  in  v.^  the  words  "and  concerning  thee,"  it 
seems,  must  have  been  added  for  the  purpose  of  accommodating  the  narrative 
to  that  of  P  in  Nu.  13-14. 

C.  1^.  Judah.  The  borders  of  Judah,  v.^'^^ ;  Caleb's  con- 
quest of  Hebron,  and  OthnieFs  of  Kirjath-sepher  (Debir),  v.^^"^^  ; 
the  cities  of  Judah,  arranged  by  districts,  v.^o-s^. 

rP    11;^*^*  20-44  (45-47)  48-62 


-k  T£  14-19  63 

y  46-47  seem  to  be  a  late  insertion  in  P,  designed  to  conform  the  territory 
of  Judah  to  the  ideal  limits  of  v. ^2  .  ^^gy  ^re  difficult  historically  (contrast 
Jud.  i^^  ;  and  cf.  p.  163  n.X) ;  and  daughters^  in  the  sense  of  dependent  towns, 
is  not  one  of  P's  expressions  (on  1528  LXX,  cf.  Dillm.  p.  528).  On  v."-i9.'68^ 
see  below,  pp.  115,  162  f. 

C.  16-17.  The  children  oi  Joseph  {i.e.  the  west  half  of  Man- 
asseh,  and  Ephraim).  The  description  is  less  complete  than  in 
the  case  of  Judah,  and  also  less  clearly  arranged.  i6i-^  describes 
the  south  border  (but  only  this)  of  the  2  tribes  treated  as  a 
whole ;  1 6^'^^  describes  the  borders  of  Ephraim,  with  a  notice 
(v.^)  of  certain  cities  belonging  to  Ephraim,  but  situated  in  the 
territory  of  Manasseh,  and  (v.io  =  Jud.  i^^)  of  the  fact  that  the 
Israelites  did  not  succeed  in  dispossessing  the  Canaanites  from 
Gezer.  C.  17  describes  the  borders  of  Manasseh,  with  a  notice 
of  the  cities  belonging  to  it  in  Issachar  and  Asher  (v.^^^^),  con- 
cluding (v.i^-i^)  with  an  account  of  the  complaint  of  insufficierrt 
territory  made  by  the  joint  tribes  to  Joshua,  and  of  the  per- 
mission given  to  them  by  him  to  extend  their  territory  for 
themselves. 

/■p  4-8  i^la  S-4  7  9a  9c-10a 

1  JE     J 51-3  9^10  jylb-a  5.  (6)  8  iib  lOb-18 

The  main  description  is  that  of  JE,  the  compiler  having  here 
followed  P  less  than  usual,     Two  indications  of  compilation 


JOSHUA  1 1 1 

may  be  noted,  (i)  In  JE  the  lot  of  the  two  sons  of  Joseph  is 
[104]  consistently  spoken  of  as  one  (16^  1714-I8  .  go  18^) ;  in  P  it 
is  expressly  described  as  twofold  (i6^- ^  17I*),  Manasseh  being 
named  yf^'j"/  (16*)  in  accordance  with  14*  Nu.  26^8  by  the  same 
narrator  ;*  (2)  after  the  description  of  the  southern  border  alone 
of  "  Joseph  "  i6i'3,  the  narrative  starts  afresh  16*,  the  description 
first  given  being  in  great  part  repeated  (v.^-^).  V.^^  is  the  regular 
subscription  of  P  (19^-  ^^  &c.). 

JE's  original  narrative  is  thus  restored  in  outline  by  Wellh.  (p.  133)  : 
"The  two  divisions  of  Joseph  receive  but  one  territory  (16^,  cf.  17^^),  the 
borders  of  v^hich  are  defined  (16^"^:  the  north  border  is  now  missing).  In 
this  territory  Ephraim  receives  we  do  not  know  how  many  portions,  and 
Manasseh  ten  (17^).  The  more  important  Ephraimite  cities  are  enumerated, 
and  a  limitation  follows  {16*).  Next,  Manasseh's  territory  is  described,  and 
it  is  mentioned  that  some  important  cities  situate  in  it  belong  to  Ephraim 
(1*^8.  9b).  but  that,  on  the  other  hand,  Manasseh  also  extended  northwards 
into  Asher  and  Zebulun,  though  the  cities  belonging  to  it  there  remained 
Canaanitish  [li^^^-^^).  The  account  is  concluded  by  I7"'i8,  which  is  of  the 
nature  of  an  appendix."     The  narrative  of  JE  is  continued  by  i8^'^*. 

C.  18.  (i)  V.i-io  the  Israelites  assemble  at  Shiloh,  and  set  up 
the  Tent  of  Meeting  :  at  Joshua's  direction  a  survey  ("  describe  " 
lit,  write)  of  the  land  yet  undivided  is  made,  and  its  distribution 
by  lot  to  the  seven  remaining  tribes  is  proceeded  with  at  Shiloh ; 
(2)  v.ii-28  the  tribe  of  Benjamin^  its  borders  (v.^^-^o),  and  cities 
(v.21-28).     V.i- 11-28  belong  to  P,  v.2-6.8-10  to  JE,  v.^  to  D2. 

On  18^  comp.  above  on  c.  14.  With  the  notice  in  v.'%  cf.  13"-  ^  Dt. 
io9  igib.  2  .  ^ith  that  in  v.'^,  2^^  &c.  (p.  104). 

C.  19.  The  lots  of  Simeon  (v.i-^),  Zebulun  (v.io-i«),  Issachar 
(v.i'-23),  Asher  (v.24-3i),  Naphtali  (y.^^-^%  and  Z>an  (v.^-48),  with 
a  notice  of  the  assignment  of  Timnath-serah,  in  Ephraim,  to 
Joshua  (v.*^*'-),  and  subscription,  v.^i. 

■(  T£  9  47  49^^50 

V. 35-38^  where  the  enumeration  differs  in  form  from  the  rest  of  the  ch., 
may  be  an  excerpt  from  JE,  which,  to  judge  from  18^,  would  appear  to  have 
contained  a  description  of  the  tribal  allotments  6y  cities — now  mostly  super- 
seded by  the  text  of  P.  The  notice  v.-**'-  is  parallel  to  15"  (Caleb),  and  is 
presupposed  in  24*'  (both  JE).     W.^^  is  the  final  subscription  to  [105]  P's 

*  With  ij^^-  *-•*,  cf.  Nu.  27I-"  (P).  V.1^-2  differs  from  P  in  representation 
(Nu.  2628-34) .  cf.  Kuenen,  Tk,  :Q  xi.  484-488  ;  Dillm.  p.  542. 


112  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

whole  account  of  the  division  of  the  land,  i8^  I4^'^*,  following  Xho^ particular 
subscription,  v.^^,  relating  to  Dan,  just  as  Gen.  lo''^  follows  Gen.  lo^^,  or  as 
c.  2i*i''  follows  21^*. 

C.  20.  The  appointment  of  ^cities  of  refuge,  in  accordance 
with  Nu.  359ff-  and  Dt.  19  ;  Dt.  d^^^-^^  (the  appointment  of  the 
three  trans-Jordanic  cities  by  Moses)  being  disregarded. 

rP         20^-3*  ^  {to  jtidgment)  ^-9 

|(D2)  (4-5)  (6b) 

The  ch.,  as  a  whole,  is  in  the  style  of  P,  but  it  exhibits  in 
parts  points  of  contact  with  Dt.  It  is  remarkable,  now,  that  just 
these  passages  are  omitted  in  the  LXX  (v.^  "  (and)  unawares  "  ; 
y  4-5  .  y  6  fj-om  «  (and)  until  "  to  "  whence  he  fled  "  ;  also  v.^  "  at 
Jericho  eastward").  As  no  reason  can  be  assigned  for  the 
omission  of  these  passages  by  the  LXX  translators,  had  they 
formed  a  part  of  the  Hebrew  text  which  they  used,  it  is  probable 
that  the  ch.  in  its  original  form  (P)  has  been  enlarged  by  addi- 
tions from  the  law  of  homicide  in  Dt.  (c.  19)  at  a  comparatively 
late  date,  so  that  they  were  still  wanting  in  the  MSS.  used  by 
the  LXX  translators.     Cf.  HoUenberg,  Alex.  Uebers.  p.  15. 

In  V.'  observe  that  njaira  unwittingly  (lit.  in  error)  is  the  phrase  of  P 
(Nu.  35"'  ",  Lev..  4''  &c.) ;  nyn  ''?3i  unawares  is  the  phrase  of  Dt.  (4*2  194 ,. 
not  so  elsewhere) :  it  is  the  latter  which  LXX  do  not  recognise. 

C.  21.  Forty-eight  cities  assigned  by  the  Israelites  to  the 
tribe  of  Levi^  in  accordance  with  the  injunctions  contained  in 
Nu.  35I-8.     V.i-42  belongs  to  P,  v.43-45  to  D^. 

V.  48-45  forms  D^'s  subscription,  not  to  2ii-^,  but  to  D^'s  entire  account  of 
the  division  of  the  land,  as  19^-  is  JE's,  and  \<f^  P's. 

C.  22.  The  division  of  the  land  being  thus  completed,  Joshua 
dismisses  the  2  J  tribes  to  their  homes  on  the  east  of  Jordan, 
v.i"^  The  incident  of  the  altar  erected  by  them  at  the  point 
where  they  crossed  the  Jordan,  v^^^. 

|P  (22»-8^) 

V.7"8  is  a  fr^fment  of  uncertain  origin,  attached,  as  it  seems,  to  v.*  by  a 
later  hand.t    The  source  of  v.*'**  is  also  uncertain.     The  phraseology  [106] 

*  Except  **  (and)  una>yares  "  (njn  '^na)  in  v. 2. 

t  D'D33  riches^  in  22^  is  a  word  found  otherwise  only  in  the  latest  parts  of 
the  OT.  (Eccl.  5"  6^,  2  Ch.  i"-  »2),  and  in  Aramaic  (Ezr.  6^  728  j  also  in  the 
Targums  and  in  Syriac). 


JOSHUA  113 

is  in  the  main  that  of  P  (cf.  the  citations,  p.  131  ff.*)  ;  but  the  narrative  does 
not  display  throughout  the  characteristic  style  of  P,  and  in  some  parts  of  it  f 
there  occur  expressions  which  are  not  those  of  P.  Either  a  narrative  of  P 
has  been  combined  with  elements  from  another  source  J  in  a  manner  which 
makes  it  difficult  to  effect  a  satisfactory  analysis,  or  the  whole  is  the  work 
of  a  distinct  writer,  whose  phraseology  is  in  part  that  of  P,  but  not 
entirely. 

C.  23.  The  first  of  the  two  closing  addresses  of  Joshua  to 
the  people,  in  which  he  exhorts  them  to  adhere  faithfully  to  the 
principles  of  the  Deuteronomic  law,  and  in  particular  to  refrain 
from  all  intercourse  with  the  native  inhabitants  of  Canaan. 

C.  24.  {a)  The  second  of  Joshua's  closing  addresses  to  the 
people,  delivered  at  Shechem,  differing  in  scope  from  that  in 
c.  23,  and  consisting  of  a  review  of  the  mercies  shown  by  God 
to  His  people  from  the  patriarchal  days,  upon  which  is  based 
the  duty  of  discarding  all  false  gods,  and  cleaving  to  Him  alone. 
The  people,  responding  to  Joshua's  example,  pledge  themselves 
solemnly  to  obedience ;  and  a  stone,  in  attestation  of  their  act, 
is  erected  in  the  sanctuary  at  Shechem,  v.^'^s  .  ^^^  notices  of 
the  death  and  burial  of  Joshua,  of  the  burial  of  Joseph's  bones 
at  Shechem,  and  of  the  death  and  burial  of  Eleazar,  vP-^^. 

rE  24i-"*(tojt7«)  "''•^^  "-^  ^-=» 

\D2  c.  23  "^  iXo/ebusite)  "  »i 

C.  23  shows  throughout  the  hand  of  D^  :  comp.  c.  i  and  22^"* ;  its  object 
apparently  being  to  supplement  24^^*  by  inculcating  more  particularly  the 
principles  of  the  Deuteronomic  law.  C.  24  is  generally  admitted  to  belong 
to  E  ;  it  is  incorporated  here,  with  slight  additions,  by  D^.  In  v.^^  the 
words  ••  the  Amorite  ...  the  Jebusite  "  (cf.  Dt.  7^)  in  point  of  fact  interrupt 
the  connexion  :  the  context  speaks  only  of  the  contest  with  the  "lords"  of 
Jericho.     With  v.i»  comp.  Dt  e^o^- ^^ ;   with  v.»i  Dt.   11'.     Other  similar 

*  Which,  however,  do  not  include  all  the  marks  of  P's  style  which  the 
section  contains. 

t  Esp.  V. 22-29,  and  in  the  expression  nB':D(n)  B3b^  v.'-  »•  !»•  "•  "•  i«-  ^\  which, 
though  common  in  D  and  D2  {e.g.  i^^),  occurs,  in  lieu  of  P's  regular  term 
W3D  nBD,  only  in  two  doubtful  passages  of  P  (13^,  Nu.  2,^^). 

%  The  sense  of  v.^^^  is  uncertain.  lj;33  px  '?1D  is  usually  rendered  opposite 
to  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  but  W.  A.  Wright,  Joum.  of  Philology,  xiii.  117  ff. 
argues  that  ^^D  means  in  front  of  (viz.  on  the  same  side :  cf.  Ex.  34'  *?« 
'\r\7\  ViD,  i.e.  on  the  sides  of  the  mountain  itself,  not  opposite  to  it :  so  Jos. 
8^3) :  if  this  rendering  be  correct,  one  chief  reason  for  treating  the  narrative 
as  composite — viz.  that  the  altar  is  represented  in  v.^*  as  on  the  west  side  of 
Jordan,  and  in  v.^^  on  its  east  sid§ — disappears. 


114  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

slight  additions  by  D^  are  probably  v.^  middle  clause  (cf.  Dt.  29^"),  v. ^2*  to 
before  you  (cf.  Ex.  23^^,  Dt.  7^°).  In  v.^^  twelve  for  two  should  certainly 
be  read  with  LXX.  The  context  requires  imperatively  a  reference  [107]  to 
some  event  subsequent  to  the  capture  of  Jericho  ;  so  that  the  two  kings  of  the 
Amorites  on  the  east  of  Jordan  (Sihon  and  Og) — who  have,  moreover,  been 
noticed  in  v.^ — are  here  out  of  place.  This  retrospect  differs  in  some  respects 
from  the  previous  narrative,  and  mentions  incidents  not  otherwise  recorded, 
e.g.  the  worship  of  *'  other  gods  "  beyond  the  Euphrates  v.--  ^^ ;  the  war  of 
Balak  with  Israel  v.^ ;  the  *'  lords "  or  citizens  of  Jericho  fighting  against 
Israel  v.^^ ;  the  number  of  the  kings  in  v.^^,  which,  whether  two  or  twelve, 
disagrees  in  either  case  with  the  31  (or  30)  of  12^^. 

Points  of  contact  with  E:  v.^  "before  God,''  cf.  Ex  iS^^ ;  v.12.  i5- is 
"the  Amorite"  (p.  119);  v.^^b^  cf.  Ex.  1528;  further,  with  v.  2^- 23a.  26b  (f^e 
oak)  comp.  Gen.  352-4  .  ^\^  ^26^  Qe^^  28^8  ;  with  v.^?,  Gen.  31'*^^-  ^2;  and 
with  V.32,  Gen.  33^^  ^q^s,  p:x.  131^. 

The  Book  of  Joshua  thus  assumed  the  form  in  which  we  have 
it  by  a  series  of  stages.  First,  the  compiler  of  JE  (or  a  kindred 
hand),  utilizing  older  materials,  completed  his  work :  this  was 
afterwards  amplified  by  the  elements  contributed  by  D^ :  finally, 
the  whole  thus  formed  was  combined  with  P.*  From  a  historical 
point  of  view,  it  is  of  importance  to  distinguish  the  different 
elements  of  which  the  narrative  is  composed.  Historical  matter, 
as  such,  is  not  that  in  which  D^  is  primarily  interested ;  except 
in  his  allusions  to  the  2  J  trans-Jordanic  tribes  (which  are  of  the 
nature  of  a  retrospect),  the  elements  contributed  by  him  either 
give  prominence  to  the  motives  actuating  Joshua,  or  generalize 
and  magnify  the  successes  achieved  by  him.  Looking  at  JE, 
we  observe  that  it  narrated  the  story  of  the  spies  sent  to  explore 
Jericho,  the  passage  of  the  Jordan  (in  two  versions),  the  circum- 
cision of  the  Israelites  at  Gibeath-araloth  (5''^^-)  or  Gilgal  (5^^-), 
the  capture  of  Jericho  and  of  Ai  (c.  6;  7-8),  in  each  of  which 
accounts  traces  are  perhaps  discernible  of  an  earlier  and  simpler 
story  than  that  which  forms  the  body  of  the  existing  narrative, 
the  compact  made  with  the  Gibeonites,  the  defeat  at  Beth-horon 
of  the  five  kings  who  advanced  to  attack  Gibeon,  with  their 
execution  at  Makkedah,  and  Joshua's  victory  over  the  kings  of 
the  North  at  the  waters  of  Merom.  From  this  point  the  narrative 
of  JE  is  considerably  more  fragmentary,  consisting  of  little  more 
than  partial  notices  of  the  territory  occupied  by  the  tribes  (parts 
of  c.  16-17),  2.nd  anecdotes  of  the  manner  in  which,  in  particular 
cases,  they  completed,  or  failed  to  complete,  the  conquest  of 
*  This  view  is  preferred  deliberately  to  that  of  Dillraann. 


JOSHUA  115 

the  districts  allotted  to  them."*  [108]  The  account  of  the  close 
of  Joshua's  life  is  preserved  more  fully  c.  24  (E), 

That  JE's  narrative  is  incomplete  is  apparent  from  many 
indications,  e.g.  the  isolated  notice  of  Bethel  assisting  Ai  in  8^'^, 
the  entire  absence  of  any  mention  of  the  conquest  of  Central 
Palestine  (p.  to 7),  the  fragmentary  character  of  the  notices  of  the 
conquest  of  Judah,  &c.  It  is,  however,  remarkable  that  a  series 
of  notices,  similar  in  form  and  representation,  and  sometimes  in 
great  measure  verbally  identical  with  those  found  in  the  Book 
of  Joshua,  occur  in  the  first  chapter  of  Judges ;  and  the  resem- 
blance is  of  such  a  character  as  to  leave  little  doubt  that  the  two 
series  are  mutually  supplementary,  both  originally  forming  part 
of  one  and  the  same  continuous  account  of  the  conquest  of 
Palestine  (see  below,  under  Judges).  From  the  entire  group  of 
these  notices,  narrating,  partly  the  successes,  partly  the  failures, 
of  individual  tribes,  we  learn  that  the  oldest  Israelitish  tradition 
represented  the  conquest  of  Palestine  as  having  been  in  a  far 
greater  degree  due  to  the  exertions  of  the  separate  tribes,  and  as 
having  been  effected,  in  the  first  instance,  much  less  completely 
than  would  be  judged  to  have  been  the  case  from  the  existing 
Book  of  Joshua,  in  which  the  generalizing  summaries  of  D^ 
{e.g.  10^0-43.  I J 16-23^  21^^-^^)  form  a  frequent  and  prominent 
feature.  The  source  of  the  notices  in  question  is  supposed  by 
many  critics  (Budde,  p.  73  f.)  to  be  J,  though  not  of  iS^-^-s-io^ 
where  the  survey  of  Canaan  is  represented  as  being  carried  out 
as  though  no  unfriendly  population  were  still  holding  its  own 
in  the  land.  C.  24  also  stands  on  a  different  footing  from  the 
notices  referred  to  J,  the  conquest,  as  it  seems,  being  conceived 
as  more  completely  effected  (v.^^b.  is^  ^han  in  the  representation 
contained  in  these  notices.  C.  24,  however,  is  assigned,  upon 
independent  grounds,  to  the  source  E,  which  might  almost  be 
said  to  be  written  from  a  standpoint  approaching  (in  this  respect) 
that  of  D2. 

P  entertains  the  same  view  of  the  conquest  as  D^  (18^^), 
and  carries  it  to  its  logical  consequences :  Eleazar  and  Joshua 
formally  divide  the  conquered  territory  among  the  tribes  (18^; 
141-^).  The  limits  of  the  different  tribes,  and  the  cities  belong- 
ing to  them,  are  no  doubt  described  as  they  existed  in  a  later 

*i3i3.  perhaps  the  nucleus  of  I4«-''' :  15"'";";  '6";  i7"f.ji4-i8. 
i82-6  .  8-10  .  ,g4r 


Il6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

day ;  but  the  partition  of  the  land  being  conceived  as  ideally 
effected  by  Joshua,  its  complete  distribution  and  occupation 
[109]  by  the  tribes  are  treated  as  his  work,  and  as  accomplished 
in  his  lifetime.  A  difference  between  P  and  JE  may  here  be 
noted.  P  mentions  Eleazar  the  priest  as  co-operating  with 
Joshua,  and  even  gives  him  the  precedence  (14^  17*  19^^  21^; 
cf.  Nu.  2719-21  34I7  p)  •  in  JE  Joshua  always  acts  alone  (14^  17I* 

183.8.10  24I). 

On  the  phraseology  of  D^  see,  besides  the  citations  pp.  99  ff.,  1056"., 
Joshua,  in  Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible  (ed.  2),  §  5.  It  has,  in  particular, 
affinities  with  the  margins  of  Dt.  (cf.  Hollenberg,  Stt4d.  u.  Krit.  1874,  p. 
472 ff.);  and  includes  also  a  few  expressions  not  found  in  Dt.  One  term, 
frequent  in  D^'s  summaries,  may  be  here  noted,  onnn  to  ban  or  devote^  2^° 
iqI.  28. 86. 87. 39f.  j  jUf.  20f. .  gee  Dt.  2^  3^,  and  esp.  in  the  injunctions  (cf.  p.  104, 
note)  7*  13^^  20".  But  the  Din  (p.  59«.)  must  be  a  very  old  institution  in 
Israel:  it  is  mentioned  in  JE  Ex.  22'^*',  Nu.  212^-,  Josh.  6-7.  Note  also  the 
servant  of  Jehovah,  of  Moses:  ji- 2.  7. 13. 15  gsi.ss  fj24  J112.15  126  138  ,^7  jg? 

222.  4.  6  (Dt.  3^6)^ 

§7. 

Our  analysis  of  the  Hexateuch  is  completed,  and  the  time  has 
arrived  for  reviewing  the  characteristics  of  its  several  sources,  and 
for  discussing  the  question  of  their  probable  date.  Deuteronomy, 
indeed,  has  been  considered  at  sufficient  length;  but  there 
remain  J,  E,  and  P.  Have  we  done  rightly,  it  will  perhaps  be 
asked,  in  distinguishing  J  and  E  ?  That  P  and  "  JE "  formed 
originally  two  separate  writings  will  probably  be  granted;  the 
distinguishing  criteria  are  palpable  and  abundant :  but  is  this 
established  in  the  case  of  J  and  E?  is  it  probable  that  there 
should  have  been  two  narratives  of  the  patriarchal  and  Mosaic 
ages,  independent,  yet  largely  resembling  each  other,  and  that 
these  narratives  should  have  been  combined  together  into  a 
single  whole  at  a  relatively  early  period  of  the  history  of  Israel 
(approximately,  in  the  8th  century  B.C.)  ?  The  writer  has  often 
considered  these  questions ;  but,  while  readily  admitting  the 
liability  to  error,  which,  from  the  literary  character  of  the  narra- 
tive, accompanies  the  assignment  of  particular  verses  to  J  or  E, 
and  which  warns  the  critic  to  express  his  judgment  with  reserve, 
he  must  own  that  he  has  always  risen  from  the  study  of  "  JE  " 
with  the  conviction  that  it  is  composite;  and  that  passages 
occur  frequently   in    juxtaposition   which   nevertheless   contain 


PROPHETICAL  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH   II 7 

indications  of  not  being  the  work  of  one  and  the  same  hand, 
[no]  It  is  no  doubt  possible  that  some  scholars  may  have  sought 
to  analyse  JE  with  too  great  minuteness ;  but  the  admission  of 
this  fact  does  not  neutralize  inferences  drawn  from  broader  and 
more  obvious  marks  of  composition.  The  similarity  of  the  two 
narratives,  such  as  it  is,  is  sufficiently  explained  by  the  fact  that 
their  subject-matter  is  (approximately)  the  same,  and  that  they 
both  originated  in  the  same  general  period  of  Israelitish  literature. 
Specimens  have  already  been  given  of  the  grounds  upon  which  the 
analysis  of  JE  mainly  rests,  of  the  cogency  of  which  the  reader  will 
be  able  to  form  his  own  opinion :  as  the  notes  appended  will 
have  shown,  the  writer  does  not  hold  the  particulars,  even  in 
the  Book  of  Genesis,  to  be  throughout  equally  assured.  If, 
however,  minuter,  more  problematical  details  be  not  unduly 
insisted  on,  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  inherent  improbability 
in  the  conclusion,  stated  thus  generally,  that  "JE"  is  of  the 
nature  of  a  compilation,  and  that  in  some  parts,  even  if  not  so 
frequently  as  some  critics  have  supposed,  the  independent  sources 
used  by  the  compiler  are  still  more  or  less  clearly  discernible. 

J  and  E,  then  (assuming  them  to  be  rightly  distinguished), 
appear  to  have  cast  into  a  literary  form  the  traditions  respecting 
the  beginnings  of  the  nation  that  were  current  among  the 
people, — approximately,  as  it  would  seem,  in  the  early  centuries 
of  the  monarchy.  In  view  of  the  principles  which  predominate 
in  it,  and  in  contradistinction  to  the  "  Priests'  Code,"  JE,  as  a 
whole,  may  be  termed  the /r^/^//^^/ narrative  of  the  Hexateuch. 
In  so  far  as  the  analysis  contained  in  the  preceding  pages  is 
accepted,  the  following  features  may  be  noted  as  characteristic 
of  J  and  E  respectively.  In  the  Book  of  Genesis  both  narratives 
deal  largely  with  the  antiquities  of  the  sacred  sites  of  Palestine. 
The  people  loved  to  think  of  their  ancestors,  the  patriarchs,  as 
frequenting  the  spots  which  they  themselves  held  sacred:  and 
the  traditions  attached  to  these  localities  are  recounted  by  the 
two  writers  in  question. 

Thus  in  J  Abraham  builds  altars  at  Shechem,  Bethel,  and  Hebron  (12'-  8; 
I3^*^®)>  Isaac  at  Beer-sheba  (26^),  and  Jacob  erects  a  ** pillar"  at  Bethel 
(35") :  in  E  Abraham  builds  an  altar  on  Moriah  (22^) ;  Jacob  erects  and 
anoints  a  "pillar"  (28^^-^  31^^)  at  Bethel,  and  afterwards  builds  an  altar 
there  (35^-  3- ') ;  another  pillar  is  built  by  him  near  Bethel,  over  Rachel's 
grave  (35^) ;  and  an  altar,  on  ground  bought  by  himself,  at  Shechem  (33^***) ; 
he  also  sacrifices  at  Beer-sheba  (46^).     Jacob  and  Laban,  moreover,  erect  a 


Il8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

"  pillar,"  marking  a  boundary,  in  Gilead  (31*'  [m]  "'^^j ;  and  Joshua  sets  up 
a  "great  stone  "in  the  sanctuary  at  Shechem  (Josh.  24^^).  J  explains  the 
origin  of  the  names  Beer-lahai-roi  Gen.  16^^,  Beer-sheba  26^^,  Bethel  28^^, 
Penuel  32^",  Succoth  33",  Abel-Mizraim  50^^ :  E  those  of  Beer-sheba  2i3"-, 
Mahanaim  32^,  Allon-bachuth  (near  Bethel),  the  burial-place  of  Deborah,  35^. 
In  J  Abraham  journeys  through  the  district  of  Shechem  and  Bethel,  and  also 
visits  Beer-sheba  (21^),  but  his  principal  residence  appears  to  be  Hebron, 
afterwards  the  gxesl  Judaic  sanctuary  (13^^  18^);  in  E  he  dwells  chiefly  in 
Beer-sheba  (the  sanctuary  frequented  by  Ephramiites,  Am  5^  8^^)  and  the 
neighbourhood  (20^  21^^  22^^).  Isaac's  home  is  in  or  near  Beer-sheba  (25^^*^- 
21-23  266-23-25.  33  .  J),  jacob's  Original  home  is  Beer-sheba  (2S"»'-  ^iff-  28I"  :  J), 
and  he  at  least  passes  through  it  in  46^'^  (prob.  E) ;  but  the  places  with 
which  he  is  chiefly  associated  are  Bethel  28^^^*  J  and  E,  35^"^"*  E,  and 
Shechem  33^^''  E,  48^^^  E  (alluded  to  here  as  assigned  expressly  to  Joseph, 
i.e.  to  northern  Israel).  Only  once,  37^^  (J  or  E?),  is  he  mentioned,  ex- 
ceptionally, as  being  at  Hebron.  Allusions  to  sacred  trees  (mostly  terebinths 
or  oaks),  which,  it  may  be  supposed,  were  pointed  to  in  the  narrator's  own 
day,  occur  in  both  J  (12^  13I8  18I  2i33)  and  E  (35^*^,  Josh.  24^^),  as  also  in 
Gen.  1415  (cf.  Jud.  4"  6"- !»  96-  ^\  i  S.  lo^). 

As  compared  with  J,  E  frequently  states  more  particulars:  he  is  "best 
informed  on  Egyptian  matters"  (Dillm.);  the  names  Eliezer.  (probably), 
Deborah,  Potiphar,  "Abrekh,"  Zaphenath  -  Pa'neach,  Asenath,  Potiphera 
(Gen.  152  [contrast  24^  J]  358  [contrast  24^9  J]  3786  4143.45)^  Pithom  and 
Raamses(?),  Puah,  Shiphrah,  Hur  (Ex.  1^^{1)^^  1710.12  2414)^  are  preserved 
by  him :  to  the  details  mentioned  above,  add  those  respecting  the  burial- 
places  of  Joshua,  Eleazar  (Josh.  24^"-  ^),  and  Joseph  {ib.  24^2 ;  cf.  Gen.  50^5, 
Ex.  13^^).  The  allusions  to  the  teraphim-worship  and  polytheism  of  the 
Aramaean  connexions  of  the  patriarchs  (Gen.  311s- so- sa  [ggg  tj^g  Heb.]  35* 
Josh.  242- 15)  are  all  due  to  him,  as  v/ell  as,  probably,  the  notices  of  Miriam 
(Ex.  2^**  IS^**^',  Nu.  12.  20^),  of  Joshua  as  the  minister  and  attendant  of 
Moses  (Ex.  17^*-  24^^  32"  33",  Nu.  11^ -,  cf.  Josh,  i^),  and  of  the  rod  in 
Moses'  hand  (Ex.  4"-  ^^  7"i>  922*.  ioi2f.  14I6  175). 

The  standpoint  of  E  is  the  prophetical,  though  it  is  not 
brought  so  prominently  forward  as  in  J,  and  in  general  the 
narrative  is  more  "  objective,"  less  consciously  tinged  by  ethical 
and  theological  reflexion  than  that  of  J.  Though  E  men- 
tions the  local  sanctuaries,  and  alludes  to  the  "  pillars  "  without 
offence,  he  lends  no  countenance  to  unspiritual  service :  the 
putting  away  of  "  strange  gods  "  is  noticed  by  him  with  manifest 
approval  Gen.  352-*,  Josh.  24^^-2^  Abraham  is  styled  by  him  a 
"prophet,"  possessing  the  power  of  effectual  intercession  (Gen. 
20^);  Moses,  though  not  expressly  so  termed,  as  by  Hosea 
(12^*),  is  represented  by  him  essentially  as  a  prophet,  entrusted 
[112]  by  God  with  a  prophet's  mission  (Ex.  3),  and  holding  ex- 
ceptionally intimate  communion  with  Him  (Ex.  33^^,  Nu.  12^-^; 


PROrHETICAL  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCII      II9 

cf.  Dt.  34^^).  In  his  narrative  of  Joseph,  the  didactic  import  of 
the  history  is  brought  out  5020 :  the  lesson  which  he  makes  it 
teach  is  the  manner  in  which  God  effects  His  purposes  through 
human  means,  even  though  it  be  without  the  knowledge,  and 
contrary  to  the  wishes,  of  the  agents  who  actually  bring  them 
about  (cf.  also  45^"^). 

Other  features  that  have  been  noticed  in  E  are:  D*n'?K  construed  as  a 
plural  (Gen.  20^3  357,  josh.  24^") ;  God's  comino  in  a  dream  (Gen.  20"  3124, 
Nu.  22^*-  20  :  not  so  elsewhere),  and  generally  the  frequency  of  the  dream  as 
a  channel  of  revelation  in  his  representations  (add  Gen.  28"'-  311^'-  c.  40-41. 
46- :  cf.  375-11  42^ ;  probably  also  15I  2112  [see  v."]  22I  [see  v.»]) ;  *  the  double 
call  Gen.  22"  46^,  Ex.  3*;  Jethro,  not  Hobab  (Nu.  lo^'':  see  p.  22  f.),  as  the 
name  of  Moses'  father-in-law  Ex.  3I  4I8  i8i^- ;  and  (if  the  passages  quoted 
are  all  rightly  derived  from  E)  *'Horeb"t  (Ex.  3'-*  17^  33^')  in  preference  to 
*♦  Sinai";  "mountain  of  God"  (Ex.  32  [cf.  i  Ki.  1983427  1852413);  "Amorite," 
as  the  general  name  of  the  pre-Israelitish  population  not  only  of  the  land  ot 
Sihon,  E.  of  Jordan  (Nu.  2i2i- 3i'-),  but  also  of  the  territory  W.  of  Jordan 
(Gen.  1518  4822,  Josh.  2412  [read  with  LXX  twelve  for  two,  of  the  kings  W. 
of  Jordan]  i^-  is  [so  2  Sa.  2i2,  Am.  2^-  " :  cf.  Jud.  610,  i  Sa.  71^]) ;  J  prefers 
*'  Canaanite"  (Gen.  iqI^  126  13?  248-  37  3430  ^qH,  Ex.  13"  ;  cf.  Jud.  i^-  »). :;: 

J,  if  he  dwells  less  than  E  upon  concrete  particulars,  excels 
in  the  power  of  delineating  life  and  character.  His  touch  is 
singularly  light:  with  a  few  strokes  he  paints  a  scene  which, 
before  he  has  finished,  is  impressed  indelibly  upon  his  reader's 
memory.  In  ease  and  grace  his  narratives  are  unsurpassed; 
everything  is  told  with  precisely  the  amount  of  detail  that  is  re- 
quired; the  narrative  never  lingers,  and  the  reader's  interest  is 
sustained  to  the  end.  His  dialogues  especially  (which  are  fre- 
quent) are  remarkable  for  the  delicacy  and  truthfulness  with 
which  character  and  emotions  find  expression  in  them  :  who  can 
ever  forget  the  pathos  and  supreme  beauty  of  Judah's  inter- 
cession. Gen.  44^^*^-?  Other  noteworthy  specimens  of  his  style 
are  afforded  by  Gen.  2-3,  ii^-^  c.  18-19.  24.  27  [113]  i-^^^  (which 
is  mostly,  if  not  entirely,  the  work  of  J)  Ex.  a^-^^.     The  char- 

*  Much  less  frequently  in  J  :  id-^  2%^^'^^. 

t  As  in  Dt.  (i2-  6- 19  410- 15  52  98  i8i<5  29I  [28**  Heb.]) :  not  elsewhere  in  the 
Pent. 

:  The  lists  of  nations  Gen.  1519-21,  Ex.  3«-  "  13''  2323-  28  332  3411,  Josh,  a" 
9I  ii3  128  24II  (cf.  Dt.  7I  20I7,  Jud.  3^)  stand  upon  a  different  footing,  and  are 
probably  due  mostly  to  the  compiler  of  JE  (or  to  D2,  as  the  case  may  be). 
Comp.  Budde,  Die  Bibl.  Urgeschichte,  p.  345  ff.;  and  the  writer's  Deut. 
PP-  11,97.  . 


I20  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

acter  of  Moses  is  pourtrayed  by  him  with  singular  attractiveness 
and  force.  In  J,  further,  the  prophetical  element  is  conspicuously 
prominent.  Indeed,  his  characteristic  features  may  be  said  to 
be  the  fine  vein  of  ethical  and  theological  reflexion  which  per- 
vades his  work  throughout,  and  the  manner  in  which  his  narrative, 
even  more  than  that  of  E,  becomes  the  vehicle  of  religious 
teaching.  "  He  deals  with  the  problem  of  the  origin  of  sin  and 
evil  in  the  world,  and  follows  its  growth  (Gen.  2-4.  6^-^);  he 
notices  the  evil  condition  of  man's  heart  even  after  the  Flood 
(8^1),  traces  the  development  of  heathen  feeling  and  heathen 
manners  (ii^^-  q^^^-  igiff-siff.)^  and  emphasizes  strongly  the  want 
of  faith  and  disobedience  visible  even  in  the  Israel  of  Moses' 
days  (Ex.  i64-5. 25-30  ^f.i  i^iif.  329-14  3312.3428^  Nu.  11.  14.  251^-, 
Dt.  3ii^"22).  jje  shows  in  opposition  to  this  how  God  works  for 
the  purpose  of.  counteracting  the  ruin  incident  to  man,  partly  by 
punishment,  partly  by  choosing  and  educating,  first  Israel's  fore- 
fathers to  live  as  godlike  men,  and  finally  Israel  itself  to  become 
the  holy  people  of  God.  He  represents  Abraham's  migration 
into  Canaan  as  the  result  of  a  divine  call  and  promise  (Gen.  i2^-3 
24'');  expresses  clearly  the  aim  and  object  of  this  call  (iS^^*"-); 
exhibits  in  strong  contrast  to  human  sin  the  Divine  mercy,  long- 
suffering,  and  faithfulness  (Gen.  6^  gsi^-  i823ff-,  Ex.  329-14  33i2ff.) . 
recognizes  the  universal  significance  of  Israel  in  the  midst  of  the 
nations  of  the  world  (Gen.  122^-  2729,  Ex.  422^-  iQ^f.,  Nu.  24^); 
declares  in  classical  words  the  final  end  of  Israel's  education 
(Nu.  1 1 29;  cf.  Gen.  i8i9  RV.,  Ex.  i(f^-);  and  formulates  under 
the  term  belief  the  spirit  in  which  man  should  respond  to  the 
revealing  work  of  God  (Gen.  15^,  Ex.  41*  ^'  ^^-  ^^  14^1  199;  cf.  Nu. 
14II;  and  also  Dt.  i^^  ^23^^  ^^d  in  order  to  illustrate  the  divine 
purposes  of  grace,  as  manifested  in  history,  he  introduces,  at 
points"  fixed  by  tradition,  "prophetic  glances  into  the  future 
(Gen.  3I.5  529  821  925-27  i22f.  i^ist  2814,  Nu.  2417^-),  as  he  also  loves 
to  point  to  the  character  of  nations  or  tribes  as  foreshadowed  in 
their  beginnings  (Gen.  922^-.  1612  i93iff.  2525^-  3425ff.  3522  [see 
Dillm.'s  note  here] ;  cf.  49^^')  "  (Dillm.  NDJ.  p.  629  f.). 

It  is  a  peculiarity  of  J  that  his  representations  of  the  Deity 
are  [114]  highly  anthropomorphic.  He  represents  Jehovah  not 
only  (as  the  prophets  generally,  even  the  latest,  do)  as  expressing 
human  resolutions  and  swayed  by  human  emotions,  but  as  per- 
forming sensible  acts.     Some  illustrations  from  J's  narrative  in 


PROPHETICAL  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH   121 

Gen.  2-3.  7-8  were  quoted  above  (p.  9) ;  but  the  instances  are 
not  confined  to  the  childhood  of  the  world.  Thus  He  comes 
down  to  see  the  tower  built  by  men,  and  to  confound  their 
speech  ii^-^  (so  iS^i,  Ex.  38:  rather  differently  Nu.  1117.25  ja^), 
visits  the  earth  in  visible  form  Gen.  18-19,  meets  Moses  and 
seeks  to  slay  him  Ex.  4^^  takes  off  the  chariot  wheels  of  the 
Egyptians  14^^.  Elsewhere,  He  is  grieved^  repents  (Gen.  6^^-,  Ex. 
32^^),  swears  (Gen.  24^,  Nu.  ii^^^,  is  angry  (Ex.  4^^  a/.) ;  but 
these  less  material  anthropomorphisms  are  not  so  characteristic 
as  those  just  noticed,  being  met  with  often  in  other  historical 
books  and  in  the  prophets  {e.g.  1  Sa.  15^^  2  Sa.  24I6,  Jer.  18^-1^, 

2  619). 

How  far  other  sources  were  employed  by  J  and  E  must  re- 
main uncertain,  though  the  fact  that  such  are  sometimes  actually 
quoted,  at  least  by  E,  makes  it  far  from  improbable  that  they 
were  used  on  other  occasions  likewise.  The  sources  cited  are 
mostly  poetical :  no  doubt  in  Israel,  as  in  many  other  nations, 
literature  began  with  poetry.  Thus  E  cites  the  "Book  of  the 
Wars  of  Jehovah"  (Nu.  2ii4f-),  and  the  "Book  of  Jashar"  (Josh. 
ioi2f-),  from  each  of  which  an  extract  is  given.  The  former  book 
can  only  have  been  a  collection  of  songs  celebrating  ancient 
victories  gained  by  Israel  over  its  enemies."^  The  poems  them- 
selves will  naturally,  at  least  in  most  cases,  have  been  composed 
shortly  after  the  events  to  which  they  refer.  At  what  date  they 
were  formed  into  a  collection  must  remain  matter  of  conjecture : 
the  age  of  David  or  Solomon  has  been  suggested.  The  Book  of 
Jashar,  or  "the  Upright"  (in  which  David's  lament  over  Saul 
also  stood  2  Sa.  i^^),  was  probably  of  a  similar  character, — a 
national  collection  of  songs  celebrating  the  deeds  of  worthy 
Israelites.  This,  at  least,  was  not  completed  before  the  time  of 
David,  though  the  nucleus  of  the  collection  may  obviously  have 
been  formed  earlier.  E,  moreover,  on  other  occasions,  quotes 
lyric  poems  (or  fragments  of  poems),  viz.  the  Song  of  Moses 
(Ex.  isiff'),  the  Song  of  the  Well  (Nu.  2ii7f.),  and  the  Song  of 
triumph  over  Sihon  {il^.  v.^^-so).  There  is  no  express  statement 
[l  15]  that  these  were  taken  by  him  from  one  of  the  same  sources ; 
but  in  the  light  of  his  actual  quotations  this  is  not  improbable, 
at  least  for  the  first  two :  the  Song  of  Deborah,  Jud.  s^^'t  may 
also  have  had  a  place  in  one  of  these  collections.  Further,  the 
*  For  the  expresflon,  cf.  i  Sa.  iS^^  2528. 


122  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

command  to  write  "  in  a  book  "  *  the  threat  to  extirpate  Amalek 
(Ex.  17^*),  makes  it  probable  that  some  written  statement  existe.d 
of  the  combat  of  Israel  with  Amalek,  and  of  the  oath  sworn  then  by 
Jehovah  to  exterminate  His  people's  foe.  The  poetical  phrases 
that  occur  in  the  context  may  suggest  that  this  too  was  in  the 
form  of  a  poem,  reminiscences  of  which  were  interwoven  by  E 
in  his  narrative.  And  the  Ten  Commandments,  which  E  incor- 
porates, of  course  existed  already  in  a  written  form.  The  Bless- 
ing of  Jacob  (Gen.  49)  may  have  been  derived  by  J  from  a  source 
such  as  the  Book  of  Jashar :  the  Song  of  Moses  in  Dt  32  (which 
is  very  different  in  style)  was  taken  probably  from  an  independent 
source.  The  ordinances  which  form  the  basis  of  the  "  Book  of  the 
Covenant "  must  also  have  existed  in  a  written  shape  before  they 
were  incorporated  in  the  narrative  of  E;  as  well  as  the  "Words 
of  the  Covenant,"  which,  probably  in  an  enlarged  form,  are  pre- 
served in  Ex.  34^^^-  (cf.  v.^T'f-).  The  existence  of  written  laws 
c.  750  B.C.  is  implied  by  Hos.  8^^. 

Critics  of  different  schools — Dillmann,  Kittel,  and  Riehm, 
not  less  than  Wellh.  and  Kuen. — agree  in  supposing  that  E  was 
a  native  of  the  Northern  kingdom.  His  narrative  bears,  indeed, 
an  Ephraimitic  tinge.  Localities  belonging  to  the  Northern 
kingdom  (see  above)  are  prominent  in  it,  especially  Shechem 
and  Bethel  (the  custom  of  paying  tithes  at  which — cf.  Am.  4* — 
appears  to  be  explained  in  Gen.  2S'^^^-).  Hebron  is  subordinate : 
Abraham  is  brought  more  into  connexion  with  Beersheba. 
Reuben,  not  Judah  (as  in  J),  takes  the  lead  in  the  history  of 
Joseph.  Joshua,  the  Ephraimite  hero,  is  already  prominent 
before  the  death  of  Moses ;  the  burial-places  of  famous  person- 
ages of  antiquity,  as  of  Deborah,  Rachel,  Joshua,  Joseph, 
Eleazar,  when  they  were  shown  in  Ephraimite  territory,  are 
noticed  by  him  (Gen.  35^-  ^^^-  Josh.  24^^-  ^^-  ^2).  J  is  commonly 
regarded  as  having  belonged  to  the  Southern  kingdom.  [116]  The 
general  Israelitish  tradition  treated  Reuben  as  the  first-born ; 
but  in  J's  narrative  of  Joseph,  Judah  is  represented  as  the  leader 
of  the  brethren.  Gen.  38  (J)  records  traditions  relating  to  the 
history  of  Judahite  families  which  would  be  of  subordinate 
interest  for  one  who  was  not  a  member  of  the  tribe.     Abraham's 

*  Heb.  n3D3,  of  which,  however,  the  English  equivalent  is  "in  a  book  "  : 
comp.  Nu.  5^,  Job  19^.  The  Hebrew  idiom  is  explained  in  Ges.-Kautzsch 
(ed.  26),  §  126.  4  ;  or  in  the  writer's  Nbfes  on  Samuel^  on  I  Sa.  i"*  19^ 


PROPHETICAL  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH      f23 

home  is  at  Hebron.  The  grounds  alleged  may  seem  to  be 
slight  in  themselves,  but  in  the  absence  of  stronger  grounds  on 
the  opposite  side,  they  make  it  at  least  relatively  probable  that 
E  and  J  belonged  to  the  Northern  and  Southern  kingdoms 
respectively,  and  represent  the  special  form  which  Israelitish 
tradition  assumed  in  each  locality. 

On  the  relative  date  of  E  and  J,  the  opinions  of  critics  differ. 
Dillm.,  Kittel,  and  Riehm  assign  the  priority  to  E,  placing  him 
900-850  B.C.,  and  J  c,  750  (Dillm.),  830-800  (Kittel),  or  c.  850 
(Riehm).*  Wellhausen,  Kuenen,  and  Stade,  on  the  other  hand, 
assign  the  priority  to  J,  placing  him  850-800  B.C.,  and  E  c.  750.! 

The  grounds  of  this  difference  of  opinion  cannot  be  here  fully  discussed. 
It  turns  in  part  upon  a  different  conception  of  the  limits  of  J.  Dillm. 's  **  J  " 
embraces  more  than  Wellh.'s  "J,"  including,  for  instance,  Ex.  133-16  iq". 
32'^"^^,  and  much  of  34^'^,  which  approximate  in  tone  to  Dt.,  and  which 
Wellh.  ascribes  to  the  compiler  of  JE.  Dillm. 's  date,  c.  750  (p.  630),  is 
assigned  to  J  largely  on  the  ground  of  just  those  passages  which  form  no  part 
of  Wellh.'s  J.  It  is  true,  these  passages  display  a  tone  and  style  (often 
parenetic)  which  is  not  that  which  prevails  generally  in  J  ;  and  as  the 
anthropomorphisms  of  J  favour,  moreover,  an  earlier  date,  it  is  possible  that 
they  are  rightly  assigned  to  the  compiler  of  JE  rather  than  to  J  (as,  indeed, 
is  admitted  by  Dillm.  (p.  681)  for  the  similar  passages,  Gen.  22^5*^8  26^^-^, 
Ex.  15^^  Nu.  14^^"^).  Dillm.  allows  the  presence  in  his  "J  "  of  archaic 
elements,  but  attributes  them  to  the  use  of  special  sources  ;  his  opinion  that 
E  is  one  of  these  sources  is  not  probable.  On  the  possibility  of  the  ex- 
istence of  later  strata  in  J,  see  Holzinger,  pp.  138-160. 

Although,  however,  critics  differ  as  to  the  relative  date  of  J 
and  E,  they  agree  that  neither  is  later  than  c.  750  B.C. ;  and 
most  are  of  opinion  that  one  (if  not  both)  is  decidedly  earlier. 
The  terminus  ad  quern  is  fixed  by  the  general  consideration  that 
the  prophetic  tone  and  point  of  view  of  J  and  E  alike  are  not  so 
definitely  marked  as  in  the  canonical  prophets  (Amos,  Hosea,  &c.), 
the  earliest  of  whose  writings  date  from  c.  760-750.  It  is  [117] 
probable,  also,  though  not  quite  certain  (for  the  passages  may  be 
based  upon  unwritten  tradition),  that  Am.  2^,  Hos.  12^^-  12^- 
contain  allusions  to  the  narrative  of  JE.  The  termifius  a  quo  is 
more  difficult  to  fix  with  confidence :  in  fact,  conclusive  criteria 
fail  us.     We  can  only  argue  upon  grounds  of  probability  derived 

*  So  most  previous  critics,  as  Noldeke  (J  c.  900),  Schrader  (E  975-950  ; 
J  825-800),  Kayser  {c.  800),  Reuss  (J  850-800  ;  E  *'  perhaps  still  earlier"). 

t  In  the  same  order,  H.  Schultz,  OT.  Theology  (transl.),  i.  66  f.  ("B," 
i,e.  J,  to  the  reign  of  Solomon  ;  "  C^  i,e,  E,  850-800). 


124  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

from  our  view  of  the  progress  of  the  art  of  writing,  or  of  literary 
composition,  or  of  the  rise  and  growth  of  the  prophetic  tone  and 
feeling  in  ancient  Israel,  or  of  the  period  at  which  the  traditions 
contained  in  the  narratives  might  have  taken  shape,  or  of  the 
probability  that  they  would  have  been  written  down  before  the 
impetus  given  to  culture  by  the  monarchy  had  taken  effect,  and 
similar  considerations,  for  estimating  most  of  which,  though 
plausible  arguments,  on  one  side  or  the  other,  may  be  advanced, 
a  standard  on  which  we  can  confidently  rely  scarcely  admits  of 
being  fixed.  Nor  does  the  language  of  J  and  E  bring  us  to  any 
more  definite  conclusion.  Both  belong  to  the  golden  period  of 
Hebrew  literature.  They  resemble  the  best  parts  of  Judges  and 
Samuel  (much  of  which  cannot  be  greatly  later  than  David's  own 
time) ;  but  whether  they  are  actually  earlier  or  later  than  these, 
the  language  and  style  do  not  enable  us  to  say.  There  is  at 
least  no  archaic  flavour  perceptible  in  the  style  of  JE.  And 
there  are  certainly  passages  (which  cannot  all  be  treated  as 
glosses),  in  which  language  is  used  implying  that  the  period  of 
the  exodus  lay  in  the  past,  and  that  Israel  is  established  in 
Canaan.*  The  [ll8]  manner  also  in  which  songs  are  appealed 
to  (Nu.  2 1^^-  27")^  in  support  of  historical  statements,  is  scarcely  that 

*  See  (in  JE)  Gen.  \i^  \^  34'  ("  in  Israel"  :  comp.  Dt.  22^1,  Jud.  20«-  ^^  2 
Sa.  13^2).  4oi6("  the  land  ^M^Zr^3r^z£/j");  Nu.  32^1  (as  Dt.  31-*:  see  Jud.  lo''). 

In  the  other  sources  of  the  Pent.  comp.  similarly  Gen.  14^"*,  Dt.  34^ 
(♦'Dan"j  see  Josh.  19^7,  Jud.  iS^^) ;  Gen.  36^1;  Lev.  iS^^f- ;  Nu.  22^  3415 
(p.  84 f.);  Dt.  2^2b .  ^11  (Og's  bedstead  a  relic  of  antiquity);  as  well  as  the 
passages  of  Dt.  quoted  p.  82  f.  &c.  Dt.  tP'  3^^-  ^^  might,  indeed,  in  them- 
selves be  treated  as  glosses  (though  they  harmonize  in  style  with  the  rest  of 
Dt.  1-3)  ;  but  the  attempts  that  have  been  made  to  reconcile  the  other 
passages  with  Moses'  authorship  must  strike  every  impartial  reader  as  forced 
and  artificial.  The  laws,  also,  in  many  of  their  details,  presuppose  (and  do 
not  merely  anticipate)  institutions  and  social  relations,  which  can  hardly  have 
grown  up  except  among  a  people  which  had  been  for  some  time  settled  in  a 
permanent  home.     Cf.  Dillm.  NDJ.  593-6  ;  Riehm,  Einl.  §  12. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  there  is  no  passage  of  the  OT.  which  ascribes 
the  composition  of  the  Pent,  to  Moses,  or  even  to  Moses'  age ;  so  that  we 
are  thrown  back  upon  independent  grounds  for  the  purpose  of  determining  its 
date.  The  "law  of  Moses"  is  indeed  frequently  spoken  of;  and  it  is  un- 
questioned that  Israelitish  law  did  originate  with  him  :  but  this  expression  is 
not  evidence  that  Moses  was  the  writer  of  the  Pent. ,  or  even  that  the  laws 
which  the  Pent,  contains  represent  throughout  his  unmodified  legislation. 
Dt.  3i9'24  jyia^y  bg  referred  reasonably  to  the  more  ancient  legal  nucleus  of 
Deut.  (cf.  2']^-  ^,  Josh.  8^-).     Comp.  Delitzsch,  Genesis^  pp.  23  f,  34. 


PROPHETICAL  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH      1 25 

of  a  contemporary.  All  things  considered,  both  J  and  E  may 
be  assigned  with  the  greatest  probability  to  the  early  centuries  of 
the  monarchy.  The  date  at  which  an  event,  or  institution,  is 
first  mentioned  in  writing,  must  not,  however,  be  confused  with 
that  at  which  it  occurred,  or  originated :  in  the  early  stages  of  a 
nation's  history  the  memory  of  the  past  is  preserved  habitually 
by  oral  tradition ;  and  the  Jews,  long  after  they  were  possessed 
of  a  literature,  were  still  apt  to  depend  much  upon  tradition. 

On  some  of  the  supposed  "  archaisms  "  of  the  Pent,  see  Delitzsch,  Genesis 
(1887),  p.  27  f.  ;  the  present  writer's  art.  "  Deuteronomy"  in  Smith's  Diet,  of 
the  Bible,  §  31,  or  his  Comni.  on  Deut.  p.  Ixxxviii-xc.  The  remains  of  ancient 
case-endings  (though  without  the  force  of  cases)  occurring  in  the  Pent. ,  which 
have  been  appealed  to  as  evidence  of  its  antiquity,  are  too  isolated  (Gen,  i^ 
3139.89.  and  in  poetry  49"-",  Ex.  15^,  Nu.  23I8  243-15,  Dt.  33I8  being  all 
that  exist),  and  too  closely  analogous  to  those  which  appear  in  admittedly 
later  books  (/  about  25  times,  Hos.  10",  Is.  i^i  22^^  Mic.  7",  Jer.  10" 
2223.23  4916.16  5113  &c;  (7  8  times,  viz.  Zeph.  2^\  Is.  569- »,  Ps.  50IO  79" 
jQ^ii.  20  1J48 .  cf.  Ges. -Kautzsch,  §  90.  3),  for  an  argument  of  any  value  to 
be  founded  upon  them.  Were  the  occurrence  of  these  and  a  few  other 
exceptional  forms, ^such  as  ^Nrt  8  times  (against  nS^n  and  n^K  some  260 
times),  and  the  term,  p-  in  the  2nd  and  3rd  pers.  plur.  of  the  impf.,* — really  due 
to  antiquity,  they  must  have  been  both  more  constant,  and  also  accompanied 
by  other  marks  of  an  ancient  style.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case :  the 
general  literary  style  of  the  Pent,  contains  nothing  more  suggestive  of 
antiquity  than  books  written  confessedly  under  the  monarchy,  and  the 
affinities  of  P  are  with  writings  belonging  quite  to  the  close  of  this  period. 
The  words  peculiar  to  the  Pent. ,  collected  by  Keil  and  others  as  evidence  of 
its  superior  antiquity,  do  not  establish  the  required  conclusion  ;  for  we  possess 
no  proof  of  the  antiquity  of  these  words,  other  than  the  assumption  that  the 
books  in  which  they  occur  are  ancient :  the  argument  is  consequently  circular. 
Every  book  of  the  OT.  has  words  and  expressions  peculiar  to  itself ;  and  the 
number  of  these  is  greater  in  the  Pent,  than  in  any  other  single  book,  simply 
on  account  of  its  greater  length  and  the  large  amount  of  technical  matter 
comprised  in  the  Laws.  Nor  are  there  Egyptian  words  occurring  in  the 
Pent,  sufficiently  numerous  to  imply  that  the  author  was  born  and  bred  in 
Egypt :  such  as  they  are,  they  are  simply  words  which  were  either  naturalized 
in  Hebrew,  or  could  not  be  avoided  in  describing  scenes  in  Egypt  (as  ns'N, 
nnn,  ij»j;b',  cb',  inx,  ix',  ^jid,  ndj  ;  perhaps  kjb)  :  most  of  these,  also,  are  not 
confined  to  the  Pent.,  but  occur  in  books  written  subsequently  (n£3'N,  fjiD,  and 
nn'  repeatedly  ;  ihn  Job  8"  ;  ndj  ib.  Is.  18^  35' ;  tots  linen,  Ezek.  i6i''-  ^^  27' 
Pr.  31^2) ;  and  the  same  is  the  case  with  pn,  TD  {pot),  &c.,  if  it  be  true  that 

*  See  the  writer's  note  on  i  Sa.  2^^,  or  on  Dt.  i".  It  is  the  older  form ; 
but  it  occurs  in  Heb.  202  out  of  305  times  in  books  other  than  the  Pent.,  being 
used  chiefly  for  emphasis.  Skh  is  shown  by  the  cognate  languages  to  be,  not 
archaism,  but  simply  an  irregular  ortBography  for  nV^<^l. 


126  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

these  are  Egyptian  in  origin.  Other  words  that  have  been  alleged  to  be 
Egyptian  are  shown  by  the  cognate  languages  to  be  really  Semitic,  The 
assertion  in  the  Oxford  Helps  that  **the  language  of  Exodus  shows  a  large 
infusion  of  Egyptian  words  "  is  extraordinarily  false  ;  the  author  of  it  appears 
to  have  accepted,  without  verification,  the  very  exaggerated  and  inaccurate 
statements  in  the  Speaker's  Commentary,  i.  244,  488  ff. 

Space  forbids  here  an  examination  of  the  styles  of  J  and  E  :  careful  and 
instructive  synopses  will  be  found  in  Holzinger,  pp.  93-110,  177,  181-191. 
They  have  much  in  common ;  indeed,  stylistic  criteria  alone  would  not 
generally  suffice  to  distinguish  J  and  E  ;  though,  when  the  distinction  has 
been  effected  by  other  means,  sUght  differences  of  style  appear  to  disclose 
themselves  ;  for  instance,  particular  expressions  are  more  common  in  J  than 
in  E,  and  E  is  apt  to  employ  somewhat  unusual  words.*  Whether,  however, 
the  expressions  noted  by  Dillm.  NDJ.  pp.  618,  625  f.,  are  all  cited  justly  as 
characteristic  of  E  and  J  respectively,  may  be  questioned  (cf.  Holzinger,  I.e.)', 
they  depend  in  part  upon  details  of  the  analysis  which  are  not  throughout 
equally  assured.  Both  J  and  E  bear  a  far  closer  general  resemblance  than  P 
does  to  the  earlier  narratives  of  Jud.  Sam.  Kings  :  J  especially  resembles  Jud. 
611-24  132-24  c.  19. 

P,  both  in  method  and  literary  style,  offers  a  striking  contrast 
to  either  J  or  E.  P  is  not  satisfied  to  cast  into  a  literary  form 
what  may  be  termed  the  popular  conception  of  the  patriarchal 
and  Mosaic  age  :  his  aim  is  to  give  a  systematic  view,  from  a 
priestly  standpoint,  of  the  origin  and  chief  institutions  of  the 
Israelitish  theocracy.  For  this  purpose,  an  abstract  of  the  history 
is  sufficient :  to  judge  from  the  parts  that  remain,  the  narrative  of 
the  patriarchal  age,  even  when  complete,  cannot  have  been  more 
than  a  bare  outline  ;  it  only  becomes  detailed  at  important  epochs, 
or  where  the  origin  of  some  existing  institution  has  to  [119]  be 
explained  (Gen.  91**-,  c.  17.  23);  the  intervals  are  bridged  frequently 
by  genealogical  lists,  and  are  always  measured  by  exact  chrono- 
logical standards.  Similarly  in  the  Mosaic  age,  the  commission 
of  Moses,  and  events  connected  with  the  exodus,  are  narrated 
with  some  fulness ;  but  only  the  description  of  the  Tabernacle 
and  ceremonial  system  can  be  termed  comprehensive ;  even,  of 
the  incidents  in  the  wilderness,  many  appear  to  be  introduced 
chiefly  on  account  of  some  law  or  important  consequence  arising 
out  of  them.f     But  even  here  the  writer  is  careful  not  to  kave 

*  E.g.  na^rp  Gen.  3319,  Josh.  24^2  (Job  42")  j  ;  Q'jb  Gen.  3i7- «  \  ;  Ex. 
18^  mn  ;  v. 21  nm  (very  uncommon  in  prose)  ;  32^^  ntriVn  ;  v.^^  ur\''r:>^i  njiDty^ 
(poetical) ;  na  in  a  /(3ca/ sense  (see  below,  under  Ruth). 

t  Ex.  161-3-  «-24,  see  v. 32-34  .  Lev.  lo^'^-;  2a^^-^^-  "^  ;  Nu.  9^^';  i532-3«;  c.  17  ; 
2o2-  »b. «,  see  v.  ^2-13. 22.29  .  256-9,  see  v.io-i3  ;  271^-  z^^«'. 


PROPHETICAL  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH      1 27 

an  absolute  gap  in  his  narrative ;  as  in  the  patriarchal  period  the 
intervals  are  bridged  by  genealogical  lists,  so  here  the  40  years  in 
the  wilderness — the  greater  part  of  which  is  a  blank  in  JE — are 
distributed  between  40  stations  (Nu.  33).  In  the  Book  of  Joshua 
the  account  of  the  conquest — though  largely  superseded  by  that 
of  JE — appears  to  have  been  told  summarily  :  on  the  other 
hand,  the  allotment  of  land  among  the  tribes — arising  out  of  the 
instructions  in  Nu.  34,  and  the  basis  of  the  territorial  subdivision 
existing  under  the  monarchy — is  narrated  at  some  length  (the 
greater  part  of  Josh.  15-21).  Other  statistical  data,  besides 
genealogies,  are  a  conspicuous  feature  in  his  narrative ;  for 
instance,  the  lists  of  names  and  enumerations  in  Gen.  46,  Nu.  1--4. 
7.  13I-15,  c.  26.  34. 

In  the  arrangement  of  his  material,  system  and  circum- 
stantiality are  the  guiding  principles ;  and  their  influence  may 
be  traced  both  in  the  plan  of  his  narrative  as  a  whole,  and  in 
his  treatment  of  individual  sections.  Not  only  is  the  narrative 
constructed  with  a  careful  and  uniform  regard  to  chronology, 
but  the  history  advances  along  a  well-defined  line,  marked  by 
a  gradually  diminishing  length  of  human  life,  by  the  revelation 
of  God  under  three  distinct  names,  Elohim,  El  Shaddai*  and 
Jehovah^  by  the  blessing  of  Adam,  with  its  characteristic  con- 
ditions, and  by  the  subsequent  covenants  with  Noah,  Abraham, 
and  Israel,  each  with  its  special  "  sign,"  the  rainbow,  the  rite  of 
circumcision,  and  the  Sabbath  (Gen.  Q^^f.  lyii^  Ex.  31^3-  [l20]  ^^). 
In  his  picture  of  the  Mosaic  age,  the  systematic  marshalling  of  the 
nation  by  tribes  and  famiUes,  its  orderly  distribution  in  the  camp 
and  upon  the  march,  the  unity  of  purpose  and  action  which  in 
consequence  regulates  its  movements,  are  the  most  conspicuous 
features  (Nu.  1-4.  lo^i-^s  &c.).  In  the  age  of  Joshua  stress  is 
similarly  laid  upon  the  complete  and  methodical  division  of  the 
entire  land  among  the  tribes.  Further,  wherever  possible,  P 
seeks  to  set  before  his  readers  a  concrete  picture,  with  definite 
figures  and  proportions :  consider,  for  example,  his  precise 
measurements  of  the  ark  of  Noah,  or  of  the  Tabernacle ;  his 
representation,  just  noticed,  of  the  arrangement  of  the  tribes  in 
the  camp  and  on  the  march ;  his  double  census  of  the  tribes 
(Nu.  I.  26) ;  his  exact  estimate  of  the  amount  of  gold  and  other 

*  Gen.  171  28^  35I1  48',  Ex.  6* ;  also  Gen.  43^^  in  E :  comp.  in  poetry 
49^,  Nu.  24^-  ^^.     Gen.  49^  shows  (hat  the  title  Shaddai  is  an  ancient  one. 


128  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

materials  offered  by  the  people  for  the  construction  of  the 
Tabernacle  (Ex.  ^S^*'^^),  of  the  offerings  of  the  princes  (Nu.  7), 
and  of  the  spoil  taken  from  the  Midianites  (Nu.  31).  It  is 
probable,  indeed,  that  in  many  of  these  cases  only  particular 
elements  of  the  representation  were  supplied  to  him  by  tradition  : 
his  representation,  as  a  whole,  seems  to  be  the  result  of  a 
systematizing  process  working  upon  these  materials,  and  perhaps, 
also,  seeking  to  give  sensible  expression  to  certain  ideas  or  truths 
(as,  for  instance,  to  the  truth  of  Jehovah's  presence  in  the  midst 
of  His  people^  symbolized  by  the  "Tent  of  Meeting,"  surrounded 
by  its  immediate  attendants,  in  the  centre  of  the  camp).*  His 
aim  seems  to  have  been  to  present  an  ideal  picture  of  the 
Mosaic  age,  constructed,  indeed,  upon  a  genuine  traditional 
basis,  but  so  conceived  as  to  exemplify  the  principles  by  which 
an  ideal  theocracy  should  be  regulated,  f  That  he  does  not  [l2l] 
wilfully  desert  or  falsify  tradition,  appears  from  the  fact  that  even 
where  it  set  antiquity  in  an  unfavourable  light,  he  still  does  not 
shrink  from  recording  it  (Ex.  162,  Lev.  io\  Nu.  2oi2- 24  2  7i3f.). 
It  is  probable  that,  being  a  priest  himself,  he  recorded  traditions, 
at  least  to  a  certain  extent,  in  the  form  in  which  they  were 
current  in  priestly  circles. 

His  representations  of  God  are  less  anthropomorphic  than 
those  of  J  (p.  i2of.),  or  even  of  E.  No  angels  or  dreams  are 
mentioned  by  him.  "  Certainly  he  speaks  of  God  as  '  appearing ' 
to  men,  and  as  'going  up'  from  them  (Gen.  lyi-saf.  359-13  ^gs^ 
Ex.  6^),  at  important  moments  of  the  history,  but  he  gives  no 
further  description  of  His  appearance :  usually  the  revelation  of 

*  In  JE  the  "Tent  of  Meeting"  is  represented  regularly  as  outside  the 
camp,  Ex.  33''^^  (where  the  tenses  used  express  what  was  Moses'  habit ;  see 
Ges.-Kautzsch,  ed.  26,  §  112.  3),  Nu.  lo^^  ii^e-z?  134  ("come  out"),  only 
once  as  being  within  it  (Nu.  14^).  The  general  impression,  also,  derived 
from  the  narrative  of  JE,  is  that  it  was  simpler  in  its  structure  and  appoint- 
ments than  as  represented  in  P. 

t  It  is  difficult  to  escape  the  conclusion  that  the  representation  of  P 
includes  elements,  not,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  historical.  His 
chronological  scheme  appears  to  have  been  deduced  by  him  by  calculation 
from  data  of  a  nature  now  no  longer  known  to  us,  but  in  part  artificial.  It 
is  remarkable,  for  instance,  that  the  entire  number  of  years  from  the  Creation 
to  the  Exodus  is  2666  ( =  §  of  4000)  years.  There  are  also  difficulties  con- 
nected with  the  numbers  of  the  Israelites  (esp.  in  Nu.  1-4) ;  here,  likewise, 
as  it  seems,  the  figures  cannot  all  be  historical,  but  must  have  been  obtained 
in  some  manner  by  computation. 


PRIESTLY   NARRATIVE  OF  THE   HEXATEUCH         1 29 

God  to  men  takes  with  him  the  form  of  simple  speaking  to  them 
(Gen.  i^^  6^^  7^  8^^  9^  Ex.  62*^^^/.);  only  in  the  supreme  revela- 
tion on  Sinai  (Ex.  24^^^-  cf.  34^^^),  and  when  He  is  present  in 
the  Tent  of  Meeting  (Ex.  40^^^-),  does  he  describe  Him  as 
manifesting  Himself  in  a  form  of  light  and  fire  (Tl33  glory),  and 
as  speaking  there  with  Moses  (Nu.  7^^,  Ex.  2522),  as  man  to  man, 
or  in  order  that  the  people  may  recognise  Him  (Ex.  16^0,  Lev. 
c,6.23f.^  Nu.  1410  1619-42  206).  AVrath  also  proceeds  forth  from 
Him  (Nu.  16*^),  or  destroying  fire  and  death  (Lev.  lo^,  Nu.  143^ 
1535. 45ff.  25^^-).  But  anthropopathic  expressions  of  God  he 
avoids  scrupulously ;  even  anthropomorphic  expressions  are  rare 
(Gen.  22^-,  cf.  Ex.  31^^^),  so  that  a  purpose  is  here  unmistakable. 
It  may  be  that  as  a  priest  he  was  accustomed  to  think  and  speak 
of  God  more  strictly  and  circumspectly  than  other  writers,  even 
those  who  were  prophets.  On  the  other  hand,  he  nowhere 
touches  on  the  deeper  problems  of  theology.  On  such  subjects 
as  the  justice  of  the  Divine  government  of  the  world,  the  origin 
of  sin  and  evil,  the  insufficiency  of  all  human  righteousness 
(see,  on  the  contrary,  Gen.  5^^  6^),  he  does  not  pause  to  reflect ; 
the  free  Divine  choice,  though  not  unknown  to  him  (Nu,  3i2f. 
gi6  iy5ff.  jg6j^  is  at  least  not  so  designedly  opposed  to  human 
claims  as  in  J.  His  work  contains  no  Messianic  outlooks  into 
the  future :  his  ideal  lies  in  the  theocracy,  as  he  conceives  it 
realized  by  Moses  and  Joshua"  (Dillm.  NDJ.  p.  653).  In  P  the 
promises  to  the  patriarchs,  unlike  those  of  J,  are  limited  to  Israel 
itself  {see.  above,  p.  20;  and  add  Ex.  6*-^"'').  The  substance  of 
these  promises  is  the  future  growth  and  glory  [l22]  {^^  kings  shall 
come  out  of  thee  ")  of  the  Abrahamic  clan ;  the  establishment  of 
a  covenant  with  its  members,  implying  a  special  relation  between 
them  and  God  (Gen.  17''^  Ex.  6^*),  and  the  confirmation  of  the 
land  of  Canaan  as  their  possession.  The  Israelitish  theocracy  is 
the  writer's  ideal;  and  the  culminating  promise  is  that  in  Ex.  29^2^^^ 
declaring  the  abiding  presence  of  God  with  His  people  Israel. 

The  literary  style  of  P  is  strongly  marked.  If  JE — and  espe- 
cially J — be  free,  flowing,  and  picturesque,  P  is  stereotyped, 
measured,  and  prosaic.  The  narrative,  both  as  a  whole  and  in 
its  several  parts,  is  articulated  systematically ;  the  beginning  and 
close  of  an  enumeration  are  regularly  marked  by  stated  formulae.* 

*  Comp.  p.  12,  notes  +  and  ^  ;  and  add  Nu.  i^o-si.  22-23  &c. ;  2^-^'  ^0-1°  &c.; 
I014-28 ;  26^2-14. 16-18  ^c.     See  also  p  134,  No.  44. 


I30  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

The  descriptions  of  P  are  methodical  and  precise.  When  they 
embrace  details,  emphasis'^  and  completeness!  are  studied; 
hence  a  thought  is  often  repeated  in  slightly  different  words.  | 
There  is  a  tendency  to  describe  an  object  in  full  each  time  that 
it  is  mentioned ;  §  a  direction  is  followed,  as  a  rule,  by  an 
account  of  its  execution,  usually  in  the  same  words.  ||  Some- 
times the  circumstantiality  leads  to  diffuseness,  as  in  parts  of 
Nu.  1-4  and  (an  extreme  case)  Nu.  7  (p.  61).  Metaphors, 
similes,  &c.,  are  eschewed  (Nu.  27^''^  is  an  exception),  and  there 
is  generally  an  absence  of  the  poetical  or  dramatic  element,  which 
is  frequently  conspicuous  in  the  other  historical  books  of  the 
OT.  (including  J  and  E).  To  a  greater  degree  than  in  any 
other  part  of  the  OT.  is  a  preference  shown  in  P  for  standing 
formulcB  and  expressions;  some  of  these  recur  with  great  fre- 
quency, and  are  apparent  in  a  translation.  Particularly  notice- 
able is  an  otherwise  uncommon  mode  of  expression,  producing 
a  peculiar  rhythm,  by  which  a  statement  is  first  made  in  general 
terms,  and  then  partly  repeated,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
closer  limitation  or  definition.lF  [123]  It  seems  as  though  the 
habits  of  thought  and  expression,  which  the  author  had  con- 
tracted through  his  practical  acquaintance  with  the  law,  were 
carried  by  him  into  his  treatment  of  purely  historical  subjects. 
The  writer  who  exhibits  the  greatest  stylistic  affinities  with  P, 
and  agrees  with  him  sometimes  in  the  use  of  uncommon  expres- 
sions, is  the  priestly  prophet  Ezebiel. 

The  following  is  a  select  list  of  some  of  the  most  noticeable 
expressions  characteristic  of  P ;  many  occurring  rarely  or  never 
besides,  some  only  in  Ezekiel.  The  list  could  readily  be  in- 
creased, especially  if  terms  occurring  only  in  the  laws  had  been 
added ;  ^"^  these,  however,  have  been  excluded,  as  the  object  of 

*  Gen.  i^  6"  9*. 

t  Notice  the  precision  of  definition  and  description  in  Gen.  lo'-  ^^-  ^ 
3540 .  618  7i3f.  2317  36«  468-'  Ex.  719,  Nu.  1 2. 20. 22  &c. 

X  Comp.  p.  12,  note  *  ;  add  Gen.  22-3  23"-2o,  Ex.  12I8-20. 

§  Comp.  Gen.  i'  beside  v.«  ;  v."  beside  v.i» ;  S^s'-  beside  v.^^f-. 

II  Gen.  !«'•;  v."'-;  v.2«- ;  618-20713-16.  gie-w  .  Ex.  816'- ;  98-10 ;  ^^    172.6, 

ITGen.  i27  614  g^  (f  23"  4929b-M  Ex.  124-8  i6i6- »«  252- "•  is- is  26I,  Lev. 
2522,  Nu.  22  1 818  36I1-12  (Heb.)  &c. 

**  E.g.  "  savour  of  satisfaction,"  **  fire-sacrifice,"  "statute  for  ever."  But 
the  laws  of  P,  it  is  worth  remarking,  are,  as  a  rule,  formulated  differently 
from  those  of  either  JE  or  D  (contrast  e.g.  the  o  din,  '3  ^£33,  'd  hb-n  in  &'« 


PRIESTLY   NARRATIVE  OF  THE   HEXATEUCH         I3I 

the  list  is  rather  to  show  that  the  historical  sections  of  P  exhibit 
the  same  literary  features  as  the  legal  ones,  and  that  the  same 
habits  of  thought  and  expression  pervade  both."*^  References 
to  Lev.  17-26  have  been  included  in  the  list.  It  will  be  re- 
collected that  these  chapters  do  not  consist  wholly  of  excerpts 
from  H,  but  comprise  elements  belonging  to  P  (p.  47  f.).  H 
itself  also,  as  was  remarked,  is  related  to  P,  representing  like- 
wise priestly  usage,  though  in  an  earlier  phase ;  so  that  it  is  but 
natural  that  its  phraseology  should  exhibit  points  of  contact  with 
that  of  P. 

1.  God,  not  Jehovah '.  Gen.  i^  and  uniformly,  except  Gen.  17^  21^'' [above, 

p.  21],  until  Ex.  6^. 

2.  Kind  (pD):  Gen.   iii- 12*^-^.21  *,j.  24  wj.  as  fer  (^^ur  yu^uaf^r^  Lev.  iii4.i5. 

i«-i9  [hence  Dt.  1413.14. 15.  i8]22^««/.r.29^  Ez.  4710.1 

3.  To  swarm  (pB') :  Gen.   i20-2i  721  gn   e^.  728  [hence  Ps.  io5»«],  Lev. 

1 1 29. 41. 42. 43. 46^  ^.z.  ^f.     Fig.  of  men  :  Gen.  9',  Ex.  i'.  f 
[124]  4.  Swarming  things  (pt^) :    Gen.   1^  f^.  Lev.  52  nio.  20  [hence  Dt. 

J  .191  21.  23.  29.  31.  41.  42.  43.  44  22^  t 

5.  To  be  fruitful  and  multiply  (nam  ma) :  Gen.   y^-  =»  8"  q^-  '  1720  (cf. 

v.2-6)  283  35I1  4727  48",  Ex.  i^  Lev.  268.  Also  Jer.  23^;  and 
(inverted)  f^,  Ez.  36".! 

6.  For  food  {rh^vb)-.  Gen.  i29.  so  521^3^  g^.  16",  Lev.  ii39  25«,  Ez.  is^-s 

2i37  2337  295  345.  8. 10. 12  3^4  I     (In  Jer.  129  ^\^~^^^  jg  ^n  infin.) 

7.  Generations  (nn^in) : 

(a)  In  the  phrase  These  are  the  generations  of  .  ,  ,  (see  p.  6f.). 
{b)  Otherwise  :  Gen.  io32  251^,  Ex.  6^^'  i»  28i«,  Nu.  i  (12  times), 
I  Ch.  5772.4.932899.342681.1 

8.  nND  in  the  st.  c.y  in  cases  where  ordinarily  nxD  would  be  said :  Gen. 

c3.  6.  18.  25.  28  724  g3  I  J 10.  25  2 15  2^'  "  •^'5^  479'  28    Ex.  6^^'  ^8'  20  3325.  27 

(thrice),  Nu.  29-16. 24.  si  3339,  So  besides  only  Neh.  5"  (prob. 
corrupt),  2  Ch.  25*  Qre,  Est.  i^|  (Peculiar.  P  uses  hnd  in  such 
cases  only  twice,  Gen.  17"  23I.) 

9.  To  expire  (yu) :  Gen.   6"  721  258-"  3529  4988^  Nu.   1712.13  208  «^- 29^ 

Josh.  2220.  (Only  besides  in  poetry:  Zech.  138,  Ps.  88i«  10429, 
Lam.  1 19 ;  and  8  times  in  Job.)f 

&c.  of  Lev.  i2  42  5I.  15  132. 29. 38^  Nu.  56  62  al.  with  the  e"N  01  of  Ex.  21'-  "• 
2^-26  &c.),  and  show  besides  differences  of  terminology,  which,  however,  the 
reader  must  be  left  to  note  for  himself. 

*  Were  these  expressions  confined  to  the  legal  sections,  it  might  be  argued 
that  they  were  the  work  of  the  same  hand  as  JE,  who,  with  a  change  of 
subject,  adopted  naturally  an  altered  phraseology ;  but  they  are  found  re- 
peatedly in  the  narrative  parts  of  the  Hexateuch,  where  the  peculiar 
phraseology  cannot  be  attributed  to  the  special  character  of  the  subject  {e.g. 


132  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

10.  Wi(h  thee  [kim^  &c.)  appended  to  an  enumeration:    Gen.  6^^  7'* '* 

glG.  18   98   284   466.  7^    Ex.    281-  41    2921  *'-f,   Lev.  S^-  30  Io9-  ".  15  (2541.  64 

DV),  Nu.  iS^-  2-  '•  "•  1^  *".  Similarly  after  you  [thee,  &c.)  appended 
to  *'  seed  "  :  Gen.  9^  i;'*"-  »•  »•  i^-  ^^  3512  484,  Ex.  2843,  ^u.  25". 

1 1 .  And  Noah  did  {so) ;  according  to,  &c.  :   Gen.  6" :   exactly  the  same 

form  of  sentence,  Ex.  f  1228- so  3932b  ^^n^  ^u.  1^4  234  320  17I1 
[Heb.  26] :  cf.  Ex.  3943,  Nu.  54  (f. 

12.  This  selfsame  day  (nm  Dvn  n^v) :  Gen.   7^3  1^23.26^  g^.  iz^'^-'^^-^^.  Lev. 

23I4. 21.  28.  29.  30^  Dt.  3248^  Josh.  5"  IQ^  (not  P  :  probably  the  com- 
piler).    Ez.  23  242  *«•  4oi.t 

13.  After  their  families  (d.T"  DmnsB'D'?) :  Gen.  S^^  iqS- 20.  3i  3540^  g^.  6"- 2= 

1221,*  Nu.  I  {13  times)  234  3,4  (i^  times)  ii^o  (JE)  26  (16  times) 

2q12  3^54     Josh.   I'l^^'  23-  24.  28.  29.  31    j  rl.  12.  20  j^S.  8    i^jibis  jgll.  20.  21.  28 

19  (12  times)  217-33.40  (Heb.  38),  I  Sa.  io2i,  i  Ch.  5'  6«2- 63  (Heb. 

47.48^  from  Josh.   2l33-40).| 

[125]  14.  '?3'?  as  regards  all,  with  a  generalizing  force  =  «a:w<?/j/,  /  w^aw  (Ewald, 

Ex.  1428  (cf.  V.9  iV'm)  273- 19  (si  vera  1.), 
54-  8.  9,  Ez. 
44^     (Prob.  a  juristic  use.     Occasionally  elsewhere,  esp.  in  Ch.) 

15.  An  everlasting  covenant-.  Gen.  9^6  177.  i3.  w    Ex.  31^6,  Lev.  248;  cf. 

Nu.  i8i9  25i3.||t 

16.  Exceedingly  (nxD  nxon,  not  the  usual  phrase)  :  Gen.   172-  6-  20^  Ex.  i', 

Ez.  f  16W  I 

17.  Substance  (t^m) :  Gen.  I2«  136  31I8  36'  466,  Nu.   i632  tnd  3^3^     Else- 

where (not  P):  Gen.  1411. 12.  le  *»^.  21  1^14.  ^nd  in  Ch.  Ezr.  Dan. 
(15  times).  I 

18.  To  gather  (B'3n — cognate  with  **  substance  ") :  Gen.  i'^  31^8  *«j  36^  466.  | 

19.  Soul  (sfBJ)  in  the  sense  oi person  :  Gen.  12^  366  ajS^^-  is.  22.  25. 26.  27^  Ex. 

j6  124.  16  (Rv.  man)  i^  16I8  (RV.  persons).  Lev.  2^  (RV.  ^w) 
^2.  27  ^1.  2  .  a^j^(j  often  in  the  legal  parts  of  Lev.  Nu.  (as  Lev.  1712 
22"  272),  Nu.  3i28-  35.  40.  46  (j^  the  account  of  the  war  with  Midian), 
Josh.  2o3-  8  (from  Nu.  35"*  1^).  See  also  below,  No.  25*.  A  usage 
not  confined  to  P,  but  much  more  frequent  in  P  than  elsewhere. 

20.  Throughout  your  [their)  generations  (DD'nhi'?   Dn"i"-iS)  :    Gen.   17'*  ^'  12, 

Ex.  I2l4-  17.  42  1 632.  33  2721  2942  308-  10.  21.  31  31 13.  16  ^qIS,  LcV.  3" 
611  736  io9  177  21IV  223  23I4.  21.  31.  41  248  253O  {^his),  Nu.  9!°  I08  I5I4. 
15.  21.  23.  38  jg23  3(r29  f 


*  The  isolated  occurrence  of  this  expression  in  JE  does  not  make  it  the  less 
characteristic  of  P.  Of  course  the  writer  of  Ex.  1221  was  acquainted  with 
the  word  nnsjB'D,  and  could  use  it,  if  he  pleased,  in  combination  with  *?.  It 
is  the  frequency  of  the  combination  which  causes  it  to  be  characteristic  of  a 
particular  author.  For  the  same  reason  eiJ^i)?  is  characteristic  of  St.  Mark's 
style,  nothwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  other  evangelists  employ  it  occasion- 
ally.    The  same  remark  holds  good  of  Nos.  12,  15,  17,  22,  38,  41,  &c. 

t  The  double  arrow  indicates  that  all  passages  of  the  Hexateuch  in  which 
the  word  or  phrase  quoted  occurs  are  cited  or  referred  to. 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        1 33 

21.  Sojournings  (onuD),  with  land'.  Gen.  17828*  36'  37^  Ex.  6^  Ez.  20^; 

with  days'.  Gen.  47'*^.     Only  besides  Ps.  119^;  and  rather  dif- 
ferently 55i«,  Job  i8i9.t 

22.  Possession  (nmN)  :  Gen.   178  234-  »•  20  3543  47II  ^54  ^^so  ^qIS,  Lev.  I4«4 

2rlO-46   27I6.  21.  22,  24.   28     J^y^    27*'  '    32'''  ^'^'  ^^'  ^^   35^*  8-  28     -Qt.    32*^ 

Josh.  21^2.  89  224  (1)2)  9. 19  *«      Elsewhcrc  only  in  Ezekiel  (4428*" 
4^5.  6.  7  bis.  8  46I6. 18  /*r  4820-  21. 22  *£.)  .  pg,  2^  ;  I  Ch.  728  92  ( =  Neh. 

Il3),  2Ch.    11^4  31I.  I 

23.  The  cognate  verb  to  get  possessions  (inxj),  rather  a  peculiar  word  :  Gen. 

3410  4727,  Nu.  3230,  Josh.  22»-  i^t 

24.  Purchase,  purchased  possession   (njjpp) :    Gen.   17^2.  13.  23.  27  2318^  Ex. 

12*4,  Lev.  25I*  *'■*•"  2722.     (Prob.  a  legal  term.     Only  besides  Jer. 

2211.12.14.16)1 

25.  Peoples  (d'DJ?)  in  the  sense  oi  kinsfolk  *  (peculiar) : 

(a)  Z'i^a/  j£»«/  (or  ^/^a/  man)  shall  be  cut  off  from  his  kinsfolk  : 
Gen.  1714,  Ex.  z^-'^  31",  Lev.  720.21.28.27  179  198  [126]  232^, 
Nu.  9131.  (In  Lev.  174-  10  182s  2o3-  6.  6. 18  2330^  Nu.  is^o  the  noun 
is  singular. ) 

(^)  7<7  be  gathered  to  one's  kinsfolk  :  Gen.  258-  "  3529  4988,  Nu. 
20242713312^  Dt.  3250^".  I 

(^)  Lev.  I9i«  2ii-  4-  14.  15^  Ez.  18I8  .  perhaps  Jud=  5",  Hos. 
loHt 

26.  6"^///?^  or  sojourner  (at^in)  :  Gen.  23*  (hence  fig.  Ps.  39",  i  Ch.  29!^), 

Ex.    1245,   Lev.  22IO  25«-  23  (fig.)  35.  40.  46.  47  *t^^   ^U.   351^.     AlsO    I   Ki. 

171  (text  doubtful).! 

27.  Getting,  acquisition  (X^^) :  Gen.  31I8  3423  366,   Lev.  22I1,  Josh.   144  : 

cf.  Ez.  38i2f-  ;  also  Pr.  4',  Ps.  10424  10521.! 

28.  Pigour  {-[IS) :  Ex.  ii3- 14,  Lev.  2543-46.53^  Ez.  344.! 

29.  Judgments  (o'tiSB'  [not  the  usual  word]) :  Ex.  6^  74  12I2,  Nu.  334,  Ez. 

510-  15  Il9  1421  l641  25II  2822.  26  30^.  W     p,..    1929^  2  Ch.  2424.  | 

30.  Fathers'  houses  (  =  families:  nuN  n'D,  or  sometimes  nux  alone):   Ex. 

614.  25  123^  Nu.  1-4  (often).  172-  s-  «  262  3126  3328  34I4  351,  Josh.  14I 
1951  2 ii  2214. 

31.  Hosts  (mN3:f)  of  the  Israelites  :  Ex.  626  74  12"-  4i.  5i,  Nu.  i3-  52  23-  9- 10. 

16. 18.  24.  25.  32  jqU.  18.  22.  25.  28  33I.  j |     (Dt.  20^  differently. ) 

32.  Congregation  (my)  of  the  Israelites:  Ex.  i23.6.i9-47  ,61.  2.  9.  lo.  22  17I 

3431  3^1.  4.  20  3525^  Lev.  413- 15  83-5  95  106. 17  1 65  192  2414.  16^  Nu. 

1^26  bis  J4I.  2.  5.  7.  10.  27.  35.  36  j62.  3.  9  bis.  19  bis.  21.  22   (LeV.    lO^)  24.  26.  41. 
42.  45.  46  fHeb.  17^'  '^'  10-  111  20l-  2.  8  bis.  11.  22.  27.  29  2c6.  7  31I2.  16.  26.  27.  43 

(as  well  as  often  in  the  other  chapters  of  Nu.  assigned  wholly  to 

P)    322-  4,   Josh.    9'5.  18  bis.  19.  21.  27    igl    SO^"  »   2212-  IC  IV.  18  (Nu.     l622) 

20,  30.     (Cf.  No.  39.)     Never  in  JE  or  Dt.,  and  rare  in  the  other 
hist,  books:  Jud.  20I  2iio- 13.  16,  I  Ki.  85  (  =  2  Ch.   5«)  1220  (cf.  p. 

143  f.). 

33.  Between  the  two  evenings  (a  technical  expression) :  Ex.  12^  1612  2939-  4i 

308,  Lev.  235,  Nu.  93-5.  11  284-  8. 1 

*  Y\o^^x\y  father's  kin  (Wellh^in  the  Gdtt.  Nachrichten,  1893,  p.  480) 


134  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

34.  In  all  your  dwellings  (DD'nna'iD  "^w)  :  Ex.  \2^  35',  Lev.  3"  728  23*- 1*- 

21- 8i,  Nu.  3525  (cf.  152  3110),  Ez.  66-  H 

35.  Z'/^/j  «j  M<?  thing  which  Jehovah  hath  commanded:  Ex.   i6^^' ^2  ^^^^ 

Lev.  8"  9«  172,  Nu.  302  36^! 

36.  A  head  (n'?j'?:  lit.  skuU)^  in  enumerations :  Ex.  16^8  3828,  Nu.  i2-  w.  20. 

22  347^  I  ch.  233-  24. 1 

37.  71?  remain  over  (qiy  :  not  the  usual  word) :  Ex.  i6^8-  ^  26^2  *ij.  13^  L^y^ 

2527,  Nu.  346.48.49.1 

38.  Ruler  or  prince  (n'B':),  among  the  Israelites  :  Ex.  1622  352?^  Lev.  422, 

Nu.  ii6-  44  cc.  2.  3.  and  7  (repeatedly)  /f'  lo^  132  172.  6  (Heb.  "•  21) 
2514. 18  3418-28^  Josh.  22^^.  In  JE  once  only,  Ex.  22^  :  never  in  Dt. 
Jud.  Sam.:  in  Kings  only  i  Ki.  8^  [p.  144],  and  in  a  semi-poetical 
passage,  iiH  Cf.  Gen.  172023^251^342.  Often  in  Ez.,  even  of 
the  king  (see  below,  in  the  list  of  phrases  at  the  end  of  Ezekiel). 
[127]  39-  Rulers  {princes)  of  (or  in)  the  congregation  :    Ex.   1622  3481^   Nu. 

484    l62  31I3  322,  Josh.  Ql"-  18  (cf.  v.l»-  21)  2230  (^f.  v.32)  :    cf.  Nu.    272 

36iJosh.  17'*.  t 

40.  Deep    rest    (pnnty) :     Ex.     i623    31I5    352,    Lev.     i63i    233- 24. 32. 39  w^ 

25^- ^t 

41.  According  to  the  command  {lit.  mouth)  of  Jehovah  (ni.T  's  h]}) :  Ex.  17I, 

Lev.     24I2      Nu.     3I6.  39.  61   ^37.  41.  45.  49    gl8.  20.  23    jqW    1^3    ^^2.38    055 

Josh.  1513  ("rx)  174  (<?«)  1960  2i3  ("?«)  22O.  Very  uncommon  else- 
where :  Dt.  34^^  (probably  from  P :  cf.  Nu.  333^),  2  Ki.  243. 

42.  I/alf  {n^)inD  :  not  the  usual  word) :  Ex.  30^3  *»^.  is- 23  3326^  Lev.  6^3  *» 

Nu.  3129.  30.  42.  47^  Josh.  2i25  (  =  1  Ch.  655).     Qnly  besides  i  ICi. 
1 69,  Neh.  83,  I  Ch.  6^.] 
43'  ^iZ'r  ^^  trespass  and  h]ia  trespass  (often  combined,  and  then  rendered  in 
RV.  to  commit  a  trespass) :  Lev.  515  62  [Heb.  521]  26'«o,  Nu.  56- 12. 

27  3il6^  Dt.  3251,  Josh.   7I  22ie-  20-  22.  31^||   Ez.    I4I3    158  1720  i824  2o27 

3923.  26^  (A  word  belonging  to  the  priestly  terminology.  Never  in 
Jud.  Sam.  Kgs.,  or  other  prophets  [except  Dan.  9'];  and  chiefly 
elsewhere  in  Ch. ;  see  the  list  at  the  end  of  this  book,  No.  3. ) 

44.  The  methodical  form   of  subscription  and  super sdription :  Gen.   10  [6]. 

20.  31.  32  2irl6  -3619.  20.  80.  31.  40.  43  ^58.  15.  18.  22.  25  Ex.  I^  61^*  l^*  l^""*  25b. 
26  Nu.  I^  428-  33.  37.  41.  45  y]7b.  23b.  29b  ^g.  ^4  3^1  Josh.  I  •323b.  28.  32 
1^1    jcl2b.  20    j58b    jg20.  28b    jn8b.  16.  23.31.39.48.51   [-^f.    Qcn.     Io31'  32] 

2 1 19.  26.  33.  40.  41-42      (j^Qt  2,  Complete  enumeration. ) 

45.  For  tribe  P  has  nearly  always  nt:a,  very  rarely  B3B' ;  for  to  beget  yh\ri 

(Gen.  53-32  610  11I1-27  1720  2519  48«,  Lev.  25^5,  Nu.  2629-58),  not 
-h^  (as  in  the  genealogies  of  J  :  Gen.  418'"-  lo^- 13-  is- 24  wx.  26  2223 
253) ;  for  to  be  hard  or  to  harden  (of  the  heart)  pin,  pm  lit.  to  be  or 
make  strong  (Ex.  713-  22  gw  [Heb.  i5]  912  i  iio  144.  8.  i7)^  not  n33,  T^an 
to  be  or  viake  heavy  (Ex.  71^  8i5-  32  [Heb.  »•  28]  9?.  34  jqI)  ;  for  to 
^/^w^  DJn  (Lev.  202- 2?  2414- 1^  *»>•  23,  Nu.  1410  1535.36.  also  Dt.  2121, 
Josh.  725a  [?P]tt),  not  S^D  (Ex.  82<5  [Heb.  22]  174  j^is  *.>  2i28*'>-29.  32^ 
Dt.  1310  [Heb.  11]  175  2221-  24,  Josh.  725b  II) ;  for  to  spy  mn  (Nu.  132- 

10.  17.  21.  25.  32  bis  146.  7.  34.  36.  38  1^39  .    also  Io33  JE,  Dt.   l33  ||),  not  "m 

Nu.  2i32,  Dt.   i24,  Josh.  2i  622-23.25  72*.>i47).  and  for  the  pron. 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        1 35 

of  I  pers.  sing,  'jn  *  (nearly  130  times  ;   '33N  once  only  Gen.  23^ : 
comp.  in  Ez.  'JX  138  times,  'djk  once  36^^).! 
[128]         The  following  geographical  terms  are  found  only  in  P  : 

46.  Kirjath-Arba  for  Hebron  :  Gen.  232  352?,  Josh.  15"-  ^  20'  21".     (The 

same  name  is  referred  to,  but  not  used,  in  Josh.  I4^^=jud.  i^*  JE  : 
see  also  Neh.  ii^^.) 

47.  Machpelah  :  Gen.  ^f-  "•  ^»  25^  4980  50".! 

48.  Paddan-Aram  :  Gen.  2520  282-  6.  6.  7  31I8  33I8  3^9.  26  4515.  \    (48'  Padaan 

alone.     J  says  Aram-naharaivi  24^*^,  as  Dt.  23^  [Heb.  ^],  Jud.  3^) 

49.  The  Desert  of  Zin  {\i)  :  Nu.   1321  2oi»  27!^  333«  348,  Dt.  3281,  ^^^^ 

15I :  cf.  Zin,  Nu.  34^  Josh.  15^ 

50.  The  Steppes  of  Moab  (3nid  rmy) :  Nu.  22^  263-  ^3  3112  3348-50  3^1  3513^ 

Dt.  341- 8,  Josh.  1332.1 

Eleazar  the  priest,  though  not  unmentioned  in  the  other  sources  (Dt.  10^, 
Josh.  24^),  is  specially  prominent  in  P,  esp.  after  the  death  of  Aaron  (Nu. 
2025-28),  as  Nu.  26I  &c.  3112  &c.  322-28  34!?^  Josh.  14I  174  19"  21I.  The 
priestly  tradition  also  records  incidents  in  which  his  son  Phinehas  (Ex.  62^) 
took  part :  Nu.  257-  "  3i«,  Josh.  2213-  30-32  (j^  JE  2423 ;  cf.  Jud.  2o28). 

Under  the  circumstances,  the  statement  in  the  Speaker's  Commentary,  i. 
p.  28*,  that  the  peculiarities  of  the  Elohistic  phraseology  "are  greatly 
magnified,  if  they  exist  at  all,"  is  a  surprising  one.  In  point  of  fact,  the 
style  of  P  (even  in  the  historical  sections)  stands  apart,  not  only  from  that  of 
J,  E,  and  Dt. ,  but  also  from  that  which  prevails  in  any  part  of  Jud.  Sam. 
Kings,  and  has  substantial  resemblances  only  with  that  of  Ezekiel. 

It  remains  to  consider  the  date  of  P.  Formerly  this  was 
assumed  tacitly  to  be  the  earliest  of  the  Pentateuchal  sources ; 
and  there  are  still  scholars  who  assign  at  least  the  main  stock  of 
it  to  9-8  cent.  B.C.  No  doubt  the  fact  that  in  virtue  of  its  sys- 
tematic plan  and  consistent  regard  to  chronology,  it  constitutes,  as 
it  were,  the  groundwork  (see  p.  10)  of  the  history,  into  which  the 
narratives  taken  from  the  other  sources  are  fitted,  gave  to  this 
view  a  prima  facie  plausibility.  No  a  priori  reason,  however, 
exists  why  these  narratives  should  not  have  been  drawn  up  first, 
and  their  chronological  framework  have  been  added  to  them 
afterwards ;  and  a  comparative  study  of  the  intrinsic  character 
of  P  in  its  relation  to  these  other  sources  has  led  the  principal 
critics  of  more  recent  years  to  adopt  a  different  view  of  its  origin 

*  In  Dt.,  on  the  contrary,  '33N  is  regularly  employed,  except  (i)  12?^  after 
the  verb,  according  to  usual  custom  {Journ.  of  Phil.  1882,  p.  223) ;  (2)  29^ 
[Heb.  «*]  in  a  stereotyped  formula  (Ex.  7^^  al.) -,  (3)  in  the  Song,  3221-39 
(4  times) ;  (4)  in  the  passage  assigned  to  P,  32^^-  ^2 — 9  times  in  all. 

t  See  further  Budde,  ZATW.  1891,  p.  203  ff.  ;  Holzinger,  p.  338  fif. ;  and 
the  instructive  comparative  table  of  the  usage  of  E,  J,  D,  P,  H,  in  S track's 
Einleittmg^  {i%g$),  pp.  42-51.       « 


136  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

and  date.  The  earlier  criticism  of  the  Pent,  was  mostly  literary ; 
and  literary  criteria,  though  they  enable  us  to  effect  the  analysis 
of  a  document  into  its  component  parts,  do  not  always  afford 
decisive  evidence  as  to  the  date  to  which  the  component  parts 
are  severally  to  be  assigned.  A  comparison  of  P,  both  in  its 
historical  and  legal  sections,  {a)  with  the  other  Hexateuchal 
[129]  sources,  {b)  with  other  parts  of  the  OT.,  brings  to  light 
facts  which  seem  to  show  that,  though  the  elements  which  it 
embodies  originated  themselves,  in  many  cases,  at  a  much  earlier 
age,  it  is  itself  the  latest  of  the  sources  of  which  the  Hexateuch 
is  composed,  and  belongs  approximately  to  the  period  of  the 
Babylonian  captivity. 

The  following,  stated  briefly,  are  the  principal  grounds  upon 
which  this  opinion  rests. 

The  pre-exilic  period  shows  no  indications  of  the  legislation 
of  P  as  being  in  operation.  Thus  the  place  of  sacrifice  is  in  P 
strictly  limited;  and  severe  penalties  are  imposed  upon  any 
except  priests  who  presume  to  officiate  at  the  altar.  In  Jud. 
Sam.  sacrifice  is  frequently  offered  at  spots  not  consecrated  by 
the  presence  of  the  Ark,  and  laymen  are  repeatedly  represented 
as  officiating, — in  both  cases  without  any  hint  of  disapproval  on 
the  part  of  the  narrator,  and  without  any  apparent  sense,  even 
on  the  part  of  men  like  Samuel  and  David,  that  an  irregularity 
was  being  committed.  Further,  the  incidental  allusions  in  books 
belonging  to  the  same  time  create  the  impression  that  the  ritual 
in  use  was  simpler  than  that  enjoined  in  P  :  in  P,  for  instance, 
elaborate  provisions  are  laid  down  for  the  maintenance  and 
safety  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  for  the  reverent  handling  of  the 
Ark  and  other  sacred  vessels ;  in  i  Sam.  the  arrangements  relating 
to  both  are  evidently  much  simpler :  the  estabhshment  at  Shiloh 
(i  Sa.  1-3)  is  clearly  not  upon  the  scale  implied  by  the  regula- 
tions Ex.  35-40,  Nu.  3-4 :  the  Ark  is  sent  for  and  taken  into 
battle,  as  a  matter  calling  for  no  comment ;  when  it  is  brought 
back  to  Kirjath-jearim,  instead  of  the  persons  authorized  by  P 
being  summoned  to  take  charge  of  it,  it  is  placed  in  the  house 
of  a  native  of  the  place,  whose  son  is  consecrated  by  the  men  of 
Kirjath-jearim  themselves  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  it.  In 
2  Sa.  6  the  narrative  of  the  solemn  transference  of  the  Ark  by 
David  to  Zion,  the  priests  and  Levites,  the  proper  guardians  of 
it  according  to  P  (Nu.  3^^  4^'^^),  are  both  conspicuous  by  their 


PRIESTLY   NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        1 37 

absence ;  David  offers  sacrifice  (as  seems  evident)  with  his  own 
hand,  and  certainly  performs  the  solemn  priestly  (Dt.  10^  21^; 
cf  Nu.  623-'-i7^  function  of  blessing  (2  Sa.  6i3.i7.i8.  cf.  i  Ki.  8^5 
9'^  of  Solomon).  That  many  of  the  distinctive  institutions  of  P 
are  not  alluded  to — the  Day  of  Atonement,  the  Jubile  year,  the 
Levitical  cities,  the  Sin-offering,  the  system  of  sacrifices  [130] 
prescribed  for  particular  days — is  of  less  importance  :  the  writers 
of  these  books  may  have  found  no  occasion  to  mention  them. 
But  the  different  tone  of  feeling,  and  the  different  spirit  which 
animates  the  narratives  of  the  historical  books,  cannot  be  dis- 
guised :  both  the  actors  and  the  narrators  in  Jud.  Sam.  move  in  an 
atmosphere  into  which  the  spirit  of  P  has  not  penetrated.  Nor 
do  the  allusions  in  the  pre-exilic  prophets  supply  the  deficiency, 
or  imply  that  the  theocratic  system  of  P  was  in  operation.  The 
prophets  attack  formalism  and  unspiritual  service ;  they  there- 
fore show  that  in  their  day  some  importance  was  attached  by  the 
priests,  and  by  the  people  who  were  guided  by  them,  to  ritlial 
observances ;  but  to  the  institutions  specially  characteristic  of  P 
they  allude  no  more  distinctly  than  do  the  contemporary  his- 
torians. 

Nor  is  the  legislation  of  P  presupposed  by  Deuteronomy.  This 
indeed  follows  almost  directly  from  the  contents  and  character  of 
Dt.  as  described  above  (pp.  75  f ,  82-84).  As  was  there  shown, 
Dt.,  in  both  its  historical  and  legal  sections,  is  based  consistently 
upon  JE :  language,  moreover,  is  used,  not  once  only,  but  re- 
peatedly, implying  that  some  of  the  fundamental  institutions  of 
P  are  not  in  operation.  Had  a  code,  as  extensive  as  P  is,  been 
in  force  when  Dt.  was  written,  it  is  dif^cult  not  to  think  that 
allusions  to  it  would  have  been  both  abundant  and  distinct,  and 
that,  in  fact,  it  would  have  determined  the  attitude  and  point  of 
view  adopted  by  the  writer  in  a  manner  which  certainly  is  not 
the  case. 

And  when  P  is  compared  with  Dt.  in  detail,  the  differences 
tend  to  show  that  it  is  later  than  Dt. 

Thus  {a)  in  Dt.  the  centralization  of  worship  at  one  sanctuary  is  enjoined, 
it  is  insisted  on  with  much  emphasis  as  an  end  aimed  at,  but  not  yet  realized  : 
in  P  it  is  presupposed  as  already  existing,  {b)  In  Dt.  any  member  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi  possesses  the  right  to  exercise  priestly  functions,  contingent  only 
upon  his  residence  at  the  Central  Sanctuary :  in  P  this  right  is  strictly  limited 
to  the  descendants  of  Aaron,  {c)  In  Dt.  the  members  of  the  tribe  of  Levi 
are  commended  to  the  charity  oi  the  Israelites  generally,  and  only  share  the 


138  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

tithe,  at  a  sacrificial  feast,  in  company  with  other  indigent  persons :  in  P 
definite  provision  is  made  for  their  maintenance  (the  48  cities,  with  their 
"suburbs"),  and  the  tithes  are  formally  assigned  to  the  tribe  as  a  specific 
due  ;  similarly,  while  in  Dt.  firstlings  are  to  be  consumed  at  sacrificial  feasts, 
in  which  the  Levite  is  only  to  have  his  share  among  others,  in  P  they  are 
reserved  solely  and  explicitly  for  the  priests.  In  each  case  the  stricter 
limitation  is  on  the  side  of  P.  {d)  The  entire  system  of  feasts  and  sacrifices 
[131]  is  much  more  complex  and  precisely  defined  in  P  than  in  Dt.  True,  the 
plan  of  Dt.  would  not  naturally  include  an  enumeration  of  minute  details ; 
but  the  silence  of  Dt.  is  nevertheless  significant ;  and  the  impression  which  a 
reader  derives  from  Dt.  is  that  the  liturgical  institutions  under  which  the 
author  lived  were  of  a  simpler  character  than  those  prescribed  in  P. 

It  is  possible,  indeed,  that,  considered  in  themselves,  some  of 
the  cases  quoted  might  be  regarded  as  relaxations,  sanctioned  by 
D,  of  observances  that  were  originally  stricter.  But  this  view  lacks 
support  in  fact.  The  ritual  legislation  of  JE,  which,  it  is  not 
disputed,  is  earlier  than  D,  is  in  every  respect  simpler  than  that  of 
D ;  and  a  presumption  hence  arises,  that  that  of  D  is  similarly 
earlier  than  the  more  complex  legislation  of  P.  This  presump- 
tion is  supported  by  the  evidence  of  the  history.  The  legislation 
of  JE  is  in  harmony  with,  and,  in  fact,  sanctions,  the  practice 
of  the  period  of  the  Judges  and  early  Kings,  with  its  relative 
freedom,  for  instance,  as  to  the  place  of  sacrifice  (p.  85)  and  the 
persons  authorized  to  offer  it ;  *  during  which,  moreover,  a  simple 
ritual  appears  to  have  prevailed,  and  the  Ark  was  guarded,  till 
it  was  transferred  by  Solomon  to  the  Temple,  by  a  small  band 
of  attendants,  in  a  modest  structure,  quite  in  accordance  with 
the  representation  of  JE  (p.  128,  note).  The  legislation  of  D 
harmonizes  with  the  reforming  tendencies  of  the  age  in  which  it 
was  promulgated,  and  sanctions  the  practice  of  the  age  that 
immediately  followed :  it  inculcates  a  centralized  worship,  in 
agreement  with  a  movement  arising  naturally  out  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  strengthened,  no  doubt,  by 
the  fall  of  the  Northern  kingdom,  and  enforced  practically  by 
Josiah;  its  attitude  towards  the  high  places  determines  that  of 
the  compiler  of  Kings,  who  wrote  in  the  closing  years  of  the 
monarchy ;  it  contains  regulations  touching  other  matters  {e.g. 
the  worship  of  the  "  host  of  heaven  ")  which  assumed  prominence 
at  the  same  time ;  the  revenues  and  functions  of  the  priests  are 
more  closely  defined  than  in  JE,  but  the  priesthood  is  still  open 

*  Ex.  2o'^^"26,  it  seems  clear,  is  addressed  to  the  lay  Israelite  (cf.  2^). 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        I39 

to  every  member  of  the  tribe  of  Levi.  The  legislation  of  P  is 
in  harmony  with  the  spirit  which  shows  itself  in  Ezekiel,  and 
sanctions  the  practice  of  the  period  beginning  with  the  return 
from  Babylon ;  and  the  principles  to  which  P  gives  expression 
appear  (at  a  later  date),  in  a  still  more  developed  form,  as  form- 
ing the  standard  by  which  the  Chronicler  consistently  judges  the 
[132]  earlier  history.  The  position  into  which  the  legislation  of  P 
appears  to  fall  is  thus  intermediate  between  Dt.  and  the  Chronicler. 
But  further,  P  appears,  at  least  in  some  of  its  elements,  to 
be  later  than  Ezekiel.  The  arguments  are  supplied  chiefly  by 
c.  40-48,  where  Ez.  prescribes  the  constitution  of  the  restored 
community,  and  in  particular  regulates  with  some  minuteness 
the  details  of  the  Temple  worship.  The  most  important  passage 
is  44^-^^.  Here  the  Israelites  are  rebuked  for  having  admitted 
foreigners,  uncircumcised  aliens,  into  the  inner  Court  of  the 
Temple  to  assist  the  priest  when  officiating  at  the  altar  (v.^-^) ; 
and  it  is  laid  down  that  no  such  foreigners  are  to  perform  these 
services  for  the  future  (v.^) — 

"  i**  But  the  Levites  that  went  far  from  me,  when  Israel  went  astray,  which 
went  astray  from  me  after  their  idols  ;  they  shall  bear  their  iniquity.  ^^  And 
they  shall  be  ministers  in  my  sanctuary,  having  oversight  at  the  gates  of  the 
house,  and  ministering  in  the  house ;  they  shall  slay  the  burnt-offering  and 
the  sacrifice  for  the  people,  and  they  shall  stand  before  them  [see  p.  83,  note\ 
to  minister  unto  them  .  .  .  ^'And  they  shall  not  come  near  unto  me,  to 
execute  the  office  of  priest  unto  me,  nor  to  come  near  to  any  of  my  holy  things, 
unto  the  things  that  are  most  holy  :  but  they  shall  bear  their  shame,  and  their 
abominatiohs  which  they  have  committed.  ^^  Yet  will  I  make  them  keepers 
of  the  charge  of  the  house,  for  all  the  service  thereof,  and  for  all  that  shall 
be  done  therein.  ^'  But  the  priests  the  Levites,  the  sons  of  Zadok,  that  kept 
the  charge  of  my  sanctuary  when  the  children  of  Israel  went  astray  from  me, 
they  shall  come  near  to  me  to  minister  unto  me  ;  and  they  shall  stand  before 
me  [see  ib,  ]  to  offer  unto  me  the  fat  and  the  blood,  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah  : 
^*  they  shall  enter  into  my  sanctuary,  and  they  shall  come  near  to  my  table, 
to  minister  unto  me,  and  they  shall  keep  my  charge  "  (v.^**"^^ :  cf.  48^^). 

From  this  passage  it  seems  to  follow  incontrovertibly  that  the 
Levites  generally  had  heretofore  (in  direct  conflict  with  the  pro- 
visions of  P)  e?iJoyed  priestly  rights  (v. ^3) :  for  the  future,  how- 
ever, such  as  had  participated  in  the  idolatrous  worship  of  the 
high  places  are  to  be  deprived  of  these  rights,  and  condemned 
to  perform  the  menial  offices  which  had  hitherto  been  performed 
by  foreigners  (v.^^^^-  ^*) ;  only  those  Levites  who  had  been  faithful 
in  their  loyalty  to  Jehoval^  viz.  the  sons  of  Zadok,  are  hence- 


140  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

forth  to  retain  priestly  privileges  (v.^^^-).  Had  the  Levites  not 
enjoyed  such  rights,  the  prohibition  in  v.^^  would  be  superfluous. 
The  supposition  that  they  may  have  merely  usurped  them  is 
inconsistent  with  the  passage  as  a  whole,  which  charges  the 
Levites,  not  with  usurping  rights  which  they  did  not  possess,  but 
with  abusing  rights  which  they  did  possess.  If  Ez.,  then,  [133] 
treats  the  Levites  generally  as  qualified  to  act  as  priests,  and 
degrades  them  to  a  menial  rank,  without  so  much  as  a  hint  that 
this  degradation  was  but  the  restoration  of  a  status  quo  fixed  by 
immemorial  Mosaic  custom,  could  he  have  been  acquainted  with 
the  legislation  of  P  ?  * 

This  is  the  most  noteworthy  difference  between  Ez.  and  P.  There  are, 
however,  other  points  in  which  Ez.  's  regulations  deviate  from  P's  in  a  manner 
that  is  difficult  to  explain,  had  the  legislation  of  P,  in  its  entirety,  been  recog- 
nized by  him.  In  particular,  while  more  complex  than  those  of  Dt.,  the 
provisions  of  Ez.  are  frequently  simpler  than  those  of  P  ;  so  that  the  inference 
that  the  system  of  P  is  a  development  of  that  of  Ez. ,  as  Ez.  's  is  of  that  of  D, 
naturally  suggests  itself.  Comp.  in  particular  Ez.  43^^"^  45^^"^*^  (RV.  marg.) 
21-24. 25  4613-15. 4-7  ^ith  Ex.  z^)^'^ ,  Lcv.  i6,  Nu.  28-29.  If  the  rites  pre- 
scribed in  these  passages  of  P  had  been  in  operation,  and  were  invested  with 
the  authority  of  antiquity,  it  seems  improbable  that  Ez.  would  have  deviated 
from  them  as  largely  as  he  has  done.  It  is  true  that,  as  a  prophet,  his 
attitude  towards  the  sacrificial  system  may  have  been  a  free  one ;  and  hence 
this  argument,  taken  by  itself,  would  not  perhaps  be  a  decisive  one :  still, 
when  it  is  seen  to  be  in  harmony  with  other  facts  pointing  in  the  same 
direction,  it  is  not  to  be  lightly  ignored,  the  more  so,  as  Ez.  plainly  attached 
a  value  to  ceremonial  observances,  and  is  thus  the  less  likely  to  have  intro- 
duced a  simplification  of  established  ritual. 

The  later  date  for  P,  suggested  by  a  comparison  of  it  with 
JE,  D,  and  Ez.,  is  confirmed,  as  it  seems,  by  the  character  of 
the  religious  conceptions  which  it  presents.  No  doubt  all  repre- 
sentations of  the  Deity  must  be  anthropomorphic ;  but  contrast 
the  anthropomorphism  of  Gen.  2^^^-  with  that  of  1^-2'**  :  in  the 
former,  Jehovah  is  brought  into  close  connexion  with  earth,  and 
sensible  acts  are  attributed  to  Him  (above,  p.  121) :  in  the  latter, 
His  transcendence  above  nature  is  conspicuous  throughout :  He 

*  The  suggestion  made  by  Delitzsch  {Studien,  vi.  p.  288)  does  not  really 
mitigate  the  difficulty  ;  for  the  terms  of  v.^^  do  not  admit  of  being  restricted 
to  the  descendants  of  Aaron's  other  son  Ithamar.  Cf.  Konig,  Offenbarungs- 
begrijf  des  AT.s,  ii.  p.  325  ;  Kautzsch,  Stud.  u.  Krit.  1890,  p.  767  ff.;  and 
Kuenen,  Gesammelte  Abhandhoigen  (1894),  p.  472  ffi  Paton's  argument 
{JBLit.  1893,  p.  10)  is  not  conclusive  (the  root-meaning  of  jna,  as  given 
ib.  p.  3,  is  highly  questionable  :  Arab,  kdhin  means  a  seer. 


PRIESTLY   NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        141 

conducts  His  work  of  creation  from  a  distance;  there  are  no 
anthropomorphisms  which  might  be  misunderstood  in  a  material 
sense.  Contrast,  again,  the  genealogies  in  JE  (Gen.  4)  with 
those  in  P  (Gen.  5) ;  does  not  JE  display  them  in  their  fresher, 
more  original  form,  while  in  P  they  have  been  reduced  to  bare 
lists  of  names,  devoid  of  all  imaginative  colouring?  In  JE  the 
growth  of  sin  in  the  line  of  Cain  leads  up  suitably  to  the 
narrative  of  the  Flood ;  in  P  no  explanation  is  given  of  the  [134] 
corruption  overspreading  the  earth,  and  rendering  necessary  the 
destruction  of  its  inhabitants.  In  JE  the  patriarchs  are  men  of 
flesh  and  blood;  the  incidents  of  their  history  arise  naturally 
out  of  their  antecedents,  and  the  character  of  the  circumstances 
in  which  they  are  placed.  Moreover,  in  the  topics  dwelt  upon, 
such  as  the  rivalries  of  Jacob  and  Esau,  and  of  Laban  and 
Jacob,  or  the  connexion  of  the  patriarchs  with  places  famed  in 
later  days  as  sanctuaries,  the  interests  of  the  narrator's  own  age 
are  reflected  :  in  P  we  have  a  skeleton  from  which  such  touches 
of  life  and  nature  are  absent,  an  outline  in  which  legislative 
(Gen.  17),  statistical,  chronological  elements  are  the  sole  con- 
spicuous feature.*  There  is  also  a  tendency  to  treat  the  history 
theoretically  (p.  128),  which  is  itself  the  mark  of  a  later  age. 
The  representations  of  the  patriarchal  age  seem,  moreover,  not 
to  be  so  primitive  as  in  JE :  the  patriarchs,  for  instance,  are 
never  represented  as  building  altars  or  sacrificing;  and  Noah 
receives  permission  to  slaughter  animals  for  food  without  any 
reference  to  sacrifice,  notwithstanding  the  intimate  connexion 
subsisting  in  early  times  between  slaughtering  and  sacrifice.! 

Dillm.  and  Kittel  seek  to  explain  the  contradiction,  or  silence,  of  Dt.  &c. 
by  the  hypothesis  that  P  was  originally  a  '*  private  document,"  representing, 
not  the  actual  practice  of  the  priests,  but  claims  raised  by  them, — an  ideal 
theocratic  constitution,  which  they  had  for  the  time  no  means  of  enforcing, 

*  In  the  earlier  historical  narratives  precise  chronological  data  are  scarce  ; 
in  Jud.  Sam.  Kings  they  are  admitted  to  belong  to  the  latest  element  in  the 
books,  viz.  the  post-Deuteronomic  redaction. 

t  The  subject  of  pp.  136-141  is  treated  at  length  by  Wellhausen,  Hist,  of 
Israel^  chaps,  i.-v.,  viii.  (or,  more  succinctly,  in  his  art.  "Pentateuch"  in 
the  Encycl.  Britannica,  ed.  9),  where,  in  spite  of  some  questionable  assump- 
tions, and  exaggerations  in  detail,  many  true  points  are  undoubtedly  seized. 
See  also  W.  R.  Smith,  OT/C."^  Lect.  xii.  xiii.  ;  and  Konig,  op.  cit.  ii.  pp. 
321-332,  where  some  of  the  principal  grounds  for  the  opinion  expressed  in 
the  text  are  concisely  and  forcibly  stated. 


142  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

and  which  consequently  might  well  have  either  remained  unknown  to  pro- 
phetic writers,  or  not  been  recognized  by  them  as  authoritative.  '*  It  is  a 
literary  peculiarity  of  P  to  represent  his  ideal  as  already  existing  in  the  Mosaic 
age  ;  hence  from  his  representation  of  an  institution  it  cannot  be  argued  that 
it  actually  existed,  but  only  that  it  was  an  object  of  his  aims  and  claims  " 
(Kittel,  pp.  91-93  ;  Dillm.  NDJ.  pp.  666,  667,  669  ;  similarly  Baudissin, 
PriestertJmm,  p.  280).  But  such  a  conception  of  P  is  highly  artificial ;  and 
there  is  an  antecedent  improbability  in  the  supposition  that  a  system  like  that 
of  P  would  be  propounded  when  (as  is  admitted)  there  was  [135]  no  hope  of 
its  realization,  and  in  an  age  which  shows  no  acquaintance  with  it, — for 
Dillm.  places  it  c.  800,  between  E  and  J, — and  whose  most  representative 
men  evince  very  different  religious  sympathies. 

As  regards  the  distinction  between  priests  and  Levites,  it  is  observed  by 
Kittel  that  there  are  parts  of  P  in  which  this  is  not  treated  as  established. 
Thus  in  the  main  narrative  of  P  in  Nu.  16-17  (p.  64)  there  is  no  sign  of 
opposition  between  priests  and  Levites ;  the  tribe  is  regarded  as  one  ;  and 
the  standpoint  is  thus  that  of  Dt.  :  while  in  the  insertions  i6'''-"-  """•  36-4o 
{ib.)  the  distinction,  so  far  from  being  universally  accepted,  appears  as  a 
matter  of  dispute.  (Similarly  Baudissin,  pp.  34  f.,  276  f.)  He  further  argues 
that  there  are  grounds  for  supposing  that  many  passages  of  P  (esp.  Lev.  1-7. 
11-15  ;  parts  of  Nu.  5-6  ;  and  H)  where  now  **  Aaron  "  or  **  Aaron  and  his 
sons "  (implying  the  clearly-felt  distinction  of  priests  and  Levites)  stands, 
originally  there  stood  "  the  priest "  alone  (as  is  actually  still  the  case  in  most 
of  c.  13).  The  recognition  of  the  distinction  in  other  strata  of  P  he  reconciles 
with  their  earlier  date  by  the  same  supposition  as  Dillm.,  viz.  that  it  was  not 
really  in  force  when  they  were  written,  but  assumed  by  the  author  to  be  so, 
"  in  order  to  set  vividly  before  his  contemporaries  the  ideal  which  he  sought 
to  see  realized  "  (p.  109). 

These  arguments  are  cogent,  and  combine  to  make  it  prob- 
able that  the  completed  Priests'  Code  is  the  work  of  the  age 
subsequent  to  Ezekiel.  When,  however,  this  is  said,  it  is  very 
far  from  being  implied  that  all  the  institutions  of  P  are  the 
creation  of  this  age.  The  contradiction  of  the  pre-exilic  litera- 
ture does  not  extend  to  the  whole  of  the  Priests'  Code  indis- 
criminately. The  Priests'  Code  embodies  some  elements  with 
which  the  earlier  literature  is  in  harmony,  and  which  indeed  it 
presupposes :  it  embodies  other  elements  with  which  the  same 
literature  is  in  conflict,  and  the  existence  of  which  it  even  seems 
to  preclude.  This  double  aspect  of  the  Priests'  Code  is  recon- 
ciled by  the  supposition  that  the  chief  ceremonial  institutions  of 
Israel  are  in  their  origin  of  great  antiquity ;  but  that  the  laws 
respecting  them  were  gradually  developed  and  elaborated,  and 
in  the  shape  in  which  they  are  formulated  in  the  Priests^  Code 
that  they  belong  to  the  exilic  or  early  post-exilic  period.     In  its 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        1 43 

main  stock,  the  legislation  of  P  was  thus  not  (as  the  critical 
view  of  it  is  sometimes  represented  by  its  opponents  as  teaching) 
"  manufactured  "  by  the  priests  during  the  Exile  :  it  is  based  upon 
pre-existing  Temple  usage^  and  exhibits  the  form  which  that  finally 
assumed.*  Hebrew  legislation  took  shape  gradually;  and  the 
codes  of  [136]  JE  (Ex.  20-23;  34^^'^^X  Dt.,  and  P  represent 
three  successive  phases  of  it. 

From  this  point  of  view,  the  allusions  to  priestly  usage  in  the 
pre-exilic  literature  may  be  consistently  explained.  They  attest 
the  existence  of  certain  institutions :  they  do  not  attest  the  exist- 
ence of  the  particular  document  (P)  in  which  the  regulations 
touching  those  institutions  are  now  codified.  Thus  Gen.  8^^  (J) 
uses  the  term  "  savour  of  satisfaction  "  (Lev.  i^  and  often  in  P) 
Jud.  13*- 7  alludes  to  "unclean"  food;  Jud.  it,^-"^  161^,  Am 
2iif-  to  Nazirites  (cf.  Nu.  62^-);  i  Sa.  2^8  speaks  of  "fire 
sacrifices"  (Lev.  i^  &c.) ;  3^  of  the  "lamp  of  God"  (Ex.  2720) 
6^^'  names  a  "guilt-ofiering";  21^  the  shewbread  (Lev.  248^-) ; 
Amos  (4^-  ^)  mentions  tithes  and  free-will  offerings.!  These 
passages  are  proof  that  the  institutions  in  question  are  ancient 
in  Israel,  but  not  that  they  were  observed  with  the  precise 
formalities  prescribed  in  F;  indeed,  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  referred  to  appears  not  unfrequently  to  imply  that  they  were 
much  simpler  and  less  systematically  organized  than  is  the  case 
in  P. 

Other  allusions  to  priestly  usage  or  terminology  may  be  found  in  Am.  4' 
(Lev.  2^1  7^2)  .  Is.  i^  (xnpD  a  **  convocation,"  Lev.  232-  ^  &c.) ;  Jer.  2^  (Lev. 
2210. 16) .  628  98  (V»3T  ^<?n  Lev.  iqI^);  3021  {mi  Lev.  2i2i-  23;  nnpnNu.  le^^-  »•  lO); 
348- 15-  "  (nm  Kip  to  "proclaim  liberty,"  Lev.  25^",  but  in  Jer.  of  the  liberty 
granted  to  slaves  in  the  seventh  year  of  service,  in  Lev.  of  the  year  of  Jubile) ; 
perhaps  also  in  Am.  2^  (p.  50,  No.  13),  though  this  expression  is  of  a  kind 
which  might  have  been  used  independently. 

Whether,  however,  Jud.  20-21,  i  Sa.  2^2^  (see  Ex.  38^),  i  Ki.  8^- »  are 
evidence  of  the  early  existence  of  the  conceptions  of  P  is  doubtful,  Jud. 
20-21  shows  in  parts  the  phraseology  of  P,t  but  (as  will  appear  when  these 

*  Even  a  critic  as  radical  as  Stade  refers  to  Lev.  1-7.  11-15.  Nu.  5.  6. 
9.  15.  19,  as  well  as  the  Law  of  Holiness,  as  embodying  for  the  most  part 
pre-exilic  usage  ( Gesch.  ii.  66) :  comp.  Wellh.  Hist.  pp.  366,  404. 

t  There  are  other  similar  allusions,  e.g.  to  Burnt-  and  Peace-oflferings, 
I  Sa.  6^*  108  &c.  ;  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  and  the  Ephod,  Dt.  33^,  i  Sa. 
14=^-  «  LXX  (see  QPB^)  28«  &c. 

X  20^  2i^''-  '3-  ^^  the  "  congregation"  [see  p.  133,  No.  32] ;  with  the  verb 
hr\pT^^  20^  cf.  Lev.  8*,  Nu.  16^2  j-fjeb.  if]  202,  Josh.  iS^  22^2;  20«  noj  MffV  '2 


144  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

chapters  come  to  be  considered)  there  are  independent  grounds  for  conckiding 
that  this  narrative  is  composite,  and  that  the  parts  in  which  this  phraseology 
appears  are  of  later  origin  than  the  rest.  In  i  Sa.  2^^  it  is  remarkable  {a) 
that  the  LXX  omits  this  half-verse  ;  (d)  that  it  disagrees  with  the  rest  of  the 
narrative,  representing  the  sanctuary  as  a  /^«/,  rather  than  as  [137]  a  "  temple  " 
with  doors  and  door-posts  (i^  3^'^^).  Thus  two  grounds,  neither  connected 
with  its  relation  to  P,  converge  in  favour  of  the  conclusion  that  this  passage 
is  an  insertion  in  the  original  narrative,  of  uncertain  date.  In  i  Ki.  8^-  ^  * 
the  terms  agreeing  with  the  usage  of  P  are  isolated  in  Kings,  and  o?nitted  in 
the  LXX  (comp.  below,  p.  191  n.). 

It  is  admitted  by  Dillm.  (p.  667)  that  the  passages  alleged  to 
show  the  literary  use  of  P  in  pre-exilic  times  are  insufficient : 
either  the  resemblance  is  too  slight  to  establish  the  use  of  P,  or 
the  origin  of  the  passages  adduced  is  doubtful. 

Thus  Hos.  12^^  [Heb.5»>]  is  not  evidence  of  the  use  of  Gen.  ss'-^^-  ^';  the 
terms  of  the  reference  are  satisfied  by  the  narrative  of  J,  of  which  an  extract 
is  still  preserved  in  Gen.  35^*, — a  view  which  is  the  more  probable,  as  Hos. 
,23-4a.i2b  [Heb.^-5*- isi']  is  admitted  to  be  based  upon  JE,  see  Gen.  25=^  3228 
[Heb.2»]  27'i3  [in  2.^^-2??  P  Jacob  does  not  take  flight^  2920.30.  jjog^  J2i2a 
[Heb.^^]  the  "field"  of  Aram  is  supposed  to  be  a  variation  of  ^^ Faddan-Kxdim,^^ 
which  is  peculiar  to  P  (see  p.  135,  No.  48);  but  there  is  no  substantial 
ground  for  this  hypothesis,  and  the  fact  just  mentioned  that  in  P  Jacob  does 
not  Jlee  from  Esau  is  against  it:  Am.  7^  and  Gen.  7"  the  "great  deep," 
Jer.  423  and  <}en.  i^  inai  inn  (cf.  Is.  34"),  Jer.  23^  and  Gen.  122  &c.  "be 
fruitful  and  multiply,"  may  have  been  phrases  in  current  use,  but  not 
necessarily  derived  from  the  passages  of  P.  (A  few  other  similar  instances 
exist. ) 

In  Dt.  the  following  parallels  may  be  noted : — 

5",  Ex.  31^^  (nt^y,  lit.  make,  oi  holding  the  Sabbath!).— 1223*,  Lev.  17"- 1^. 
—14^-20,  Lev.  ii2b-23  (permitted  and  forbidden  animals).— 168^  Ex.  I2i6b._ 
17^  (cf.  152^),  Lev.  22^'"2^  (animals  offered  in  sacrifice  to  be  without  blemish). 
— I S^*^  ("fire-sacrifices,"  as  i  Sa.  228).— 198^  {n)n  '?d  hdk' du"?),  Nu.  356- "._ 
1912  (the  "avenger  of  blood  "),  Nu.  ZS^^-  21.— 20^  2820  ("use  the  fruit  thereof," 
\\\..  profane  it-,  cf.  Lev.  1 923-25). _22»*,  l^^^  j^i9a  _229b  RV.  marg.  (the  same 
priestly  penalty  which  is  found  Lev.  (?^^  [Heb."^],  Ex.  29'^''  302^^).— 22",  Lev. 
1919^  (Tjoyc).— 2323  [Heb.24],  Nu.  30^3  (^'n£3B'  nj^id;  also  Jer.  171s,  Ps.  8935,  but 
not  specially  of  a.  vow). — 24^,  Lev.  13-14. — 25^^,  Lev.  1935  ('?iy  nef^; ;  unusual). 

[p.  49,  No.  II] ;  20^5. 17  aisi  npsjnn  (see  Nu.  i^'  233  2662  npjjnn  ;  also  i  Ki. 
20-']') ;  21"  "  every  male,"  as  often  in  P,  see  (in  a  similar  context)  Gen. 
3425,  Nu.  31''  " ;  i6.  131  nsB'D  nyr,  ^2  n^i  natyo'?  b"x  nyr  nV  iz^h  (Nu.  31"* 

18.  35\ 

*  "  All  the  congregation  of  Israel,"  ^^ gathered  together''^  (onyii  Nu.  io3-  -» 
1435  16"  273),  ''heads  of  the  tribes''  [Nu.  302  ;  cf.  3228,  Josh.  14^  19^^],  "  the 
princes  of  the  fathers  "  [pp.  134,  133,  Nos.  38,  30]. 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        I45 

There  are  also  allusions  to  Burnt-  and  Peace-offerings,  tithes  (but  with  regula- 
tions very  different  from  those  of  P),  "heave "-offerings,  vows,  free-will- 
offerings  (I2^*  ^^' ^'^  a/.),  the  sanctity  of  firstlings  {id.)  and  of  firstfruits  (18^ 
26^*^"),  the  distinction  of  clean  and  unclean  (12^°  21^ a/.),  the  prohibition  to 
eat  blood  {12^^'^),  and  the  flesh  of  animals  dying  of  themselves  (14^^). 

Of  these  the  most  important  is  i4*'20.  Here  is  a  long  passage 
in  great  measure  verbally  identical  in  Dt.  and  Lev.,  and  a  critical 
comparison  of  the  two  texts  makes  it  probable  (p.  46)  that  both 
are  divergent  recensions  of  a  common  original,  which  in  each 
case,  but  especially  in  Lev.,  has  been  modified  in  accordance 
with  the  spirit  of  the  book  in  which  it  was  incorporated.  It  is 
thus  apparent  that  at  least  one  collection  of  priestly  Toroth^ 
which  now  forms  part  of  P,  [138]  was  in  existence  when  Dt. 
was  written ;  and  a  presumption  at  once  arises  that  other  parts 
were  in  existence  also.  Now,  the  tenor  of  Dt.  as  a  whole  con- 
flicts with  the  supposition  that  all  the  institutions  of  the  Priests' 
Code  were  in  force  when  D  wrote;  but  the  list  of  passages 
just  quoted  shows  that  some  were,  and  that  the  terminology  used 
in  connexion  with  them  was  known  to  D.  Dt.  thus  corrobor- 
ates the  conclusions  drawn  from  the  prophetical  and  historical 
books.  Institutions  or  usages,  such  as  the  distinction  of  clean 
and  unclean,  the  prohibition  to  eat  with  the  blood,  sacrifices  to 
be  without  blemish,  regulations  determining  the  treatment  of 
leprosy,  vows,  the  avenger  of  blood,  etc.,  were  ancient  in  Israel, 
and  as  such  are  alluded  to  in  the  earlier  literature,  though  the 
allusions  do  not  show  that  the  laws  respecting  them  had  yet 
been  codified  precisely  as  they  now  appear  in  P. 

The  following  historical  passages  of  Dt.  also  deserve  notice,  and  will  be 
referred  to  again: — 16^,  Ex.  12"  (pisn  "haste";  only  besides  Is.  52^^^ — 26^, 
Ex.  ii4  6»('*hard  bondage "  j  also  i  Kj.  12^  Is.  143).— 268,  Ex.  6«  ("out- 
stretched arm"). — 27^  29"  [Heb.^^-]^  g^.  6'  (Israel  to  become  a  people  to  Jehovah 
[expressed,  however,  by  different  verbs]);  cf.  Lev.  iG-"^  ("to  be  to  you  a 
God  "  occurs  elsewhere  in  P,  but  not  "  to  be  to  me  a  people  "  ;  cf.  the  writer's 
Deut.  p.  293). 

The  same  phenomena  are  repeated  in  Ezekiel.  However 
doubtful  it  may  be  whether  Ezekiel  presupposes  the  completed 
Priests'  Code,  it  is  difficult  not  to  conclude  that  he  presupposes 
parts  of  it.  In  particular,  his  book  appears  to  contain  clear 
evidence  that  he  was  acquainted  with  the  "Law  of  Holiness." 
Thus,  when  in  c.  4  he  resents  the  command  to  eat  food  prepared 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  l^  unclean;  when  in  c.  iS^o-^-  he  lays 


146  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

down  the  principles  of  a  righteous  life,  or  reproaches  the  nation 
or  Jerusalem  with  its  sin ;  when  in  c.  44  he  prescribes  laws 
regulating  the  life  of  the  priests  in  the  restored  community, — in 
each  instance  he  expresses  himself  in  terms  agreeing  with  the 
Law  of  Holiness  in  such  a  manner  as  only  to  be  reasonably 
explained  by  the  supposition  that  it  formed  a  body  of  precepts 
with  which  he  was  familiar,  and  which  he  regarded  as  an  [139] 
authoritative  basis  of  moral  and  religious  life.  Let  the  following 
passages  be  compared  :* — 

4"%  Lev.  11^^— 414b,  Lev.  228.— 6»,  cf.  Nu.  is^^  ("heart  and  eyes," 
"go  a  whoring").  — 14^-  '^*,  Lev.  i;^-  ^'  ^^  (see  p.  49,  No.  4). — 14^  (see  id.  Nos. 
5,  6  [with  mpD,  which  Ez.  does  not  use  in  this  sense,  altered  to  Tno])-  — 
ij^sb.ii.w  Lev.  I820-19.— i8'*-i2a.i6a.i8a^  Lg^.  \<)^  2^^^'°''^'^^.—ib.  Lev.  19" 
("spoil  by  violence").— 188*- 13%  Lev.  253'.— igs".  24.  26^  L^v.  19".  35  (Viy 
iniquity  :  cf.  Ez.  -f^  28^8  3313.  w.  is  .  j-are  elsewhere).— iS^*-  ",  Lev.  18' 263.— 
1 813b  035,  Lev.  20»-  "•  12. 13. 16.  a?!  (the  concise  phrase  of  Lev.  amplified  in  Ez. 
by  the  addition  of  .T.T).— 1819^  Lev.  18^  i(f^  al.— 20^  ("lifted  up  my  hand" 
[also  v.«- 15.  23.  28.  42  35?  4714^  ^y,  j^so  (p)]^  "made  myself  known,"  "I  am 
Jehovah"),  Ex.  68-3-6.— 20^  cf.  Lev.  1 83. —20"- 1^- 21,  Lev.  i85  ("which  if  a 
man  do,  he  shall  live  in  them  "). — 2oi2'  20^  Ex.  31^3  (nearly  the  whole  verse). — 

2028a.42b^    Ex.    68.— 2o38,   Ex.   6^  al.   (p.    I33,   No.    21)7.-227%    Lcv.    20».— 22» 

("profaned,"  ** my  sabbaths,"  p.  50,  Nos.  13,  14). — 22^*,  Lev.  19^^ — 22^*''"' 
(HDi;  ib.  No.  II).— 2210,  cf.  Lev.  i87- 19.— 22II,  Lev.  2oio- 12. ". _22i%  Lev. 
2537.-2228,  Lev.  2215*  loio.— 247b,  Lev.  17".— 3325,  Lev.  192*.— 447  ("my 
bread,"  see  p.  50,  No.  18). — 442%  cf.  Lev.  21I"  (long  locks  forbidden,  but  to 
the  chief  priest  only).— 4421*,  Lev.  10^-4422,  cf  Lev.  21^^  (of  the  chief 
priest).— 4423,  Lev.  1010.-4425*,  Lev.  21I.— 4425b,  Lev.  2i2b-3 (abridged  in  Ez.). 
—4428*,  Nu.  i82o  (**I  am  their  inheritance").— 44^^  Nu.  i8i%— 44^%  Nu. 
1521. — 4431,  Lev.  228. — 4510  Lev.  i936.f 

The  following  are  technical  expressions,  borrowed  (as  seems  clear)  from 
priestly  terminology,  but  not  sufficient  to  prove  Ez.'s  acquaintance  with 
tlie  codified  laws  in  the  form  in  which  we  now  have  them :  41^''  Vua 
'•abomination"  [or  "refuse  meat,"  used  technically  of  stale  sacrificial  flesh  J] 
(Lev.  7I8  197,  Is.  65^1). — 81*'  Yi>v;  "detestation"  [used  technically  of  forbidden 
animals  J]  (Lev.  721  i  iio-is.  20f.  23. 4if.^  Is^  66i7|).— 14?  "separateth  himself" 
(Lev.  222).— 1410  4410.12b  «<bear  their  iniquity"  (p.  50,  No.  20*),— 1413*,  Lev. 
5^5  (form  of  sentence  ;  and  ^yo  ^yo,  p.  134,  No.  43).— 16^  23^7  qj-,  fo^  to  stone 

*  The  passages,  both  here  and  in  other  similar  instances,  would  have  been 
transcribed  in  full,  had  not  the  exigencies  of  space  forbidden  it. 

t  But  expressions  such  as  i»  (cf.  Ex.  263)  i27b  (^f.  Nu.  91^)  i^sa  (Gen.  9") 
817  (Gen.  6")  lo'  (Lev.  1612)  2417  (Lev.  13^:  see  Mic.  37)  2423  (Ex.  12II), 
&c.  appear  to  arise  out  of  the  narrative  in  which  they  occur ^  and  are  not 
necessarily  reminiscences  of  the  passages  cited. 

X  Comp.  Clark's  Bible  Dictionary^  s.v.  ABOMINATION. 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        1 47 

(p.  134,  No.  45). — 21^  [Heb.^j  29^^  "  bringeth  iniquity  to  remembrance"  (Nu. 
5i5)._3625^  cf.  Nu.  1913.— 4o45-  46  44I4  "keep  the  charge  of"  (Nu.  iS^-  '5).— 46' 
''as  his  hand  shall  attain  unto  "  (Lev.  5"  142"-  30-32  2526-  47. 49  278,  Nu.  62i).— 
47^,  Gen.  i2i,  Lev.  Ii4«;  and  Nos.  2,  12,  14,  25^,  28,  and  perhaps  6,  22,  34, 
in  the  list,  p.  131  ff. 

[140]  The  parallels  with  Lev.  2  63^-  are  peculiarly  numerous 
and  striking,  including  several  expressions  not  occurring  else- 
where in  the  Old  Testament : — 

Ez.  4^6  5i«  14"  ('•  break  the  staff  of  bread  ") :  Lev.  2626. 
4^^  ("bread  by  weight ") :  ib. 

417  2423^  cf.  33^0  ("pine  away  in  their  iniquities") :  v. 3^. 
52. 12  12I4  (<<  scatter,"  "  draw  out  a  sword  after  them  ") :  v. 33. 
56  20^^  ("  rejected  my  judgments  ") :  v. 43. 
5^-  'a/,  [see  p.  49,  No.  7]  ("walk  in  my  statutes") :  v,3. 
^8  2o9- 14. 22.  41  22I6  2826,  cf.  3823  392^  ("  bcforc  the  eyes  of  the  nations  "  ; 

2oi4. 22  *«  brought  out ") :  v. 45. 
5I'  14I5  ("send  upon  you  .  .  .  beasts  .  .  .  and  they  will  bereave 

thee"):  v. 22. 
5"  63  11^  14"  29^  ("and  I  will  bring  a  sword  upon  you"):  vJ^. 

(Not  a  phrase  used  by  other  prophets.) 
54.  6  ("  your  sun-pillars") :  v."^, 

6^  ("lay  the  carcases  .  .  .  before  their  idol-blocks  [o'Vi^j] ") :  v.^. 
1 1 20a   ("vs'alk  in   my  statutes,   and   keep   my   ordinances,    and   do 

them"):  v.3. 
1310  353  (jy,3T  |y,  ^^hecause  and  by  the  cause  thaf^  ...  a  peculiar 

phrase,  not  found  elsewhere) :  v.  43. 
J 660. 62a  (''remember,"  " establish  my  covenant ") :  v.42«  4o.  9b, 
2421  306. 18  3328^  cf.  724  ("  pride  of  your  power  ") :  v.^^. 

3425  ("and  I  will  cause  evil  beasts  to  cease  out  of  the  land  ") :  v.*. 

3426  ("  the  heavy  rain  .  .  .  in  its  season  ") :  v. 4. 

3427*  ("and  the  tree  of  the  field  shall  yield  its  fruit,  and  the  earth 

shall  yield  her  increase  ") :  ib.  cf.  v. 20b. 
3427b  (<<  when  I  shall  have  broken  the  bars  of  their  yoke  ") :  v.^^ 
3428b  2926b  ("they  shall  dwell  securely,  none  making  them  afraid") : 

y  5b-6a 

359-iOa  ("and  I  will  turn  unto  you,  and  multiply,  «&c.) :  v.^ 
3726b  ("and  I  will  set  my  sanctuary  in  the  midst  of  them  ") :  v.". 
3727  ("they  shall  be  to  me  a  people,  and  I  will  be  to  them  a  God "), 

and  in  inverted  order,  v.33  ii20  14I1  3528 :  v.  12  (cf.  Ex.  67). 
3927  ("their  enemies'  lands ") :  v. 36-  39,  cf.  v. 84-  4i.  44, 
Cf.  5'- »  1 1^2  ("nations  that  are  round  about  you  ") :  2544. 

These  phraseological  resemblances  between  Ez.  and  H  (the 
number  of  which  is  not  exhausted  by  this  list  *)  are,  in  truth, 

*  See  Baentsch,  Das  Heiligkeits-Gesetz,  p.  121  ff.;  or  the  excellent  article 
of  L.  B,  Paton,  Presbyterian  anc^eformed  Review^  Jan.  1896,  p.  98  ff. 


148  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

evidence  of  a  wider  and  more  general  fact,  viz.  the  fundamental 
identity  of  interest  and  point  of  view  which  shows  itself  in  Ez. 
and  the  "  Law  of  Holiness."  Both  breathe  the  same  spirit ;  both 
are  actuated  largely  by  the  same  principles,  and  aim  at  realiz- 
ing the  same  ends.  Thus  both  evince  a  special  regard  for  the 
"sanctuary"  (Lev.  iq^o  20^  2112. 23  262,  Ez.  5"  8^  2^^^-  [141] 
253  43'^^-),  and  prescribe  rules  to  guard  it  against  profanation ; 
both  allude  similarly  to  Israel's  idolatry  in  Egypt  (Lev.  18^, 
Ez.  2o''^-),  and  to  the  "  abominations  "  of  which  Israel  has  since 
been  guilty ;  both  emphasize  the  duty  of  observing  the  Sabbath ; 
both  attach  a  high  value  to  ceremonial  cleanness,  especially  on 
the  part  of  the  priests ;  both  lay  stress  on  abstaining  from  blood, 
and  from  food  improperly  killed  (riDltJI  nijDi) ;  and  both  further 
insist  on  the  same  moral  virtues,  as  reverence  to  parents,  just 
judgment,  commercial  honesty,  and  denounce  usury  and  slander 
(Ez.  i86ff.  2  27ff.,  with  the  parallels).* 

The  similarities  between  Ez.  and  the  Law  of  Holiness, 
especially  Lev.  26'^^-,  are  so  great  that  it  has  been  held  by  some 
critics  that  the  prophet  himself  was  the  author,  or,  at  least 
(Horst),  the  redactor  of  this  collection  of  laws.f  But  there  are 
differences^  as  well  as  resemblances,  between  Ez.  and  H,  of  which 
this  hypothesis  gives  no  sufficient  explanation;  and  from  the 
time  when  it  was  first  propounded  there  have  always  been  critics 
who  opposed  it.|  Noldeke  pointed  to  stylistic  differences  ;§ 
Klostermann,  comparing  in  greater  detail  Ez.  and  H,  showed 
further  that  the  prophet  seemed  everywhere  to  be  expanding  or 
emphasizing  a  simpler  original ;||  Wellh.  and  Kuenen  appealed 
to  material  differences  as  likewise  precluding  the  authorship  of 
Ez.     It  is  thus  agreed  by  the  best  critics  that  Ez.  is  not  the 

*  Comp.  Smend,  Ezechiel,  p.  xxv  f. 

t  Graf,  Gesch.  B.  pp.  81-83  J  Colenso ;  Kayser  ;  Horst,  pp.  69-96. 

X  Noldeke,  Untersuchungen,  p.  6^]  ff.  ;  Wellh.  Hist.  376-384  ;  Kloster- 
mann, Der  Pent.  p.  368  ff.;  Smend,  Ezechiel,  pp.  xxvii,  314  f.;  Delitzsch, 
Studien,  p.  617  ff.;  Kuenen,  Hex.  §  15.  10. 

§  Thus  in  H  we  never  find  Ez.  's  standing  title  *  *  Lord  Jehovah  "  :  in  Ez. 
we  never  find  n^oy,  and  only  once  VDy  (p.  49,  No.  11  ;  p.  133,  No.  25). 

II  Ez.  never  uses  the  phrase  **  I  am  Jehovah"  alone:  he  always  says, 
•'  And  ye  (thou,  they)  shall  know  that  I  am  J.,"  sometimes  adding  besides  a 
further  clause  introduced  by  "  when  .  .  .  "  ;  or  he  attaches  some  epithet,  or 
predicate,  "I  am  Jehovah  your  God,"  or  "  I  Jehovah  have  spoken."  See 
further  Paton,  pp.  102-106. 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        1 49 

author,  or  even  the  compiler,  of  the  Law  of  Holiness.  It  may 
further  be  taken  as  granted  that  the  laws  of  H — at  least  the 
principal  and  most  characteristic  laws — are  prior  to  Ez.  :  the 
manner  in  which  he  takes  as  his  standard,  or  point  of  departure, 
laws  identical  with  those  of  H,  is  admitted  to  establish  this 
point* 

[142]  The  age  of  the  writer  who  fitted  these  laws  into  their 
parenetic  framework  is,  however,  disputed.  The  principal  clue 
appears  to  be  afforded  by  the  closing  exhortation,  263^-.  This,  it 
seems  clear,  must  have  been  written  at  a  time  when  Israel  had 
already  worshipped  at  "high  places,"  and  erected  sun-pillars 
(v.2<^) ;  but  beyond  this  it  is  thought  by  many  to  presuppose  the 
exile.  Especially,  it  is  argued,  the  hopes  of  national  penitence 
and  the  promise  of  restoration  (v.^^^"*^)  are  unsuitable  in  a  dis- 
course designed  to  move  the  nation  to  obedience  by  exhibiting 
vividly  (v.^^-^^)  the  penal  consequences  of  transgression  of  the 
law,  whereas  they  spring  naturally  from  an  age  in  which  the 
penalties  of  transgression  have  been  actually  incurred  (Dillm. 
NDJ.  p.  645  f.;  Baentsch,  p.  126  f.).  Wellh.  {Hist,  p.  383  f.), 
Kuenen  (§  15.  9),  Smend  (p.  xxvif.),  and  others  assign  accord- 

*  Kuenen  i^Hex.  §  15.  10,  5)  allowed  this  for  the  laws  of  Lev.  18-20  ; 
Baentsch  (pp.  81-91),  after  a  careful  comparison,  affirms  it,  very  decidedly, 
for  their  parenetic  setting  as  well,  and  for  the  nucleus  (above,  pp.  56  n.,  57  n.) 
of  c.  23-25.  As  regards  the  ceremonial  legislation  of  Lev.  21-22,  Ez.  is  in 
most  respects  clearly  in  advance  of  H,  but  in  one  or  two,  especially  in  the 
distinctive  position  assigned  (21^'*"^'')  to  the  high  priest,  H  is  in  advance  of 
Ez.  ;  the  legislation  of  Ez.,  namely,  recognizes  no  high  priest,  the  domestic 
restrictions  imposed  upon  the  priests  in  general  (44^°*  ^^*  ^^)  being  greater  than 
those  imposed  by  H  upon  the  ordinary  priests  (Lev.  21^"^),  but  less  than  those 
imposed  by  it  upon  the  high  priest  ("the  priest  that  is  greater  than  his 
brethren,"  2i"-i^).  Baentsch  (pp.  108-115)  attaches  such  weight  to  this 
difference  that  he  separates  Lev.  21-22  from  Lev.  18-20,  and  places  the 
compilation  of  the  former  after  Ez. ,  allowing  indeed  that  elsewhere  in  this 
section  the  compiler  (R^)  followed  older  laws,  but  thinking  that  21^""^^  was 
formulated  by  himself  for  the  first  time.  However,  the  principal  priest 
appears  in  the  later  parts  of  Kings  (2  Ki.  24^-  ^  23^  ;  25^^)  with  a  distinctive 
title,  and  may  have  held  therefore  a  distinctive  position,  such  as  might  have 
been  marked  by  the  additional  restrictions  of  Lev.  21^**"^'.  And  Ez.'s  ideal 
constitution  (c.  40-48),  though  based  upon  existing  institutions,  is  not  an 
exact  copy  of  them  ;  his  "prince  "  is  more  than  a  mere  secular  head  of  the 
community  ;  he  is  in  certain  particulars  its  theocratic  head  as  well ;  and  by 
his  side  Ez.  may  have  deemed  a  *  *  high  "  priest  (in  the  sense  of  H)  no  longer 
necessary  (cf.  Paton,  p.  107).        • 


I50  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

ingly  26^^-,  and,  with  it,  the  compilation  of  H  as  a  whole,  to  the 
exile. "^  Klost.  and  Del.,  on  the  contrary,  place  it  prior  to  the 
exile,  the  former,  in  particular,  arguing  at  some  length  that  the 
resemblances  between  Ez.  and  Lev.  26^^-  are  of  a  character  that 
shows  Ez.  to  be  dependent  on  Lev.  26^^-,  rather  than  the  author 
of  Lev.  26^^-  on  Ezekiel.f  On  the  whole,  while  fully  admitting 
the  great  difficulty  of  determining  questions  of  priority  by  the  mere 
comparison  [143]  of  parallel  passages,  theviewthat  gives  the  priority 
to  26^^-  seems  to  the  present  writer  to  be  the  more  probable.  | 
Nor  is  this  inference  modified  by  the  considerations  referred  to 
above.  On  the  one  hand,  the  certainty  of  approaching  exile 
(which  was  unquestionably  realized  by  the  prophets  of  Jeremiah's 
age)  would,  not  less  than  the  actual  exile,  form  a  sufficient  basis 
on  which  to  found  the  promise  of  v.*^*^^;   on  the  other  hand, 

*  Dillm.  does  not  question  the  pre-exilic  origin  of  26^^'  as  a  whole  ;  but 
points  {EL.  620  ;  NDJ.  647)  to  the  loose  connexion  with  the  context,  and 
the  unusual  heaviness  of  the  style,  in  v.**-^^-  ^^'  ^'^■^^,  as  indicating  that  the 
parts  which  have  been  thought  to  suggest  most  strongly  an  exilic  date  did  not 
belong  to  the  original  discourse,  but  were  added  to  it  subsequently.  The 
verses  in  question  present,  however,  indications  of  being  by  the  same  hand  as 
the  rest  of  the  discourse  (Kuen.  I.e.).  Baentsch  (though  he  treats  the  whole 
of  26^*'  as  exilic)  agrees  (p.  66  ff.)  with  Dillm.,  so  far  as  regards  the  secondary 
origin  of  v.^^-^s-  39-43. 

t  It  is  Ez.'s  custom  to  combine  reminiscences  from  his  predecessors  (Dt., 
or  other  prophets)  with  expressions  peculiar  to  himself ;  and  Klost.  seeks  to 
show  that  he  deals  similarly  with  Lev.  263^*.  Thus  he  argues  that  in  4^'^ 
* '  pine  away  in  their  iniquity  "  is  a  reminiscence  from  Lev.  26^^*,  to  which 
Ez.  has  prefixed  his  own  expression  (cf.  30"^)  "be  astonied  one  with  another" 
(comp.  34'*'*  with  Lev.  25^3.  46.  53  [-u  ^j^h  force  »  added]).  Whether  all  Klost. 's 
arguments  are  cogent  may  be  doubted  ;  nevertheless  there  seem  to  the  writer 
to  be  considerations  which  support  the  view  taken  in  the  text.  Lev. 
263^-  is  in  style  terse  and  forcible  ;  Ez.  is  diffuse  :  Lev.  also  appears  to  have 
the  advantage  in  originality  of  expression  (contrast  e.g.  *'  the  pride  of  your 
power  "  in  Lev.  26^^  and  in  Ez.  72^  (LXX)  24^1  306-  is  3328)^  ^nd  in  the  con- 
nexion of  thought  (contrast  Lev.  26'*" "•  ^3  with  Ez.  zK^^'"^).  The  opposite 
view,  which  is  also  that  of  Smend  (pp.  xxvif.,  315),  Wellh.  (p.  384),  Cornill 
(§  I3«  9)>  3.nd  others,  is  maintained  strongly  by  Baentsch  (p.  124 f.),  who 
urges  the  improbability  that  an  author  of  the  originality  and  scope  of  Ez. 
would  have  adopted  so  largely  the  thoughts  and  phraseology  of  a  single 
chapter.  In  expression,  however  (Nold.  I.e.  p.  68),  Ez.  is  far  from  original ; 
and  if,  as  Baentsch  himself  allows  (p.  84  ff. ),  he  is  dependent  largely  upon 
Lev.  18-20,  and  moves  in  the  same  circle  of  ideas,  the  presumption  is  con- 
siderably lessened  that  he  should  not  be  dependent  also  upon  another  section 
of  the  same  legislative  eorpiis. 

X  See  further,  in  support  of  the  same  view,  Paton,  p.  109  ff. 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        151 

hardly  any  subsequent  promise,  least  of  all  one  so  indefinite  in 
its  terms  as  that  of  v.^^^^^,  could  neutralize  the  deterrent  effect  of 
such  a  denunciation  of  disaster  and  exile  as  that  contained  in 
v;i4-s9^  But  the  parenetic  framework  of  H,  while  it  may  thus  be 
earlier  than  Ez.,  will  hardly  be  much  earlier ;  for  though  isolated 
passages  in  Lev.  26  resemble,  for  instance,  passages  of  Amos  or 
Micah,*  the  tone  of  the  whole  is  unlike  that  of  any  earlier 
prophet ;  on  the  other  hand,  its  tone  is  akin  to  that  of  Jeremiah, 
and  still  more  (even  apart  from  the  phrases  common  to  both)  to 
that  of  Ezekiel.  The  language  and  style  are  compatible  with  the 
same  age,  even  if  they  do  not  actually  favour  it.f  The  laws  of 
H  date  in  the  main  from  a  considerably  earlier  time;  but  it 
seems  that  they  were  arranged  in  their  preserjt  parenetic  frame- 
work, by  an  author  who  was  at  once  a  priest  and  a  prophet, 
probably  towards  the  closing  years  of  the  monarchy.  And  if  H 
formed  still,  in  Ez.'s  day,  a  separate  body  of  law,  which  was  not 
combined  with  the  rest  of  the  Priests'  Code  till  subsequently, 
the  prophet's  special  familiarity  with  it  would  be  at  once  naturally 
explained. 

While  the  majority  of  the  parallels  in  Ez.  are  with  the 
excerpts  of  the  Law  of  Holiness  embedded  in  Lev.  17-26,  it 
will  be  observed  that  there  are  others,  sometimes  remarkable 
ones,  with  certain  other  passages  of  the  Pent.,  especially  with 
Ex.  6*5-8  1212-13  3ii3-i4a^  Lev.  io9*- 10-11  ii44,  Nu.  i5^7-«  several  of 
which  have  been  already  referred,  on  independent  grounds  (p.  59), 
to  H.  The  evidence  of  Ez.  thus  confirms  the  conclusion  stated 
above,  that  a  considerable  body  of  priestly  Toroth  existed,  per- 
meated by  the  same  dominant  principles,  and  embracing,  not 
only  the  continuous  extracts  preserved  in  Lev.  17-26,  but  also 
fragments — perhaps  not  confined  to  those  just  cited — embedded 
in  other  parts  of  the  Pentateuch.  And  if  Ex.  6^-^  be  rightly 
assigned  to  this  collection  of  laws,  it  may  be  conjectured  that  it 
was  prefaced  by  a  short  historical  introduction,  setting  forth  its 
origin  and  scope.  And  several  at  least  of  [144]  these  Toroth 
seem  clearly  to  be  older  than  Dt.  Not  only  do  some  of  the 
passages  just  quoted  appear  to  be  presupposed  by  Dt.  (p.  145), 
but  the  instances  in  which  the  laws  of  D  are  parallel  to  those  of 

*  As  v.5a,  Am.  913a  ;  v.i6b.  26b^  ^Ic.  61^- 1'^.     Riehm's  argument  {EinL 
i.  p.  202)  is  far  from  conclusive, 
t  Comp.  Dillm.  EL.  p.  619.    • 


152  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

H  (see  the  table,  p.  73  ff.)  are  most  reasonably  explained  by  the 
supposition  that  both  D  and  the  compiler  of  H  drew  from  the 
same  more  ancient  source,  the  language  of  which  has  been, 
perhaps,  least  changed  in  H,  while  D  has  allowed  himself  greater 
freedom  of  adaptation.* 

The  argument  of  the  preceding  pages  meets  by  anticipation — for  it  was 
completed  before  the  writer  had  seen  either — objections  such  as  those  urged 
in  the  British  Quarterly  Rev.  vol.  79  {1884),  p.  115  fF.,  or  by  Principal  Cave, 
The  Inspiration  of  the  OT.  p.  263  fF.,  and  places,  it  is  believed,  the  relation 
of  the  Priests'  Code  to  the  pre-exilic  literature  in  a  just  light.  An  unbiassed 
comparison  of  P  with  this  literature  shows,  namely,  that  there  are  elements 
of  truth  both  in  Dillm.'s  view  of  the  origin  of  P,  and  in  Wellh.'s.  The 
passages  appealed  to  in  proof  of  the  existence  of  the  completed  Priests'  Code 
under  the  earlier  kings  lack  the  necessary  cogency,  on  account  of  the  general 
contradiction  which  the  pre-exilic  literature  opposes  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
system  of  P  was  then  in  operation,  and  because  the  hypothesis  that  P  had  a 
**  latent  "  existence,  as  an  unrealizable  priestly  ideal  (p.  142),  does  not  seem  a 
probable  one.  On  the  other  hand,  as  said  above,  these  passages  are  good 
evidence  that  the  principal  institutions  of  P  are  not  a  creation  of  the  exilic 
period,  but  that  they  existed  in  Israel  in  a  more  rudimentary  form  from  a 
remote  period.  It  is  not  so  much  the  institutions  in  themselves  as  the  system 
with  which  they  are  associated,  and  the  principles  of  which  in  P  they  are 
made  more  distinctly  the  expression,  which  bear  the  marks  of  a  more  advanced 
stage  of  ceremonial  observance. 

The  consideration  of  the  probable  age  of  the  several  institu- 
tions of  P  is  an  archaeological  rather  than  a  literary  question, 
and  hence  does  not  fall  properly  within  the  scope  of  the  present 
volume.  A  few  general  remarks  may,  however,  be  permitted. 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  Moses  was  the  ultimate  founder  of 
both  the  national  and  the  religious  life  of  Israel ;  f  and  that  he 
provided  his  people  not  only  with  at  least  the  nucleus  of  a  system 
of  civil  ordinances  (such  as  would,  in  fact,  arise  directly  out  of 
his  judicial  functions,  as  described  in  Ex.  18),  but  also  (as  the 
necessary  correlative  of  the  primary  truth  that  Jehovah  was  the 
God  of  Israel)  with  some  system  of  ceremonial  observances,  [145] 
designed  as  the  expression  and  concomitant  of  the  religious  and 
ethical  duties  involved  in  the  people's  relation  to  its  national 
God.     It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  teaching  of  Moses  on 

*  It  is  remarkable  that,  while  clauses  from  JE  are  often  excerpted  in  Dt. 
verbatim,  in  the  parallels  with  H  the  language  is  hardly  ever  identical. 

t  Comp.  Wellh.  Hist.  pp.  432,  434,  438  f.,  endorsed  by  Kuenen,  Th.  T. 
1883,  p.  199. 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        I  53 

these  subjects  is  preserved,  in  its  least  modified  form,  in  the 
Decalogue  and  the  "  Book  of  the  Covenant "  (Ex.  20-23).  I^ 
by  no  means,  however,  follows  from  the  view  treated  above 
as  probable  that  the  Mosaic  legislation  was  limited  to  the  sub- 
jects dealt  with  in  Ex.  20-23  '-  amongst  the  enactments  peculiar 
to  Dt. — which  tradition,  as  it  seems,  ascribed  to  a  later  period  of 
the  legislator's  life — there  are  many  which  likewise  may  well  have 
formed  part  of  it.  It  is  further  in  analogy  with  ancient  custom 
to  suppose  that  some  form  oi  priesthood  would  be  established  by 
Moses ;  that  this  priesthood  would  be  hereditary ;  and  that  the 
priesthood  would  also  inherit  from  their  founder  some  tradi- 
tionary lore  (beyond  what  is  contained  in  Ex.  20-23)  on  matters 
of  ceremonial  observance.  And  accordingly  we  find  that  JE 
both  mentions  repeatedly  an  Ark  and  "Tent  of  Meeting"  as 
existing  in  the  Mosaic  age  (Ex.  33^-^S  Nu.  ii^^ff- 124^-,  Dt.  31"^-), 
and  assigns  to  Aaron  a  prominent  and,  indeed,  an  official  position 
(Ex.  4*  "Aaron //^^  Levite" ;  i8i2;  241-9);  further,  that  in  Dt. 
(10^^)  a  hereditary  priesthood  descended  from  him  is  expressly 
recognized ;  and  also  that  there  are  early  allusions  to  the  "  tribe 
of  Levi "  as  enjoying  priestly  privileges  and  exercising  priestly 
functions  (Dt.  331*^,  Mic.  3^1 ;  cf.  Jud.  17^^).*  The  principles  by 
which  the  priesthood  was  to  be  guided  were  laid  down,  it  may 
be  supposed,  in  outline  by  Moses.  In  process  of  time,  however, 
as  national  life  grew  more  complex,  and  fresh  cases  requiring  to 
be  dealt  with  arose,  these  principles  would  be  found  no  longer 
to  suffice,  and  their  extension  would  become  a  necessity. 
Especially  in  matters  of  ceremonial  observance,  which  would 
remain  naturally  within  the  control  of  the  priests,  regulations 
such  as  those  enjoined  in  Ex.  20^^-26  2229-31  22,^^'^^  would  not 
long  continue  in  the  same  [146]  rudimentary  state ;  fresh  defi- 
nitions and  distinctions  would  be  introduced,  more  precise  rules 
would  be  prescribed  for  the  method  of  sacrifice,  the  ritual  to  be 
observed  by  the  priests,  the  dues  which  they  were  authorized 

*  These  functions  consisted  largely  in  pronouncing  Tdrah^  i.e.  pointing 
out  (mm)  what  was  to  be  done  in  some  special  case ;  giving  direction  in  cases 
submitted  to  them — declaring,  e.g.,  whether  or  not  a  man  was  "unclean," 
whether  or  not  he  had  the  leprosy,  &c.  ;  and  also  imparting  authoritative 
moral  instruction.  See  a  good  note  on  the  term  in  Kuen.  Hex.  §  10.  4 ; 
comp.  also  the  writer's  Commentary  on  Joel  and  Amos,  in  the  Cambridge 
Bible  for  Schools,  p.  230  f.  In  civil  matters,  it  is  the  function  which  Moses 
himself  is  represented  as  dischargii^  in  Ex.  18  (above,  p.  31). 


154  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

to  receive  from  the  people,  and  other  similar  matters.  After  the 
priesthood  had  acquired,  through  the  foundation  of  Solomon's 
Temple,  a  permanent  centre,  it  is  probable  that  the  process  of 
development  and  systematization  advanced  more  rapidly  than 
before.  And  thus  the  allusions  in  Dt.  imply  the  existence  of 
usages  beyond  those  which  fall  directly  within  the  scope  of  the 
book,  and  belonging  specially  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  priests 
{e.g.  17I1  24^):  Ezekiel,  being  a  priest  himself,  alludes  to  such 
usages  more  distinctly.  Although,  therefore,  there  are  reasons 
for  supposing  that  the  Priests'  Code  assumed  finally  the  shape 
in  which  we  have  it  in  the  age  subsequent  to  Ez.,  it  rests  ulti- 
mately upon  an  ancient  traditional  basis;*  and  many  of  the 
institutions  prominent  in  it  are  recognized,  in  various  stages  of 
their  growth,  by  the  earlier  pre-exilic  literature,  by  Dt.,  and  by 
Ezekiel.  The  laws  of  P,  even  when  they  included  later  elements, 
were  still  referred  to  Moses, — no  doubt  because  in  its  basis 
and  origin  Hebrew  legislation  was  actually  derived  from  him, 
and  was  only  modified  gradually.! 

The  institution  which  was  among  the  last  to  reach  a  settled 
state,  appears  to  have  been  the  priesthood.  Till  the  age  of  Dt., 
the  right  of  exercising  priestly  offices  must  have  been  enjoyed  by 
every  member  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  (p.  83,  n.  2) ;  but  this  right 
on  the  part  of  the  tribe  generally  is  evidently  not  incompatible 
with  the  pre-eminence  of  a  particular  family  (that  of  Aaron :  cf. 
Dt.  10^),  which,  in  the  line  of  Zadok,  held  the  chief  rank  at  the 
Central  Sanctuary.  After  the  abolition  of  the  high  places  by 
Josiah,  however,  the  central  priesthood  refused  to  acknowledge 
the  right  which  (according  to  the  law  of  Dt.)  the  Levitical  priests 
of  the  high  places  must  have  possessed.  |     The  action  of  the 

*  And  indeed  (like  Dt. )  includes  some  elements  evidently  archaic. 

t  A  similar  view  of  the  gradual  expansion  of  the  legislation  of  P  from  a 
Mosaic  nucleus  is  expressed  by  Delitzsch,  Genesis^  p.  26  f.  Indeed,  it  is  a 
question  whether  even  in  form  P  is  throughout  perfectly  homogeneous.  There 
are  other  parts  as  well  as  those  including  the  Law  of  Holiness,  which,  when 
examined  closely,  seem  to  consist  of  strata^  exhibiting  side  by  side  the 
usage  of  different  periods.  The  stereotyped  terminology  may  (to  a  certain 
extent)  be  the  characteristic,  not  of  an  individual,  but  of  the  priestly  style 
generally. 

X  See  2  Ki.  23^,  where  it  is  said  of  the  disestablished  Levitical  priests  that 
they  "came  not  up  to  the  altar  of  Jehovah  in  Jerusalem,  but  they  did  eat 
unleavened  cakes  among  their  brethren,"  i.e.  they  were  not  deprived  of  the 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        1 55 

central  priesthood  [147]  was  endorsed  by  Ezekiel  (44^^-) :  the 
priesthood,  he  declared,  was  for  the  future  to  be  confined  to  the 
descendants  of  Zadok ;  the  priests  of  the  high  places  (or  their 
descendants)  were  condemned  by  him  to  discharge  subordinate 
offices,  as  menials  in  attendance  upon  the  worshippers.  As  it 
proved,  however,  the  event  did  not  altogether  accord  with  Ez.'s 
declaration  ;  the  descendants  of  Ithamar  succeeded  in  maintain- 
ing their  right  to  officiate  as  priests,  by  the  side  of  the  sons  of 
Zadok  (i  Ch.  24*  &c.).  But  the  action  of  the  central  priesthood 
under  Josiah,  and  the  sanction  given  to  it  by  Ezekiel,  combined, 
if  not  to  create,  yet  to  sharpen  and  accentuate  *  the  distinction 
of  "  priests  "  and  "  Levites."  It  is  possible  that  those  parts  of  P 
which  emphasize  this  distinction  (Nu.  1-4,  &c.)  are  of  later 
origin  than  the  rest,  and  date  from  a  time  when— probably  after 
a  struggle  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  disestablished  Levitical 
priests — it  was  generally  accepted. 

The  language  of  P  f  is  not  opposed  to  the  date  here  assigned 

maintenance  due  to  them  as  priests  by  the  law  of  Dt.  18^,  but  they  were  not 
admitted  to  the  exercise  of  priestly  functions. 

*  For  it  is  difficult  not  to  think  that  among  the  families  permanently  con- 
nected with  the  Temple,  which  belonged,  or  were  reputed  to  belong,  to  the 
priestly  tribe,  there  must  have  been  some  whose  members  failed  to  maintain 
the  right  which  they  technically  possessed,  and  were  obliged  to  be  content 
with  a  menial  position  ;  so  that  this  exclusion  of  the  priests  of  the  high  places 
from  the  priesthood  probably  only  emphasized  a  distinction  which  already  de 
facto  existed,  and  which  is  recognised  explicitly  in  B.C.  536  (Neh.  "j"^- ^^  k-c). 

t  See  V.  Ryssel,  De  Elohistae  Pentateuchi  Sermone  (1878);  F.  Giese- 
brecht,  Der  Sprachgebrauch  des  hexateuchischen  Elohisten  in  the  ZATW. 
1 88 1,  177-276,  with  the  critique  of  the  latter  by  the  present  writer  in  the 
Jotirnal  of  Philology ^  xi.  201-236  (cf.  the  synopsis  in  Holzinger,  pp.  457-465) ; 
Kuenen,  Hex.  §  15.  11.  The  present  position  of  the  writer  is  not  inconsistent 
with  that  adopted  as  the  basis  of  his  critique  in  1882.  The  aim  of  that 
article  was  not  to  discuss  the  general  question  of  the  date  of  P,  or  even  to 
show  that  the  language  of  P  was  incompatible  with  a  date  in  or  near  the 
exile  (see  p.  204) ;  its  aim  was  avowedly  limited  to  an  examination  of  par- 
ticular data  which  had  been  alleged,  and  an  inquiry  whether  they  had  been 
interpreted  correctly  {ib.).  In  the  philology  of  the  article  the  writer  has 
nothing  of  consequence  to  modify  or  correct.  In  his  etymology  of  men, 
p.  205,  he  was  led  into  error  through  following  Ges.  too  implicitly  (see 
Dillm.  ad  loc. ) ;  and  the  discussion  of  T^m,  p.  209,  is  incomplete  (see  Konig, 
Offenb.  des  A  T.s,  ii.  324  f ).  The  writer  is  also  now  of  opinion  that,  although 
in  particular  cases  P's  use  of  ':n  might  be  explained  consistently  with  an  early 
date,  yet  his  all  but  uniform  preference  for  it  above  '33N,  taken  in  conjunction 
with  his  resemblance  in  this  respect  to  Ez.  (p.  134,  No.  45),  and  other  later 


156  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

[148]  to  it.  To  be  sure,  Giesebrecht,  in  his  endeavour  to  demon- 
strate the  lateness  of  P,  overshoots  the  mark,  and  detects  many 
Aramaisms  and  other  signs  of  lateness  in  P  which  do  not  exist; 
indeed,  in  some  cases  the  words  alleged  by  him  form  part  of 
the  older  laws  which  P  embodies.  But  it  is  true  (as  is  admitted 
in  the  Journal  of  Philology^  p.  232)  that  there  is  a  residuum  of 
words  which  possess  this  character,  and  show  affinities  with 
writings  of  the  age  of  Ez.  That  these  are  less  numerous  than 
might  perhaps  be  expected,  may  be  explained  partly  by  the  fact 
that  P's  phraseology  is  largely  traditional,  partly  by  the  fact  that 
the  real  change  in  Hebrew  style  does  not  begin  till  a  later  age 
altogether;  many  parts  of  Ez.  {e.g.  c.  20),  and  even  Haggai  and 
Zechariah,  do  not  show  more  substantial  signs  of  lateness  than 
P.  The  change  is  beginning  (c.  450)  in  the  memoirs  of  Nehemiah 
and  in  Malachi;  but  Aramaisms  and  other  marks  of  lateness 
(esp.  in  syntax)  are  abundant  only  in  works  written  after  this 
date — Esther,  Chr.,  Eccl.,  &c.  The  phraseology  of  P,  it  is 
natural  to  suppose,  is  one  which  had  gradually  formed ;  hence 
it  contains  elements  which  are  no  doubt  ancient  side  by  side 

writers  (as  Lam.,  Zech.  1-8,  Hag.,  Est.,  Eccl.,  Dan.,  Ezr.,  Neh.,  Chr.,  in 
all  of  which  *33K  occurs  only  Neh.  i^,  Dan.  lo^^,  and  i  Chr.  17^  [from  2  Sam. 
7^],  against  some  120  occurrences  of  'JK),  constitutes  a  presumption,  difficult 
to  neutralize,  that  he  wrote  in  the  later  period  of  the  language  (cf.  Konig, 
SUid.  u.  Krit.  1893,  pp.  464-8,  478,  Einl.  pp.  168,  227,  229,  Expositor,  Aug. 
1896,  p.  97).  At  the  same  time  he  does  not  doubt  that  there  is  a  larger 
traditional  element  in  the  phraseology  of  P  than  Giesebrecht's  argument 
appears  to  allow  for. 

There  are  also  other  features,  in  which  it  is  remarkable  that  the  usage  of 
P  agrees  with  that  of  the  later  parts  of  the  OT.    Two  may  be  noticed  here  : — ■ 

1.  The  months  not  distinguished  by  names,  but  numbered.  Gen.  7^^  8^-  ^-  ^^ 
Ex.  1 61  4o2-  "  &c.  (uniformly),  as  i  Ki.  1 232-33  (compiler),  2  Ki.  251-  s-  25.  27^ 
and  regularly  in  Jer.,  Ez.,  Hag.,  Chr.  In  the  earlier  literature  the  months  are 
named,  Ex.  131*  231^  34I8,  Dt.  16^  (Abib) ;  i  Ki.  6i-  37  (Ziv),  v. 38  (Bui),  8^ 
(Ethanim), — the  last  three  being  explained  by  the  terms  current  in  the  com- 
piler's own  day,  viz.  the  "second,"  "eighth,"  and  "seventh"  months  re- 
spectively. (These  are  the  old  Phoenician  names,  Bui  and  Ethanim  being 
found  on  Phoenician  inscriptions:  Nisan  (ist),  Sivan  (3rd),  Elul  (6th), 
Kislev  (9th),  Tebeth  (loth),  Shebat  (nth),  Adar  (12th),  found  in  Zech.  i' 
7*,  Neh.  I^  2^  6^",  Ezr.  6^'^,  and  in  Esther,  are  of  Babylonian  origin.) 

2.  Eleven  expressed  by  nsyy  'ne'y,  Ex.  26'- ^  (  =  36^^- 1^),  Nu.  f^  29^0,  Dt. 
i3  (P),  as  in  2  Ki.  252  (=Jer.  52^),  Jer.  i3  392,  Ez.  26^  3321  (LXX)  4o4», 
Zech.  i',  I  Ch.  12^3  2412  25I8  27141 .  not  by  ne'y  nnw,  as  Gen.  3223  378,  Dt.  i2, 
I  Ki.  633  al. 


PRIESTLY  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        I  57 

with  those  which  were  introduced  later.  The  priests  of  each 
successive  generation  would  adopt,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the 
technical  formulae,  and  other  stereotyped  expressions,  which  they 
learnt  from  their  seniors,  new  terms,  when  they  were  introduced, 
being  accommodated  to  the  old  moulds.  Hence,  no  doubt,  the 
similarity  of  Ez.'s  style  to  P,  even  where  a  definite  law  is  not 
quoted  by  him :  although,  from  the  greater  variety  of  subjects 
which  he  deals  with  as  a  prophet,  the  vocabulary  of  P  is  not 
sufficient  for  him,  he  still  frequently  uses  expressions  belonging 
to  the  priestly  terminology,  with  which  he  was  familiar.* 

After  the  illustrations  which  have  been  given  above  (p.  8,  &c.)  of  the 
grounds  upon  which  the  analysis  of  Exodus  and  the  following  books  depends, 
the  inadequacies  of  the  "Journal  theory"  of  the  Pentateuch,  advocated  by 
[149]  Principal  Cave  in  the  work  cited  on  p.  152,  will  be  manifest.  This  theory 
fails,  in  a  word,  to  account  for  the  phaenomena  which  the  Pent,  presents. 
Thus  (l)  it  offers  no  explanation  of  the  phraseological  variations  which  Ex. 
&c.  display:  these  (as  the  list,  p.  131  ff.,  will  have  shown)  are  quite  as 
marked  as  those  in  Genesis,  which  nevertheless  Principal  Cave  accepts 
(p.  171  ff.)  as  proof  of  its  composite  origin.  If  these  variations  were  so 
distributed  as  to  distinguish  consistently  the  laws  on  the  one  hand  from 
the  narratives  on  the  other,  the  theory  might  possess  some  plausibility ;  the 
laws,  for  instance,  might  be  supposed  to  have  required  naturally  a  different 
style  from  the  narrative,  or  Moses  might  have  compiled  the  one  and  an 
amanuensis  the  other :  but,  as  a  fact,  the  variations  are  not  so  distributed ; 
not  only  do  the  different  groups  of  laws  show  differences  of  terminology,  but 
the  narratives  themselves  present  the  same  variations  of  phraseology  as  in 
Genesis^  some  parts  having  numerous  features  in  common  with  the  sections 
assigned  to  "P"  in  that  book,  and  with  the  laws  contained  in  Ex.  25,  &c., 
and  other  parts  being  marked  by  an  entire  absence  of  those  features.!  The 
Journal  theory  cannot  account  for  these  variations  in  the  narrative  sections  of 
Ex.-Dt.  (2)  The  Journal  theory  is  unable  to  account  for  the  many  and 
cogent  indications  which  the  different  codes  in  the  Pent,  contain,  that  they 
took  shape  at  different  periods  of  the  history,  or  to  solve  the  very  great 
difficulties  which  both  the  historical  (esp.  c.  1-3,  9-10)  and  legal  parts  of  Dt. 
present,  if  they  are  regarded  as  the  work  of  the  same  contemporary  writer  as 

*  The  incorrectnesses  which  appear  from  time  to  time  in  Ez.  are  due  prob- 
ably, partly  to  the  fact  that,  as  a  prophet  mingling  with  the  people,  he  was 
exposed  to  influences  from  which  the  priests  generally  were  free,  partly  to 
errors  originating  in  the  transmission  of  his  text. 

t  See  further  the  Contemp.  Review ^  Feb.  1892,  p.  262  ff.,  where  the 
writer  has  shown  by  a  series  of  excerpted  passages,  that  whatever  grounds  exist 
for  holding  Genesis  to  be  of  composite  authorship,  the  same  (or  precisely 
similar)  grounds  exist  for  holding  the  rest  of  the  Hexateuch  to  be  of  composite 
authorship  likewise.  • 


158  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Ex.-Nu.  (3)  The  Journal  theory  takes  a  false  view  of  the  Book  of  Joshua, 
which  is  not  severed  from  the  following  books,  and  connected  with  the' 
Pentateuch,  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying  the  exigencies  of  a  theory,  but 
because  this  view  of  the  book  is  required  by  the  facts — a  simple  comparison 
of  it  with  the  Pent,  showing  viz.  that  it  is  really  homogeneous  with  it,  and 
(especially  in  the  P  sections)  that  it  differs  entirely  from  Jud.,  Sam.,  Kings. 
But  Principal  Cave's  treatment  of  the  'books  from  Ex.  to  Josh,  is  manifestly 
slight  and  incomplete. 

In  ch.  vi.  of  Principal  Cave's  book  there  are  many  just  observations  on 
the  theological  truths  which  find  expression  in  the  Mosaic  law  ;  but  it  is  an 
ignoratio  elenchi  to  suppose  them  to  be  a  refutation  of  the  opinion  that 
Hebrew  legislation  reached  its  final  form  by  successive  stages,  except  upon 
the  assumption  that  all  progress  must  proceed  from  purely  natural  causes, — 
an  assumption  both  unfounded  in  itself  and  opposed  to  the  general  sense  of 
theologians,  who  speak,  for  instance,  habitually  of  a  **  progressive  revela- 
tion "  (so  *'  Revelation  "  and  *'  Evolution,"  p.  251, — though  the  latter  is  not 
a  very  suitable  term  to  use  in  this  connexion, — are  not  antagonistic  except 
upon  a  similar  assumption).  Prof.  Bissell's  Pentateuch  fails  to  establish  the 
points  which  it  was  written  to  prove,  partly  for  the  same  reason,  partly  for  a 
different  one.  The  author  is  singularly  unable  to  distinguish  between  a  good 
argument  and  a  bad  one.  Thus  the  passages  adduced  (chiefly  in  chaps, 
viii.-x.)  to  prove  the  existence  of  the  Pent,  in  the  Mosaic  age  all,  upon  one 
ground  or  another  (comp.  above,  p.  144,  lines  11-14),  fall  short  of  the  mark ; 
and  while  his  volume  contains  many  sound  and  true  observations  on  the  deep 
spiritual  teaching  both  of  the  law  and  also  of  other  parts  of  the  OT.,  [150]  he 
has  not  shown  that  this  teaching  must  stand  or  fall  with  the  traditional  view 
of  the  origin  of  the  OT.  books,  or  that  the  critical  view  of  their  origin  cannot 
be  stated  in  a  form  entirely  compatible  with  the  reality  of  the  supernatural 
enlightenment  vouchsafed  to  the  ancient  people  of  God.  (Oji  the  Pent,  as 
a  channel  of  revelation,  cf.  further  Riehm's  Einl.  §§  28,  29. ) 

It  may  not  be  superfluous  to  remark  that  the  assertion,  now  not  un- 
frequently  made,  that  the  primary  basis  of  Pentateuchal  criticism  is  the 
assumption  that  Moses  was  unacquainted  with  the  art  of  writing,  and  that 
this  has  been  completely  overthrown  by  the  Tel  el-Amarna  tablets,  rests  upon 
an  entire  misapprehension  of  the  facts.  As  the  absence  of  all  mention  of  the 
supposed  basis  in  the  preceding  pages  will  have  shown,  it  is  not  the  premiss 
upon  which  the  criticism  of  the  Pentateuch  depends  :  the  antiquity  of  writing 
was  known  long  before  the  Tel  el-Amarna  tablets  were  discovered  ;  and 
these  tablets  (though  deeply  interesting  on  account  of  their  historical  con- 
tents) have  no  bearing  on  the  question  either  of  the  composite  structure  of 
the  Pentateuch,  or  of  the  date  of  the  documents  of  which  it  is  composed. 

On  Prof.  Hommel's  recently  (May,  1897)  published  volume,  The  Ancient 
Hebrew  Tradition  as  illustrated  by  the  Monuments,  see  the  notices  by  Prof. 
Margoliouth  in  the  Expository  Times,  Aug.  1897,  by  Principal  Whitehouse 
in  the  Expositor,  Sept.  1897,  and  by  G.  B.  Gray  in  the  Expos.  Times, 
Sept.  1897,  and  (specially  on  the  argument  founded  upon  the  proper  names 
in  P)  in  the  Expositor,  Sept.  1897.  All  these  writers  agree  tliat,  while 
Prof.  Hommel  has  collected  much  interesting  material  from  the  Inscriptions, 


PRIESTLY   NARRATIVE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH        1 59 

especially  those  of  Babylonia  and  Southern  Arabia,  as  a  refutation  of  the 
critical  position  his  work  is  a  failure.  The  reason  of  his  failure  lies  in  the 
fact — ( I )  that  the  positive  evidence  afforded  by  the  OT.  itself  in  support  of 
the  critical  position  is  very  much  underrated  ;  (2)  that  the  monumental 
evidence  arrayed  against  it  is  far  too  indirect  and  hypothetical  to  possess 
the  required  cogency :  the  author  makes  no  attempt  to  distinguish  logically 
between  fact  and  imagination  ;  and  what  he  really  brings  into  the  field  against 
the  conclusions  of  critics  are  not  facts,  attested  directly  by  the  monuments, 
but  a  series  of  hypotheses,  framed  indeed  with  great  ingenuity,  but  often 
resting  upon  the  slenderest  possible  foundation,  and  most  insufficiently  sup- 
ported by  the  data  actually  contained  in  the  Inscriptions.  His  treatment  of 
Gen.  14,  while  containing  much  that  is  arbitrary  (the  date  of  Khammurabi, 
the  supposed  name  Anumi-rapaltu,  &c.),  does  not  really  establish  anything 
beyond  what  was  stated  by  the  present  writer  in  the  articles  referred  to  above, 
p.  15,  and  in  the  Expos.  Times,  Dec.  1896,  p.  143  f.  It  is  nowhere  main- 
tained (or  implied)  in  the  present  volume  that  in  the  writer's  opinion  "firm 
historical  ground "  begins  for  Israelitish  history  in  the  age  of  Solomon 
(Hommel,  p.  4)  ;  and  hence,  even  should  Prof.  Hommel  have  made  it 
probable  (as  Mr.  Gray  had  done  before  him)  that  ancient  material  is  pre- 
served amongst  the  names  of  P,  the  conclusion  would  be  in  no  kind  of 
conflict  with  the  principles  of  the  present  work.  It  should  be  added  that 
Prof.  Hommel  himself  does  not  question  the  composite  structure  of  the 
Pentateuch  (pp.  12,  19  f.),  and  that  until  quite  recently  {Neue  Kirchliche 
Ztschr.  1890,  pp.  62-66)  he  accepted  for  J,  E,  and  P,  Wellh.'s  dates. 


THE  PRIESTS'  CODE. 
Genesis    i^-i^  ^■'^'  ^o-^s  68-22  76. 11.  i3-i6a.  i7a  (except  forty  days)   i«-2i-  24 

gl-2a.  3b-5.  13a.  14-19  q1-17.  28-29  iol-7.  20.  22-23.  31-82  j  jlO-27.  31-32  i24b-5  j  ^6.  llb-12a  jgla. 
3.15-16  c.  17.  1929  2ll^-  2b-6  c.  23.  25'-"*-  ^2-17.  19-20.  26b  2.(^'^  27^-28^  292*' 
29  *  2  J  18b  3318a  •34I-2&.  4.  6.  8-10.  13-18.  20-24.  25  (partly)  "^'"^  -irg-W.  15.  22b-29  ^  35  .^ 
371-2*  4j46  466-27  476-6a  (LXX)  7-11.  27b-28  ^gS-B.  7  ?  ^gla.  28b-33  t^^Vl-n^ 

Exodus    1 1-8.  7.  13-14   223b-25   52_7l3.  19-20a.  21b-22   §5-7.  15b-19   q8-12    j  i9-10    12I-2O. 
28.  37a.  40-41.  43-51  i  3I-2.  20  14I-4.  8-9.  15-18.  21a.  21c-23.  26-27a.  28a.  29    i6l-3-  6-24.  31-36    J7la 

191-2*  2415-18*  251-3118*  3429-35  c.  35-40. 
Leviticus  c.  1-16  (c.  17-26)  c.  27. 
Numbers    ii-io28    131-17*.  21.  25-26*   (^q   Paran)   82*    141-2.1  6-7. 10.  26-30.  34-38 

C.  15.  l61*'  2b-7a.  (7b-ll).  (16-17).  18-24.  27a.  32b.  35.  (36-40).  41-50  ^  I7-I9.  20l*  (tO 
month)    2.3b-4.6-13.  22-29    21**   (to   Hor)    10-11    22I    25«-18   C.    26-31.    3218-19-  28-32  + 

c.  33-36. 

Deuteronomy  i'  32^8-52  3^1*  (largely)  ''^-  '^-*. 

Joshua   413-  19    5l0'12    7I   gl5b.  17-21    J3I5-32    J4I-6    jcl-lS.  20-44.  (48-47).  48-62     J54-8 

171a.  3-4.  7.  9a.  9c-ioa  jgi.  11-28  19I-8.  10-46.  48.  81  20I-8  (exccpt  ''and  unawarcs") 
6*  [to judgment)  '-9  [cf.  LXX]  2ii-«  (229-84). 

*  With  perhaps  fragments  in  30!**  ^-  9b-  22a^ 

t  In  the  main.  X  With  traces  in  32i*i'-  ^^''^, 


CHAPTER    II. 

JUDGES,  SAMUEL,  AND  KINGS. 

§  I.  The  Book  of  Judges. 

Literature. — G.  L.  Studer,  Das  Buck  der  Richter,  1842  ;  E.  Bertheau 
(in  the  Kurzgef.  Exeg.  Handb.)^  ^  1883  ;  Keil  \xv  Josua,  Richter  u.  Ruth,^ 
1874  ;  Wellhausen  in  Bleek's  Einl.  (1878)  pp.  181-205  [=Comp.  213-238]  ; 
Hisi.  pp.  228-245  ;  A.  van  Doorninck,  Bijdrage  tot  de  tekst-kritiek  van 
Richt.  i-xvi  (1879),  with  K.  Budde's  review,  Th.  Lit.-zt.  1884,  col.  211-216  ; 
Aug.  Miiller,  Das  Lied  der  Deh.  1887  ;  K.  Budde,  Die  Biicher  Richter  u. 
Samuel,  1890,  pp.  1-166  ;  J.  S.  Black  (in  the  Smaller  Camb.  Bible  for 
Schools),  1892  ;  R.  Kittel,  Gesch.  i.  239  fF.  [E.T.  i.  264  ff.];  W.  R.  Smith, 
OTJC.^  pp.  120-124,  431-433  ;  G.  A.  Cooke,  The  History  and  Song  of 
Deborah,  Oxford,  1892  ;  S.  Oettli  (in  Strackand  Zockler's  Kgf.Komm.),  1893  ; 
G.  F.  Moore  (in  the  "  International  Crit.  Comm."),  1895  (very  thorough). 

The  Book  of  Judges  derives  its  name  from  the  heroes  whose 
exploits  form  the  subject  of  its  central  and  principal  part  (2^- 
c.  16).  It  consists  of  three  well-defined  portions :  (i)  an  intro- 
duction 1^-2^,  presenting  a  view  of  the  condition  of  the  country 
at  the  time  when  the  period  of  the  Judges  begins;  (2)  the 
history  of  the  Judges,  2^-c.  i6;  (3)  an  appendix,  c.  17-21, 
describing  in  some  detail  two  incidents  belonging  to  the  period, 
viz.  the  migration  of  a  part  of  the  tribe  of  Dan  to  the  north, 
c.  17-18,  and  the  war  of  the  Israelites  against  Benjamin,  arising 
out  of  the  outrage  of  Gibeah,  c.  19-21. 

The  Judges  whose  exploits  the  book  records  are  13  in 
number,  or,  if  Abimelech  (who  is  not  termed  a  judge)  be  not 
reckoned,  12,  viz.:  Othniel  (s^-n) ;  Ehud  (312-30) ;  Shamgar  (321) ; 
Barak  [Deborah]  (c.  4-5) ;  Gideon  (6i-8=^2) .  Abimelech  (S^S-qST)  ^ 
Tola  (10I-2);  jair  (lo^-s);  Jephthah  {10^-12^)',  Ibzan  (128-10); 
Elon  (i2ii-i2);  Abdon  (12I3-15) ;  Samson  (c.  13-16).  Shamgar, 
Tola,  Jair,  Ibzan,  Elon,  Abdon,  whose  exploits  are  told   only 

160 


8 

years 

40 

>> 

i8 

>> 

So 

>» 

20 

>j 

s  40 

>> 

7 

>i 

40 

>> 

3 

)) 

23 

>» 

22 

>> 

18 

>) 

6 

>» 

7 

>> 

10 

>) 

8 

)) 

40 

if 

20 

>y 

JUDGES  161 

summarily,  are  sometimes  called  the  "  minor  "  Judges.  Accord- 
ing to  the  chronology  of  the  book  itself,  the  period  of  the  Judges 
embraced  410  years  ;  thus  : — 

[152]      3  ^  Israel  serves  Cushan-Rishathaim 

3^^  Deliverance  by  Othniel :  the  land  rests 

3^*  Israel  serves  Eglon 

3^  Deliverance  by  Ehud  :  the  land  rests 

4  2  Oppression  by  Jabin 

5^^  Deliverance  by  Deborah  :  the  land  rests  40 

6  ^  Oppression  by  Midian 

8^8  Deliverance  by  Gideon  :  the  land  rests 

9^2  Abimelech  reigns  over  Israel 
10  2  Tola  judges  Israel 
10  '  Jair  judges  Israel 
10  8  Oppression  by  Ammon 
12  '^  Jephthah  judges  Israel 

12  ^  Ibzan  judges  Israel 
12^^  Elon  judges  Israel 
12^^  Abdon  judges  Israel 

13  ^  Oppression  by  Philistines 
i^so—  J 531  Samson  judges  Israel 

Total,  410  years. 

This  total,  however,  appears  to  be  too  high ;  and  it  is  at  any 
rate  inconsistent  with  i  Ki.  6^,  which  assigns  480  years  *  to  the 
period  from  the  exodus  to  the  4th  year  of  Solomon,  whereas,  if 
the  Judges  be  reckoned  at  410  years,  this  period,  which  must 
embrace  in  addition  the  40  years  of  the  wilderness,  7  years  of 
the  conquest  (p.  104),  20  years  of  Samuel  (i  Sa.  7 2),  20  (?)  years 
of  Saul,  40  years  of  David,  and  4  of  Solomon,  would  extend  (at 
the  least)  to  541  years.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to 
reduce  the  chronology  of  the  Judges,  by  the  assumption,  for 
instance,  that  some  of  the  periods  named  in  it  are  synchronous, 
or  the  figures  meant  to  be  treated  as  round  ones  (especially  40 
and  80  =  40  X  2) ;  t  but  it  must  be  admitted  (with  Bertheau,  pp. 
XV,  xvii)  that  no  certain  results  can  be  reached  by  the  use  of 
such  methods,  and  that,  as  matters  stand,  an  exact  chronology 
of  the  period  is  unattainable. 

The  three  parts  of  which  the  Book  of  Judges  consists  differ 

*  Though  this  is  open  to  the  suspicion  of  having  been  reached  artificially 
(  =  40x  12). 

t  Comp.  Bertheau,  pp.  xii-xvii ;  Wellh.  I/i'sf.  p.  229  f.  ;  Com/>.  p.  356 ; 
Kuenen,  Onderzoek,  i.  2  (1887),  ^18.  4,  6,  7. 


1 62  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

considerably  in  structure  and  character,  and  must  be  considered 
separately. 

L  1^-2''.  This  section  of  the  book  consists  of  fragments 
[153]  of  an  old  account  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan — not  by 
united  Israel  under  the  leadership  of  Joshua,  but  —  by  the 
individual  efforts  of  the  separate  tribes.  The  fragments,  how- 
ever, narrate  the  positive  successes  of  Judah  and  Simeon  (i^-^o) 
and  the  "House  of  Joseph"  (122-26)  only.  There  follows  a 
series  of  notices  describing  how  particular  tribes,  viz.  Manasseh, 
Ephraim,  Zebulun,  Asher,  Naphtali,  and  Dan,  failed  to  dis- 
possess the  native  inhabitants.  By  the  opening  words  :  "  And 
it  came  to  pass  after  the  death  of  Joshua,"  the  section  is  attached 
to  the  Book  of  Joshua,  and  the  events  narrated  in  it  are  assigned 
to  the  period  after  the  close  of  that  book.  But  it  has  long  been 
suspected"^  that  these  words  are,  in  fact,  merely  a  redactional 
addition,  and  that  the  account  is,  in  reality,  parallel^  at  least  in 
part,  with  the  narrative  in  Joshua,  and  not  a  continuation  of  it. 
The  Book  of  Joshua  (as  we  now  have  it)  describes  how  the 
whole  land  was  subdued  by  the  Israelites,  and  taken  possession 
of  by  the  individual  tribes  (see  e.g.  21^^-*^  23^:  both  D2).  In 
Jud.  I  the  Israelites  are  still  at  Gilgal  (2^),  or  close  by  at  Jericho 
(i^^);  and  hence  the  tribes  "go  up"  {i.e.  from  the  Jordan  Valley 
to  the  high  ground  of  Central  Palestine),  as  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Book  of  Joshua  (5^),  Judah  first,  to  conquer  their  respective 
territories  (i^'2-  s). 

As  was  remarked  above  (p.  115),  these  notices  display  a 
strong  similarity  of  style,  and  in  some  cases  even  verbal  identity, 
with  a  series  of  passages,  somewhat  loosely  attached  to  the 
context,  preserved  in  the  older  strata  of  the  Book  of  Joshua. 
Thus  Jud.  1 21  (the  Benjaminites'  failure  to  conquer  Jerusalem) 
agrees  almost  verbally  with  Josh.  15^^,  except  that  there  what  is 
no  doubt  the  original  reading  is  preserved,  and  the  failure  is 
laid  to  the  charge,  not  of  Benjamin,  but  oi  Judah)  i^ob. iob-15 
agrees,  in  the  main  verbally,  with  Josh.  15^^'^^;  i^"^'^^  with  Josh. 
1 7^2-13 .  1 29  Y^ith  Josh.  1 6^^.  Most  of  the  verbal  differences  are  due 
simply  to  the  different  relations  which  the  fragments  hold  in  the 
two  books  to  the  contiguous  narrative.  Josh.  lyi^-is  (complaint 
of  the  "House  of  Joseph")  and  19^'''  (Dan)  are  very  similar  in 
representation  (implying  the  separate  action  taken  by  individual 
*  Comp.  the  Speaker'' s  Comm.  ii.  p.  123  f. 


JUDGES  163 

tribes)  and  in  phraseology.*  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  both 
Jud.  I  and  [154]  these  notices  in  Joshua  are  excerpts  from  what 
was  once  a  detailed  survey  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan  :  of  these 
excerpts  some  have  been  fitted  in  with  the  narrative  of  Joshua, 
others  have  been  combined  in  Jud.  i  so  as  to  form,  with  the 
addition  of  the  opening  words,  After  the  death  of  Joshua,  an 
introduction  to  the  period  of  the  Judges.  The  survey  is  in- 
complete; but  the  parts  which  remain  may  have  stood  once 
somewhat  in  the  following  order :  a.  (Judah  and  Simeon)  Jud. 
ii  (from  ''and  the  children  of  Israel  asked"),  v.2-3.t  5-7.|  i9. 21 
{^ith.  Judah  twice  for  Benjamin,  as  Josh.  15^^),  v.^^*-^^*  (with 
Caleb  iox  Judah%),  Josh.  151^  (to  Talmai),  v.i5-i9  (  =  Jud.  i^-i^; 

Cf.    Josh.    1413b.  15a«)^    Jud.     116-17.36.  II    ^,    (JoSCph)    Jud.     1 22-26.  27-28 

(  =  Josh.  17^2  [the  names  of  the  towns  are  stated  here  in  v.n,  and 
so  not  repeated]-i3),  v.29  (  =  Josh.  1610),  Josh.  lyi^-isn  1313. 
c.  (the  other  tribes)  Jud.  i30-34,  Josh.  1947,**  Jud.  iss.ff 

II.  2^-c.  16.  This,  the  central  and  principal  part  of  the 
book,  comprising  the  history  of  the  Judges  properly  so  called, 
consists  essentially  of  a  series  of  older  narratives,  fitted  into  a 

♦Notice  "House  of  Joseph"  (unusual),  Josh,  i;!',  Jud.  i22-23.36. 
"daughters"  for  dependent  towns,  Josh.  17"- 1^,  Jud.  \^ ',  '^  would  dweW," 
Josh.  1712,  Jud.  i27.35;  the  "chariots  of  iron,  "Josh.  I7^^  Jud.  i^^. 

t  V.'*  agrees  indifferently  with  the  context,  and  is  in  all  probability  a  re- 
dactional  addition  (Budde  ;  Kittel,  GescA.  p.  241  [E.T.  p.  266] ;  Moore). 

X  V.^,  which  cannot  be  reasonably  reconciled  with  v.^^  (see  Moore,  p.  21), 
appears  to  be  a  gloss,  due  to  a  misunderstanding  of  v.'  (cf  Budde,  pp.  4, 
8f,;  Kittel,  Ht'sL  id.):  v. ^  seems  to  be  a  generalizing  introduction  to  v."*^-, 
made  by  the  redactor;  v.^^  (contrast  v.^^  3',  Josh,  13^)  is  also  probably  due 
to  him, — unless  indeed  n3^  n*?!  "and  took  noi"  (cf.  LXX)  be  the  true  reading 
instead  of  n^*?'!. 

§  The  context  (cf.  v.^^*  ^^)  requires  the  conquest  to  be  referred  to  Caleb, 
not  to  Judah.  V.^*^-  ^'^  and  Josh.  15^^  are  different  excerpts  from  the  same 
common  source;  and  in  v.^''  the  redactor  generalizes  {^'/udaA";  ^^ they 
smote  "). 

II  Where  Amorites  is  probably  an  error  for  Edomites,  as  in  i^*  the  people 
{^V7\)  for  the  Amalekite  ('p'^oyn) :  cf.  QPB^. 

IT  According  to  Budde  (pp.  38  f.,  60)  13"  was  preceded  in  its  original 
context  by  Nu.  32^^-  *^*  '^'^  (which  then  would  describe  the  conquest  of  Gilead 
from  the  West  of  Jordan). 

**  Read  (as  suggested  by  LXX)  ^^ was  too  narrow  for  them"  for  "went 
out  beyond  them"  (n:«'i  for  »<:f'i)  :  cf.  2  Ki.  6^  (Heb.). 

ft  Comp.  Budde,  p.  84  ff.  (where  the  passages,  in  somewhat  different  order, 
are  printed  consecutively) ;  Kitte^  Gesch.  i.  239  ff.  [E.T,  p.  265  flf.]. 


l64  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

framework  by  a  later  editor,  or  redactor,  and  provided  by  him, 
where  necessary,  with  introductory  and  concluding  comments. 
This  editor,  or  redactor,  is  imbued  strongly  with  the  spirit  of 
Deuteronomy.  His  additions  exhibit  a  phraseology  and  colour- 
ing different  from  that  of  the  rest  of  the  book ;  all  contain  the 
same  recurring  expressions,  and  many  are  cast  in  the  same  type 
or  form  of  words,  so  that  they  are  recognisable  without  difficulty. 
Thus  the  history  of  each  of  the  six  greater  Judges  is  fitted  into 
a  framework  as  follows — the  details  vary  slightly,  but  the  general 
resemblance  is  unmistakable :  3''"i^  (Othniel)  "  And  the  children 
of  Israel  did  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  Jehovah,  .  .  . 
and  the  anger  of  Jehovah  was  kindled  against  Israel,  and  He 
sold  them  into  the  hand  of  Cushan-rishathaim,  .  .  .  and  they 
served  Cushan-rishathaim  eight  years;  .  .  .  and  the  children 
of  Israel  cried  unto  Jehovah,  and  He  raised  up  unto  them  a 
saviour,  .  .  .  and  the  land  had  rest  forty  years."  312-30  (Ehud) 
"And  the  children  of  Israel  again  did  that  which  was  evil  in 
the  sight  of  Jehovah,  and  Jehovah  strengthened  Eglon  king  of 
Moab  against  Israel,  .  .  .  and  they  served  Eglon  eighteen  [155] 
years;  and  the  children  of  Israel  cried  unto  Jehovah,  and 
Jehovah  raised  up  to  them  a  saviour ;  .  .  .  and  Moab  was 
subdued,  .  .  .  and  the  land  had  rest  eighty  years."  The  scheme 
is  similar  in  the  case  of  Barak  (4I-521),  Gideon  (6I-'';  S^s), 
Jephthah  (lo^-^.io.  ussb.  12^),  Samson  (13I;.  1520  [twenty 
years]  16^^  ^'^^.  In  all  we  have  the  same  succession  of  apostasy, 
subjugation,  the  cry  for  help,  deliverance,  described  often  in  the 
same,  always  in  similar,  phraseology.  Let  the  reader  notice 
how  frequently  at  or  near  the  beginning  and  close  of  the  narrative 
of  each  of  the  greater  Judges  the  following  expressions  occur : 
did  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  Jehovah^  sold*  or  delivered 
thefn  into  the  hand  of  .  .  .^  cried  unto  Jehovah^  subdued^  and  the 
land  had  rest  .  .  .  (37.8.9.11.  3I2.15.8O.  4I.2.3.23  ^sib.  51.6b 
828.  106.7.10  ii33b.  j^i  i63i^«^.  It  is  evident  that  in  this 
part  of  the  book  a  series  of  independent  narratives  has  been 
taken  by  the  compiler  and  arranged  by  him  in  a  framework, 
designed  with  the  purpose  of  stating  the  chronology  of  the 
period,  and  exhibiting  a  theory  of  the  occasion  and  nature  of 

*  This  figure  is  almost  peculiar  to  the  compiler  of  this  book  (2^*  3^  4^  lo^ ; 
rather  differently  in  the  older  narrative  4*)  and  the  kindred  author  of  i  Sa.  12 
(v.^) ;  it  is  a  point  of  contact  with  Dt.  32^  (the  Song). 


JUDGES  165 

the  work  which  the  Judges  generally  were  called  to  undertake. 
In  the  case  of  the  six  minor  Judges  (Shamgar,  Tola,  Jair,  Ibzan, 
Elon,  Abdon)  detailed  particulars  were  probably  not  accessible 
to  the  compiler ;  hence  the  narratives  are  much  briefer,  though 
here   also  they  show  much  mutual  similarity  of  literary  form 

(331.    10I-2.    io3-5;    1 28-10 ;    12II-I2.    1213-15). 

To  this  history  of  the  Judges  2^-3^  forms  an  introduction, 
the  nature  of  which  must  next  be  examined.  Is  this  introduction 
the  work  of  the  compiler  also?  In  parts  of  it  we  trace  his 
hand  at  once  (211- 1^- 1* ;  in  v.i^- 1^- 1^  also  notice  the  expressions 
raised  up,  saved,  oppressed,  comparing  3^-1^;  4^;  6^;  iqI^-i^; 
and  the  general  similarity  of  tone).  But  the  whole  cannot  be 
his  work :  for  2^'^  is  repeated  with  slight  verbal  differences  from 
Josh.  2428-31.29.30  (LXX:  28.29.30.31).  elsewhere  also  the  point 
of  view  frequently  changes,  and  the  details  harmonize  imperfectly 
with  each  other,  authorizing  the  inference  that  he  has  here  in- 
corporated in  his  work  older  materials. 

Thus  2^  cannot  be  the  original  sequel  of  a^""^ ;  the  fact  that  the  Canaan - 
ites  were  not  delivered  "into  the  hand  of  Joshua"  (v.^),  cannot  be  [156} a 
consequence  of  what  happened  (v.^^)  after  foshucC s  death.  In  3^"^  the  ground 
for  which  the  Canaanites  were  not  driven  out  is  that  the  Israelites  might 
learn  the  art  of  war ;  in  2^2  and  3*  it  is  that  they  might  be  tested  morally, 
that  it  might  be  seen  whether  they  would  adhere  to  the  service  of  Jehovah 
or  not.  The  list  of  nations  in  3^  is  scarcely  consistent  with  that  in  3"^ ;  the 
nations  named  in  3'  are  just  those  occupying  particular  districts  in  or  near 
Canaan,  the  six  named  in  3^^  are  representative  of  the  entire  population  of 
Western  Palestine  (Ex.  33^,  Dt.  7^  &c.:  of.  p.  119,  n.). 

The  oldest  part  of  this  section  is,  no  doubt,  3!-^, — or  rather 
its  nucleus,  for  it  has  pretty  clearly  been  expanded, — describing 
how  the  Israelites  became  trained  in  warfare  through  the  in- 
habitants of  particular  districts  continuing  to  dwell  among  or 
near  them.  As  a  whole,  2^-3^  may  be  analysed  as  follows : — 
2O-10  (repeated,  except  v.i^,  from  Joshua)  describes  the  death  of 
Joshua,  and  the  change  which  in  the  view  of  the  compiler  came 
over  the  nation  in  the  following  generation;  211-1^  states  the 
compiler's  theory  of  the  period  of  the  Judges,  which  he  intends 
to  be  illustrated  by  the  narratives  following ;  220-22  deals  with  a 
different  subject,  not,  as  v.n-i^,  the  punishment  of  Israel  for  its 
apostasy  by  its  being  sold  into  the  hand  of  one  after  another  of 
the  nations  around  it,  but  Jehovah's  determination  to  spare  the 
remnant  of  the  nations  /•  its  midst,  for  the  purpose  of  testing 


1 66  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

its  moral  strength ;  the  sequel  of  2^0-22  is  35-6^  stating  how  the 
Israelites  intermarried  with  the  Canaanites,  and  thus  failed  to 
endure  the  test.  The  nucleus  of  3^"^  is  the  older  fragment, 
enumerating  the  nations  that  were  instrumental  in  training  Israel 
in  warfare ;  when  this,  in  its  expanded  form,  was  incorporated, 
2^3  (attaching  loosely  and  imperfectly  to  2^2)  was  prefixed  as  an 
introduction,  3*  being  appended,  for  the  purpose  of  leading  back 
to  the  general  thought  of  220-22  and  its  sequel  3^"*^.  2''^o-22  35-6 
displays  affinity  with  the  Hexateuchal  E;  ;^^-^,  in  its  original 
form,  was  probably  the  continuation  of  1^-25.* 

It  is  not  impossible  that  lo^"^^,  the  introduction  to  the  narrative  of 
Jephthah,  which  is  much  longer  than  the  other  introductions,  may  be  the 
expansion  of  an  earlier  and  briefer  narrative  allied  to  E  (Stade,  ZA  TIV. 
1881,  p.  341  f.;  Budde,  p.  128  ;  Moore),  to  v^rhich  in  particular  v.^**-  ^  (partly) 
10.13-16  j^a,y  [157]  belong.  The  particulars  in  v.^"-  appear  to  be  simply 
derived  from  c.  11,  the  two  verses  being  prefixed  here  as  an  introduction, 
after  the  notice  of  the  Ammonites  in  io'*^t  That  the  author  of  c.  11  wrote 
independently  of  lo^"^^,  and  could  not  have  had  these  verses  before  him, 
appears  from  the  wording  of  ii^,  which,  as  it  stands,  is  evidently  the  ^rsf 
mention  of  the  Ammonites,  and  must  have  been  differently  expressed  had 
iq6-i8  preceded. 

It  is  possible  that  the  Deuteronomic  compiler  (as  in  view  of  his 
prevalent  thought  and  tone  we  may  now  term  him)  was  not  the 
first  who  arranged  together  the  separate  histories  of  the  Judges, 
but  that  he  adopted  as  the  basis  of  his  work  a  continuous  narra- 
tive, which  he  found  ready  to  his  hand.  Some  of  the  narratives 
are  not  adapted  to  illustrate  the  theory  of  the  Judges,  as  ex- 
pounded in  2ii-i^;  so,  for  instance,  the  accounts  of  the  minor 
Judges  (3^1;  lo^-^;  12^-1^),  in  which  no  allusion  is  made  to  the 
nation's  apostasy,  but  which,  nevertheless,  as  remarked  above, 
are  cast  mainly  in  one  and  the  same  mould,  and  the  narrative 
of  Abimelech  in  c.  9 :  a  lesson  is  indeed  deduced  from  the 
history  of  Abimelech,  924-  ^^-  ^7^  but  not  the  lesson  of  2^^-'^'^.  It 
is  very  possible,  therefore,  that  there  was  a  pre- Deuteronomic 
collection  of  histories  of  Judges,  which  the  Deuteronomic  compiler 
set  in  a  new  framework,  embodying  his  theory  of  the  history  of 
the  period.     Perhaps  one  or  two  of  the  recurring  phrases  noted 

*  So  substantially  Budde  (see  the  grounds  more  fully  in  his  work,  pp. 
91  f.,  I56ff. ) :  somewhat  differently  Moore,  p.  63  ff. 

+  So  in  c.  8  the  main  contents  of  v.^"^^  seem  derived  from  c.  9,  and 
placed  where  they  now  stand,  as  a  link  of  connexion  between  c.  8  and  c.  9. 


JUDGES  167 

above,  such  as  ''subdued"  (3^^;  4.^^;  8^8;  ii^s^^  which  seem 
to  form  a  more  integral  part  of  the  narratives  proper  than  the 
rest,  may  mark  the  portions  due  to  the  pre-Deuteronomic  com- 
piler. There  is  also  a  more  noticeable  feature  of  the  book  which 
may  be  rightly  attributed  to  him.  It  is  clear  that  the  Judges 
were,  in  fact,  merely  local  heroes ;  they  formed  temporary  heads 
in  particular  centres,  or  over  particular  groups  of  tribes— Barak 
in  the  north  of  Israel ;  Gideon  in  the  centre ;  Jephthah  on  the 
east  of  Jordan;  Samson  in  the  extreme  south-west.  Never- 
theless, the  Judges  are  consistently  represented  as  exercising 
jurisdiction  over  Israel  as  a  whole  (3^^;  4*;  9^^;  lo^-^j  128- 9; 
16^1;  and  elsewhere);  and  this  generalization  of  their  position 
and  influence  is  so  associated  with  the  individual  narratives  that 
it  must  have  formed  a  feature  in  them  before  they  came  into 
the  hands  of  the  Deuteronomic  compiler :  hence,  if  it  was  not 
a  conception  shared  in  common  by  the  authors  of  the  [158] 
separate  narratives,  it  must  be  a  trait  due  to  the  first  compiler  of 
this  portion  of  the  book.  The  question,  however,  whether  the 
Deuteronomic  compiler  had  before  him  a  number  of  separate 
narratives,  or  a  continuous  work,  is  a  subordinate  one :  the 
important  distinction  is  undoubtedly  that  between  the  narratives 
generally  and  the  framework  in  which  they  are  set. 

The  parts,  then,  of  2^-c.  16,  which  either  belong  wholly  to 
the  Deuteronomic  compiler,  or  consist  of  elements  which  have 
been  expanded  or  largely  recast  by  him,  are — 2''-ii-23;  34-6. 
3''-ii  (almost  entirely :  there  are  no  details  of  Othniel's  judgeship 
such  as  constitute  the  narratives  respecting  Ehud,  Barak,  &c.) ; 
3i2-i5a.  30b  .  4I-3  .  531b  .  51. 7-10 .  *  827b  (probably)  28b.  33-34. 35  (based 

on  c.  9);  io6-i6-i7f.  (based  on  c.  11);  13I;  1520 ;  i63ii>.  All 
these  parts  are  connected  together  by  a  similarity  of  tone  and 
phraseology,  which  stamps  them  as  the  work  of  a  different  hand 

*  Excerpted  probably,  to  judge  from  the  style  (Budde,  p.  107  f.;  Moore), 
from  a  source  akin  to  the  Hexateuchal  E  (cf.  above,  p.  166).  11^2-28^  con- 
taining the  defence  of  Israel's  title  to  Gilead,  is  considered  by  most  recent 
critics  (as  Kuenen,  Wellh.,  Budde,  Moore)  to  be  an  insertion  in  the  original 
narrative.  It  is  remarkable  that,  while  purporting  to  be  an  answer  to  the 
claim  of  the  Ammonites  (v.^^),  it  in  reality  deals  with  Israel's  relation  to  the 
Moabites  (v."-  ^^,  cf.  v.^^  [Chemosh],  \.~^-  '^%  Notice  that  the  author  has  con- 
structed Jephthah's  message  largely  on  the  basis  of  JE's  narrative  :  thus  with 
V,  17-22. 26  comp.  Nu.  20i4-"  2 1 4' i^- 21-24.  25  (where  the  agreement  is  often 
verbal).  • 


1 68  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

from  that  of  the  author  (or  authors)  of  the  histories  of  the  Judges 
themselves. 

III.  C.  17-21.  This  division  of  the  book  differs  again  in 
character  from  either  of  the  other  two.  It  consists  of  two  con- 
tinuous narratives,  not  describing  the  exploits  of  any  judge,  but 
relating  two  incidents  belonging  to  the  same  period  of  history. 
C.  17-18  introduces  us  to  an  archaic  state  of  Israelitish  life: 
the  tribe  of  Dan  (iS^)  is  still  without  a  possession  in  Canaan: 
Micah's  "house  of  God,"  with  its  instruments  of  divination, 
"the  ephod  and  the  teraphim,"  and  its  owner's  satisfaction  at 
securing  a  Levite  as  his  priest  (17^"^^),  are  vividly  portrayed; 
nor  does  any  disapproval  of  what  Micah  had  instituted  appear  to 
be  entertained.  The  narrative  as  a  whole  exhibits  the  particulars 
of  what  is  briefly  stated  in  one  of  the  notices  mentioned  p.  163, 
Josh.  iQ^''  (cf.  Jud.  i^^),  though  the  latter  can  scarcely  be  derived 
from  it  on  account  of  the  different  orthography  of  the  name 
Laish  (Leshem,  or  rather,  probably,  Lesham).  The  two  chapters 
contain  indications  which  have  led  some  to  suppose  that  they 
have  been  formed  by  the  combination  of  two  parallel  narratives. 
But  [159]  the  inference  is  here  a  questionable  one,  and  it  is 
rejected  by  both  Wellh.  and  Kuenen,  who  will  only  admit  that 
in  two  or  three  places  the  narrative  is  in  disorder  or  has  suffered 
interpolation.* 

With  the  second  narrative  (c.  19-21),  on  the  other  hand, 
the  case  appears  to  be  different.  In  c.  20,  not  only  does  the 
description  in  parts  appear  to  be  in  duplicate  (as  in  v.^^^^^^  by 
the  side  of  v. 29-36*)  •  f  but  the  account,  as  we  have  it,  can  hardly 
be  historical.  The  figures  are  incredibly  large  :  Deborah  (5^) 
places  the  number  of  warriors  in  entire  Israel  at  not  more  than 
40,000  ;  here  400,000  advance  against  25,000  +  700  Benjaminites, 

*  Wellh.  Conip.  p.  232 ;  Kuenen,  Onderzoek,  i.  2  (1887),  §  20,  3,  4  (see, 
however,  on  the  other  side,  Budde,  p.  138  flf.,  Moore,  p.  367  f.).  The  two 
chronological  notes,  iS^**-  ^^  for  instance,  can  hardly  both  be  by  one  hand ; 
and  had  the  original  narrator  desired  to  state  the  name  of  the  Levite,  he  would 
almost  certainly  have  done  so  where  he  was  first  mentioned,  17'^^*.  V.^°  is  a 
notice  added  by  a  later  hand,  intended  to  supply  this  deficiency.  The  '*day 
of  the  captivity  (properly  exile)  of  the  land"  can  denote  only  the  exile  of  the 
ten  tribes  in  722  B.C., — or,  at  least,  of  the  N.  tribes  in  734  (2  K.  15^^). 

+  Comp.  v.^^  and  v.^*^  (in  each  30  Israelites  smitten):  v.*"  (25,100 
Benjaminites  smitten)  and  v.^^-"*^  (18,000  +  5000  +  2000=25,000  smitten): 
the  whole  number  of  Benjaminites,  as  stated  in  v.^',  was  but  25,000  +  700. 


JUDGES  169 

and  the  latter  slay  of  the  former  on  the  first  day  22,000,  on 
the  second  day  18,000;  on  these  two  days  not  one  of  the 
25,000  +  700  of  the  Benjaminites  falls,  but  on  the  third  day 
10,000  Israelites  slay  25,100  of  them  (202-  is  [LXX,  Cod.  A; 
RV.  marg?^  i'"-  "i-  ^s-  34. 35)^  Secondly,  whereas  in  the  rest  of  the 
book  the  tribes  are  represented  uniformly  as  acting  separately, 
and  only  combining  temporarily  and  partially,  in  this  narrative 
Israel  is  represented  as  entirely  centralized,  assembling  and 
taking  action  as  one  mail  (26^'^'^'^'.  similarly  2iS-io-i3-i^),  with 
a  unanimity  which,  in  fact,  was  gained  only — and  even  then 
imperfectly — after  the  establishment  of  the  monarchy.  This 
joint  action  of  the  "  congregation  "  contradicts  the  notices  of  all 
except  the  initial  stages  in  the  conquest  of  Palestine,  not  less 
than  every  other  picture  which  we  possess  of  the  condition  of 
Israel  during  this  period.  The  motives  prompting  the  people's 
action,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are  collected  together,  are 
unlike  what  appears  in  any  other  part  of  either  Judges  or  Samuel : 
elsewhere  the  people  are  impelled  to  action  by  the  initiative  of 
an  individual  leader;  here  they  move,  in  vast  numbers,  auto- 
matically ;  there  is  not  even  mention  of  the  head,  who  must  have 
been  needful  for  the  purpose  of  directing  the  military  operations. 
[160]  However  keenly  the  rest  of  Israel  may  have  felt  its 
indignation  aroused  by  the  deed  of  Gibeah,  and  the  readiness 
of  the  Benjaminites  to  screen  the  perpetrators  (20^"),  the  com- 
bination can  hardly  have  taken  place  on  the  scale  depicted. 
Nor  is  there  any  trace  either  in  Judges  (5^*) — if  this  incident 
(comp.  20^'^*)  be  prior  to  the  time  of  Deborah — or  in  Samuel — 
if  it  be  subsequent  to  it — of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  having  been 
reduced  to  one-fortieth  of  its  numbers,  or  in  the  narrative  of 
I  Sa.  II  of  the  virtual  extermination  (21^0-12)  q{  the  population 
of  Jabesh  Gilead. 

These  difficulties  attach  only  to  c.  20-21,  not  to  c.  19.  The 
conclusion  to  which  they  point  is  this,  that  c.  20-21  are  not 
homogeneous :  parts  are  decidedly  later  than  c.  1 9,  and  exhibit 
the   tradition   respecting   the   action    of    the   Israelites   against 

*  Which,  however,  is  pretty  clearly  a  gloss,  and  so  no  real  indication  of 
the  period  to  which  the  incident  was  assigned  by  the  original  narrator.  Had 
y  27b-28a  ^ggj^  a,n  explanation  made  by  the  original  narrator,  the  notice  would 
almost  certainly  have  stood  in  v.^^  where  the  inquiry  is  mentioned  for  the 
first  time.  • 


1^0  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Benjamin  in  the  shape  which  it  has  assumed  in  the  course  of  a 
long  period  of  oral  transmission.  The  story  of  the  vengeance 
taken  by  the  Israelites  against  the  guilty  tribe  offered  scope  for 
expansion  and  embellishment,  as  it  was  handed  on  in  the  mouth 
of  the  people ;  and  the  literary  form  in  which  we  have  it  exhibits 
the  last  stage  of  the  process.  Hence  the  exaggeration  both  in 
the  numbers  and  in  the  scale  upon  which  the  tribes  combined 
and  executed  their  vengeance  upon  Benjamin  and  Jabesh  Gilead. 
The  narrative  of  the  outrage  in  c.  19  is  old  in  style  and  repre- 
sentation; it  has  affinities  with  c.  17-18,  and  in  all  probability 
has  come  down  to  us  with  very  little,  if  any,  alteration  of  form. 
The  narrative  of  the  vengeance,  on  the  contrary,  in  c.  20,  has 
been  expanded ;  as  it  was  first  written  down,  the  incidents  were 
simpler,  and  the  scale  on  which  they  were  represented  as  having 
taken  place  was  smaller  than  is  now  the  case.  But  the  original 
narrative  has  been  combined  with  the  additions  in  such  a  manner 
that  it  cannot  be  disengaged  with  certainty,  and  is  now,  in  all 
probability,  as  Kuenen  observes,  not  recoverable.*  In  c.  21  the 
narrative  of  the  rape  of  the  maidens  at  Shiloh  wears  the  appear- 
ance [161]  of  antiquity,  and  stands,  no  doubt,  on  the  same 
footing  as  c.  19;  v.^-^*,  on  the  contrary,  have  affinities  with  the 
later  parts  of  c.  20.  The  remark,  "In  those  days  there  was  no 
king  in  Israel,"  connects  the  two  narratives  of  the  appendix 
together(i76;  18^;  19I;  212^:  in  17^ and  21^5,  with  the  addition, 
"  Every  man  did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes  ") :  this, 
from  its  character,  must  certainly  be  pre-exilic,  and  stamps  the 
narratives  of  which  it  forms  a  part  as  pre-exilic  likewise.  In 
c.  19-21  the  phrase  belongs  to  that  part  of  the  narrative,  which 
there  are  independent  reasons  for  supposing  to  be  earlier  than 
the  rest.  The  object  of  the  narrative  in  its  present  form  appears 
to  have  been  to  give  an  ideal  representation  of  the  community 
as  inspired  throughout  by  a  keen  sense  of  right,  and  as  acting 
harmoniously  in  concert  for  the  purpose  of  giving  effect  to  the 
dictates  of  morality. 

In  the  first  and  third  divisions  of  the  book  no  traces  are  to 

*  Similarly  Kittel,  Gesch.  ii.  21  ;  Moore,  pp.  405,  408  top.  Bertheau's 
attempted  analysis  is  admitted  to  be  unsuccessful,  being  dependent  upon 
insufficient  criteria.  Another  tentative  solution  is  offered  by  Budde,  p.  1 50  ff. 
(see  Moore,  p.  407).  The  parts  to  which  the  difficulties  attach  have  points  of 
contact  with  P  (p.  143). 


JUDGES  171 

be  found  of  the  hand  of  the  Deuteronomic  redactor  of  the 
middle  division  ;  there  are  no  marks  either  of  his  distinctive 
phraseology  or  of  his  viev/  of  the  history,  as  set  forth  in  2^^-'^^. 
Hence  it  is  probable  that  these  divisions  did  not  pass  through 
his  hand;  but  were  added  by  a  later  hand  (or  hands)  after 
2^-c.  16  had  reached  its  present  shape. 

On  the  historical  value  of  the  Book  of  Judges,  reference  may  be  made  to 
an  article  by  Prof.  A.  B.  Davidson  on  Deborah  in  the  Expositor^  Jan.  1887, 
pp.  48-50,  who,  after  remarking  on  the  difference  in  point  of  view  between 
the  histories  and  the  framework,  observes  that  the  regular  movement  of 
apostasy,  subjugation,  penitence,  and  deliverance,  described  in  the  latter,  is 
hardly  strict  history,  but  rather  the  religious  philosophy  of  the  history.  "  The 
author  speaks  of  Israel  as  an  ideal  unity,  and  attributes  to  this  unity  defection, 
which  no  doubt  characterized  only  fragments  of  the  whole.  .  .  .  The  histories 
presei-ved  in  the  book  are  probably  traditions  preserved  among  the  individual 
tribes.  That  in  some  instances  we  have  duplicates  exhibiting  divergences  in 
details  is  natural,  and  does  not  detract  from  the  general  historical  worth  of 
the  whole.  The  story  of  Deborah  is  given  in  a  prose  form  (c.  4)  as  well  as 
in  the  poem  (c.  5),  and  the  divergences  can  be  accounted  for  only  on  the 
supposition  that  c.  4  is  an  independent  tradition."  Thus  the  Song  speaks  of 
a  combination  of  kmgs  of  Canaan  (5^^),  of  whom  Sisera  is  the  head — his 
mother  (5^^)  is  attended  hy  princesses  (not  ladies^  AV.  :  see  i  Ki.  ii^,  Is. 
49'*) ;  c.  4  speaks  of  Jabin,  who  is  described  as  himself  "king  of  Canaan," 
reigning  at  Hazor,  and  of  Sisera,  his  general.  Further,  while  in  c.  4  Deborah 
dwells  at  Bethel  in  Ephraim,  and  Barak  at  Kedesh  in  Naphtali,  and,  in 
addition  to  his  own  tribe,  summons  only  Zebulun  (4^°),  in  5^^  both  leaders  are 
brought  into  close  connexion  with  Issachar,  and  the  [162]  language  employed 
creates  at  least  the  impression  that  they  belonged  to  that  tribe.  In  5^^*  i^-  ^^ 
Ephraim,  Benjamin,  Machir  {i.e.  Manasseh),  and  Issachar,  as  well  as  Naphtali 
and  Zebulun,  are  alluded  to  as  assisting  in  the  struggle.  No  doubt  the  points 
of  agreement  between  the  narrative  and  the  poem  are  greater  than  the  points 
of  divergence  ;  but  there  is  sufficient  divergence  to  show  that  the  narrative 
embodies  a  tradition  which  had  become  modified,  and  in  parts  obscured,  in 
the  course  of  oral  transmission.  In  fact,  it  is  not  impossible  that  tradition  (as 
is  its  wont)  may  have  combined  two  distinct  occurrences,  and  that,  with  the 
victory  of  Barak  and  Deborah  over  the  kings  of  Canaan,  with  Sisera  at  their 
head,  may  have  been  intermingled  elements  belonging  properly  to  an  old 
Israelitish  victory  over  Jabin,  a  king  in  the  far  north  of  Palestine,  reigning  at 
Hazor.  On  the  narrative  of  Gideon  (c.  6-8),  comp.  Wellh.  Coinp.  p.  223  ff.  ; 
Bertheau,  p.  158  ff.  ;  Budde,  p.  107  ff.  ;  Moore,  p.  175  ff.  ;  all  of  whom, 
though  differing  in  details  of  the  analysis  (which  is  admitted  to  be  very 
difficult),  agree  that  the  narrative  exhibits  signs  of  composition.  On  the 
question  whether  E  or  J  is  traceable  in  Judges,  see  Kuen.  §  19.  13  ;  Kittel, 
Stud.  u.  Krit.  1892,  p.  44  ff.,  Gesch.  ii.  15-18  [E.T.  14-18]  ;  Konig,  Einl. 
§  51.  2*'*  ;  Moore,  pp.  xxv-xxviii,  and  elsewhere  (z/.  Index),  who  answers 
the  question  in  the  affirmative,  ^ut  only  in  the  sense  (p.  xxvii)  that  J  and  E 


\y2  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

represent,  "not  individual  authors,  but  a  succession  of  writers,  the  historio- 
graphy of  a  certain  period  and  school." 


§  2.  1-2  Samuel. 

Literature. — Otto  Thenius  in  the  Kgf.  Exeg,  Handb^  1864  (in  some 
respects  antiquated)  ;  Wellhausen,  Der  Text  der  Bucher  Samuelisy  1871 
(important  for  the  criticism  of  the  text)  ;  Keil,  Die  Bucher  Samuels,^  1875  5 
Wellhausen  in  Bleek's  Einleitungy  1878,  pp.  206-231  \=-Comp.  pp.  238- 
266] ;  Hist.  pp.  245-272 ;  A.  F.  Kirkpatrick  in  the  Cambridge  Bible  for 
Schools  atid  Colleges ;  Aug.  Klostermann  in  Strack  and  Zockler's  Kgf.  Kom- 
mentar,  1887  (to  be  constantly  distrusted  in  its  treatment  of  the  text) ;  K. 
Budde,  Richter  u.  Sam.  1890,  pp.  167-276  ;  and  in  Haupt's  SBOT.  1895  ; 
S.  R.  Driver,  Notes  on  the  Hebrew  Text  of  the  Books  of  Samuel ^  with  an 
Introduction  on  Hebrew  Palceography  and  the  ancient  Versions^  and  fac- 
similes of  Inscriptions  (1890)  ;  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Aids  to  the  Devout  Study  of 
Criticism  (1892),  pp.  1-126  (on  the  David-narratives)  ;  ELittel,  Gesch.  ii. 
(1892)  pp.  22-45  [E.T.  pp.  22-49]. 

The  two  Books  of  Samuel,  like  the  two  Books  of  Kings, 
formed  originally  a  single  book.  The  Book  of  Samuel  and  the 
Book  of  Kings  were  treated  by  the  LXX  as  a  complete  history 
of  the  two  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah ;  and  the  work  was 
divided  by  them  into  four  books,  termed  accordingly  ^t)SXot 
/Sao-iXetwv.*  The  same  division  was  followed  by  Jerome  in  the 
Vulgate,  though  for  the  title  " Books  of  Kingdoms"  he  preferred 
to  substitute  "  Books  of  Kings."  f  It  hence  passed  generally 
into  Christian  Bibles,  and  was  adopted  from  them  in  the  printed 
editions  of  the  Hebrew  text,  with  the  difference,  however,  that 
each  pair  of  books  retained  the  general  title  which  it  bore  in 
[163]  Hebrew  MSS.,  and  1-4  jSao-iXettov  or  Regum  became  1-2 
Samuel  send  1-2  Kings. 

The  Book  owes  its  title  to  the  circumstance  that  Samuel  is 
the  prominent  figure  both  at  its  opening  and  for  some  time  sub- 
sequently, and  from  the  part  taken  by  him  in  the  consecration  of 
both  Saul  and  David,  may  be  said  in  a  measure  to  have  deter- 
mined the  history  during  the  entire  period  embraced  by  it. 

The  period  of  history  included  by  1-2  Sam.  begins  with  the 

*  The  case  is  similar  with  1-2  Chronicles,  and  with  Ezra  and  Nehemiah, 
each  of  which  originally  formed  in  the  Hebrew  one  book.  Comp.  Origen, 
ap.  Euseb.  vi.  25. 

t  See  his  Preface  to  the  Books  of  Kings  (called  also  the  Prologus  Galeatus), 
printed  at  the  beginning  of  ordinary  editions  of  the  Vulgate. 


1-2  SAMUEL  173 

circumstances  leading  to  the  birth  of  Samuel,  and  extends  to  the 
close  of  David's  public  life — i  Kings  opening  with  the  picture 
of  David  lying  on  his  deathbed,  and  passing  at  once  to  the 
events  which  resulted  in  the  nomination  of  Solomon  as  his  suc- 
cessor. The  death  of  Saul  marks  the  division  between  i  and  2 
Sam.  The  contents  of  the  books  may  be  grouped  for  convenience 
under  the  four  heads :  i.  Samuel  and  the  establishment  of  the 
monarchy  (I  1-14);  2.  Saul  and  David  (I  15-31);  3.  David 
(II  1-20);  4.  an  appendix  (II  21-24)  of  miscellaneous  con- 
tents. The  division  possesses,  however,  only  a  relative  value, 
the  first  two  parts  especially  running  into  and  presupposing  each 
other.  Some  of  the  narratives  contained  in  1-2  Sam.  point 
forwards,  or  backwards,  to  one  another,  and  are  in  other  ways  so 
connected  together  as  to  show  that  they  are  the  work  of  one  and 
the  same  writer :  this  is  not,  however,  the  case  in  all ;  and  it  will 
be  the  aim  of  the  following  pages  to  indicate,  where  this  is 
sufficiently  clear,  the  different  elements  of  which  the  two  books 
are  composed. 

The  reader  will  notice  three  concluding  summaries,  which  occur  in  the 
course  of  the  two  books,  I  \a^'^'^^  (Saul's  wars ;  his  family  and  principal 
officer) ;  II  8  (summary  account  of  David's  wars,  v.^^*,  followed  by  a  list  of 
his  ministers,  v.^^'^^) ;  20^"^  (list  of  ministers  repeated,  with  one  addition,  that 
of  Adoram).  These  summaries  show  that  the  narrative  to  which  each  is 
attached  has  reached  a  definite  halting  point,  and  support  (as  will  appear) 
certain  inferences  respecting  its  relation  to  the  parts  which  follow.* 

I.   I  Sa.  1-14.  Samuel  and  the  Monarchy. 

(i)  C.  1-7.  Birth  and  youth  of  Samuel,  including  (2^'^-^^ 
3I1-14)  the  announcement  of  the  fall  of  Eli's  house  (1^4^*); 
defeat  of  Israel  by  the  Philistines :  capture  and  restoration  of 
the  Ark  (4^^-7^)j  Samuel's  judgeship,  and  victory  over  the 
Philistines  at  Eben-ezer  (y^'^''). 

It  is  doubtful  whether  4^^-7^  was  intended  in  the  first  [164] 
instance  as  a  continuation  of  c.  1-4^*.  For,  whereas  the  general 
tenor  of  c.  1-4^*  would  lead  us  to  expect  the  fall  of  Eli's  house 
to  be  the  prominent  feature  in  the  sequel,  in  point  of  fact  the 
fortunes  of  the  Ark  form  the  principal  topic  in  4^^-7^,  and  the 

*  Comp.  Wellh.  Comp.  pp.  247,  257  f.;  Kuen.  §  21.  i.  I  i4*'-'«  may 
have  been  expanded  by  a  later  Deuteronomic  hand  (cf.  v.'*^''  with  Jud.  2"-  ^^ 
2  Ki.  i*]"^) ;  but  the  entire  summary  will  hardly  be  redactional,  as  Budde 
(pp.  206-208)  and  Comill  {Einli  §  17.  4)  argue. 


174  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

fate  of  Eli  and  his  sons  is  but  a  particular  incident  in  the 
national  disaster :  thus  a  different  interest  prevails  in  the  two 
narratives;  and  c.  1-4^*  appears  to  have  been  written  as  an 
introduction  to  4^^-7^  (stating  particulars  of  the  previous  history 
of  Eli  and  his  sons,  and  accounting  for  the  prophetical  importance 
of  Samuel)  by  a  somewhat  later  hand. 

The  Song  of  Hannah  (2^'^")  is  not  early  in  style,  and  is  unsuited  to 
Hannah's  position :  its  theme  is  the  humiliation  of  the  lofty  and  the  exalta- 
tion of  the  lowly,  which  is  developed  with  no  special  reference  to  Hannah's 
circumstances ;  *  and  v.^"*  presupposes  the  establishment  of  the  monarchy. 
The  Song  was  probably  composed  in  celebration  of  some  national  success : 
it  may  have  been  attributed  to  Hannah  on  account  of  y.^^.  2^'^  (announce- 
ment to  Eli  by  the  unnamed  prophet),  which  has  affinities  with  II  7, 
must  have  been  recast  by  the  narrator,  and  in  its  new  form  coloured  by 
the  associations  with  which  he  was  himself  familiar;  for  v.^  (like  2^**) 
presupposes  the  monarchy  ("shall  walk  de/ore  mine  anointed  for  ever"). 
The  prophecy  relates  to  the  supersession  of  the  priesthood  of  Eli's  family 
by  that  of  Zadok  (i  Ki.  2^),  which  is  to  enjoy  permanently  (v.*')  the 
favour  of  the  royal  dynasty.  In  point  of  fact,  from  the  time  of  Solomon 
onwards,  Zadok's  line  held  uninterrupted  supremacy  in  the  priesthood  at 
Jerusalem.  Observe  that  6^  alludes  to  the  narrative  of  J  (Ex.  8*^  [Heb.^sj ; 
io2  "rSynn ;  12^). 

72-17  is  a  section  of  later  origin  than  either  c.  1-4I*  or  4^^-7^, 
homogeneous  (see  below)  with  c.  8,  loi^-sTa^  c.  12.  Hitherto 
Samuel  has  appeared  only  as  a  prophet :  here  he  is  represented 
as  a  "judge"  (73b. eb.  loflf. .  ^f.  12II)  under  whom  the  Israelites 
are  delivered  from  their  oppressors,  much  in  the  manner  of  the 
deliverances  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Judges.  The  consequences 
of  the  victory  at  Eben-ezer  are  in  y^^  generalized  in  terms 
hardly  reconcilable  with  the  subsequent  history :  contrast  the 
picture  of  the  Philistines'  ascendency  immediately  afterwards 
(io5  i33-i9ff-&c.). 

It  is  probable  that  the  original  sequel  of  4^*'-7^  has  here  been  omitted  to 
make  room  for  72**  ;  for  the  existing  narrative  does  not  explain  (i)  how  the 
Philistines  reached  Gibeah  (10''  &c.),  and  secured  the  ascendency  implied 
j^isff.  .  or  (2)  how  Shiloh  suddenly  disappears  from  history,  and  the  priest- 
hood [165]  located  there  reappears  shortly  afterwards  at  Nob  (c.  22).  That 
some  signal  disaster  befell  Shiloh  may  be  inferred  with  certainty  from  the 
allusion  in  Jer.  7^*  26^  (comp.  Ps.  78^^* ;  and  Cheyne,  Jeremiah^  his  life  and 
times y  p.  117). 

*  It  differs  in  this  respect  from  the  Magnificat  (see  v.^  of  this,  Luke  i^^)^ 
which  is  sometimes  quoted  as  parallel. 


1-2  SAMUEL  175 

(2)  C.  8-14.  Circumstances  leading  to  the  appointment  of 
Saul  as  king  (c.  8-12);  Saul's  measures  of  defence  against  the 
Philistines ;  Jonathan's  exploit  at  Michmash  (13^-1 4'^^) ;  summary 
of  Saul's  wars,  and  notice  of  his  family  (14*^-52). 

C.  8-1 2  are  formed  by  the  combination  of  two  independent  * 
narratives  of  the  manner  in  which  Saul  became  king,  differing  in 
their  representation  both  of  Samuel  and  of  his  relation  to  Saul. 
The  older  narrative  comprises  q^-iqI^;  lo^^b  [as  in  LXX :  see 
RV.  marg^ ;  1 1^-^^-  ^^  (nomination  of  Saul  as  king  by  Samuel ; 
his  success  against  Nahash  king  of  Ammon,  and  coronation  by 
the  people  at  Gilgal),  of  which  the  continuation  is  c.  13-14. 
The  other  and  later  narrative  consists  of  c.  8  (request  of  the 
people  for  a  king) ;  lo^^'-^^a  (election  of  Saul  by  lot  at  Mizpah) ; 
c.  12  (Samuel's  farewell  address  to  the  people).  In  the  older 
narrative  Samuel  the  seer,  famous  in  a  particular  district,  anoints 
Saul  in  accordance  with  Jehovah's  instruction,  in  order  that 
Israel  may  have  a  leader  to  deliver  it  from  the  Philistine  yoke 
(9I6),  inspiring  him  at  the  same  time  to  do  "as  his  hand  shall 
find"  (10'')  when  occasion  arises.  The  occasion  comes  in  the 
peril  to  which  Jabesh  of  Gilead  a  month  (lo^^b  LXX)  afterwards 
is  exposed.  Saul  rescues  it  successfully  (ii^-ii);  and  Samuel's 
choice  is  confirmed  by  the  people  with  acclamation  (n^^).  In 
i22-7a.i5b_j^46  g^ul  fulfils  the  objcct  of  his  nomination  by  his 
successes  against  the  Philistines ;  and  i^^"^-^^  closes  the  narrative. 
C.  II  does  not  appear  to  presuppose  the  election  of  Saul  by 
the  people,  io^'^-^'^\  The  messengers  of  Jabesh  do  not  come 
to  Gibeah  (v.*)  on  Saul's  account :  Saul  only  hears  the  tidings 
accidentally  upon  his  return  from  the  field ;  and  in  what  follows 
he  acts,  not  in  virtue  of  an  office  publicly  conferred  upon  him, 
but  in  virtue  of  the  impulse  seizing  him  (v.^) ;  whereupon, 
mindful  of  Samuel's  injunction  to  "do  as  his  hand  shall  find," 
he  assumes  the  command  of  the  people  (on  ii^*,  see  below). 
Throughout  this  narrative,  also,  the  appointment  of  Saul  is 
regarded  favourably  (see  especially  9^^^);  nor  is  there  any 
indication  of  reluctance  on  Samuel's  part  to  see  the  monarchy 
established. 

[166]  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  other  narrative,  in  which  this 
older  account  is  incorporated,  the  point  of  view  is  different. 
Samuel  exercises  the  functions,  not  of  a  seer  or  prophet,  but  of 
*  So  Budde,  p.  174,  &o»,  against  Wellh.,  Stade,  and  Kuenen. 


1/6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

a  judge,  in  agreement  with  the  representation  of  7 2^- ;  and  he 
rules  the  people  in  Jehovah's  name  (S"^^).  The  proposal  for  a 
king  originates  with  the  people;  and  the  request  addressed  to 
Samuel  is  based,  not  on  the  need  of  deliverance  from  foreign 
foes,  but  on  the  injustice  of  Samuel's  sons  in  their  capacity  as 
their  father's  deputies,  and  on  the  desire  of  the  people  to  have 
the  same  visible  head  as  other  nations  (S^-^).  The  request  is 
viewed  with  disfavour  by  Samuel,  and  treated  as  a  renunciation 
of  Jehovah.  He  seeks  to  dissuade  the  people  from  persisting 
in  it,  by  enumerating  to  them  the  exactions  which  their  king 
will  impose  upon  them,  and  yields  in  the  end  unwillingly  (8^-22). 
The  same  tone  prevails  in  loi^-zTa^  and  in  the  farewell  address 
of  Samuel  c.  12  (v. ^2. 17. 19^^  It  jg  not,  of  course,  necessary  to 
suppose  that  this  narrative  is  destitute  of  historical  foundation ; 
but  the  emphasis  laid  in  it  upon  aspects  on  which  the  other 
narrative  is  silent,  and  the  difference  of  tone  pervading  it,  show 
not  the  less  clearly  that  it  is  the  work  of  a  different  hand,  ii^*, 
in  which  the  ceremony  at  Gilgal  is  viewed  as  a  renewal  of  the 
kingdom,  is  probably  a  redactional  adjustment,  made  for  the 
purpose  of  harmonizing  the  two  narratives;  for  in  ii^-^^  as  said 
above,  Saul  does  not  appear  to  act  as  one  already  recognised 
as  king.  Perhaps  11  ^^f.  are  inserted  likewise;  but  the  precise 
relation  of  these  verses  to  lo^s-sTa  jg  uncertain.  The  notice 
92b=jo23b  has  been  introduced  in  one  of  these  passages  from 
the  other.  The  second  narrative  is  in  style  and  character  homo- 
geneous with  72*'-,  and  with  this  may  be  regarded  in  a  sense  as 
forming  the  conclusion  to  the  history  of  the  Judges  contained  in 
Jud.  2^-c.  16.  In  both  the  general  point  of  view  is  similar: 
Israel's  apostasy  and  obedience  are  contrasted  in  similar  terms ; 
and  the  task  of  delivering  Israel  from  the  Philistines,  "  begun " 
(Jud.  13^)  by  Samson,  is  continued  under  Samuel  (ys^-isf. . 
cf.  12"). 

In  the  older  narrative,  ic^  and  x-^-^^  are  held  by  many  to  be  subse- 
quent insertions.  The  grounds  for  this  opinion  (which  are  based  chiefly  upon 
the  imperfect  connexion  of  the  two  passages  with  their  context)  may  be  seen 
in  Wellh.  Hist.  257  f.;  Budde,  pp.  191-193.  According  to  the  intention  of 
the  insertion,  the  meeting  of  Samuel  and  Saul  related  in  it  is  the  first  after 
lo^ ;  [167]  hence  it  is  earlier  than  11^^  (if  not  than  ii^-  as  well),  i.e.  earlier 
than  the  union  of  the  two  accounts  of  Saul's  elevation  to  the  throne. 

The  earlier  narrative  is  an   example   of  the   best   style   of 


1-2  SAMUEL  177 

Hebrew  historiography :  the  scenes  are  brought  vividly  before 
the  reader,  and  are  full  of  minute  incident.*  The  later  narrative 
has  been  usually  regarded  as  Deuteronomic ;  but  the  Deutero- 
nomic  style  is  by  no  means  so  pronounced  as  in  the  case  of 
the  framework  of  Judges  and  Kings.  Budde  (p.  180  ff.)  has 
pointed  out  that  it  presents  noticeable  affinities  with  E,  and  has 
made  it  probable  that  it  is  a  /r^-Deuteronomic  work,  which  in 
parts  has  been  expanded  by  a  subsequent  editor. 

Stylistically,  the  following  features,  connecting  the  different  parts  of  the 
narrative  with  each  other,  or  with  E  and  Judges,  deserve  notice  :  — 

7'  1220.  24  ^itJi  all  your  heart  [in  Dt.  always  "with  all  your  heart,  and 

with  all  your  soul'']. 
73  pul  away  the  strange  gods :  Gen.  35^  (cf.  v.'*).  Josh.  24^'*^-  ^  (cf.  v.^), 

Jud.  10^^. 
']^  prepare  your  hearts  unto  Jehovah  :  Josh.  24^  ("incline"). 
7^  12^''  Baal  and  'Ashtoreth  :  Jud.  2^^  3"^  (the  'Asherahs)  io«. 

75  J219.  ^^  pray  for  you  :  cf.  Gen.  26'-  ^'^,  Nu.  ii^  21'. 

76  12I0  we  have  sinned:  f  cf.  Jud.  10^"  (notice  the  whole  v.)  i'. 
78  cry  and  save  :  Jud.  3^  lo^*'-  ^^  {cry  also  3!^  6^-  ',  i  Sa.  128-  lO). 
713  to  be  subdued  (yjDi)  :  Jud.  -f  4^  {v'3:iri)  S^  ii^a. 

yiz  J215  /^g  hand  of  J,  was  against  them-.  Jud.  2^^,  Dt.  2>^  al. 

7"  Amorite,  of  the  non-Israelite  inhabitants  of  W.  Palestine  (p.  1 19). 

g5b.  20a  jq19.  24a  .    -Qt.    I7l4b-15a^ 

87b  ioi9  J2i2b.  17b.  19b  (Jehovah  the  nation's  king). 

8^  to  forsake  Jehovah,   and  serve  other  gods :  Josh.  24^'  (cf.  v.'^),  Jud. 

10^3.  cf.  c.  12I",  Jud.  212. 13  iqIO. 
§18  x^P  'y\N\\Q\x\ ye  have  chosen). 

I0^8^  Jud.  68^-  lo"'- :  \rh  to  oppress  also  Jud.  2^^  4^  ;  and  Ex.  3^  (E). 
\<^^^  present  yourselves  (njj'nn)  before  Jehovah  :  Josh.  24^. 
12''  8  (allusion  to  Moses  and  the  exodus) :  cf.  Josh.  24^"^-  ^''. 
I2»  sold'.  Jud.  2^4  38  42  10'. 
[168]  12"  enemies  on  every  side  (3'3DD) :  Dt.   \2^^  25^^  Josh.  23^  (D''),  Jud. 

2I4  834  .  cf.  Josh.  21**  (42)  (also  D2). 
12^4.  24  to  fear  and  serve  Jehovah  :  Josh.  24"*. 
\2>^  do  before  your  eyes :  Dt.  i^^**  4^4^  29^^,  Josh.  24"^ 
12-3  »t,  f^i^.iy^  .  ^^^  -Jq^Yi.  24I8. 

*  It  contains  several  somewhat  remarkable  and  unusual  words :  9'  h)K  and 
miB'n  ;  v."  isj; ;  v.^  LXX  {dUa-rpcoa-av)  nm  ;  lo^  f]hn  =  to  advance  ;  13'  nns  ; 
14I  i*?.!  ;  V.6  ^1:iJ;D ;  v.  32  nisy.  Peculiar  to  this  narrative  also  is  the  title  TJ3 
leader  or  prince  9^^  lo^  (so  13^4  and  subsequently  [below,  p.  184]).  In  the 
other  narrative  king  is  the  term  always  employed. 

t  The  argument  from  style  is  cumulative :  hence  expressions  which,  if 
they  stood  alone,  would  have  no  appreciable  weight,  may  help  to  support 
an  inference,  when  they  are  combined  with  others  pointing  in  the  same 
direction.  ^ 


178  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

The  similarities,  partly  with  E  (esp.  Josh.  24),  partly  with  the  redaction  of 
Judges,  are  evident.  The  entire  phenomena  appear  to  be  best  explained  by 
the  supposition  that  the  basis  consists  of  a  narrative  allied  to  that  of  E,* 
which  was  afterwards  expanded,  esp.  in  I2^''"-,  by  a  writer  whose  style  and 
point  of  view  were  similar  to  those  of  Dt.  and  the  compiler  of  the  Book  of 
Judges.  To  this  second  writer  may  be  attributed  the  strange  mention  of 
Samuel  by  himself  in  12^^,  and  the  notice  in  12^^  of  Nahash,  derived,  indeed, 
from  c.  II,  but  so  applied  as  to  conflict  with  the  representation  in  8^^-.  The 
original  narrative  f  may  be  an  excerpt  from  the  same  source  as  Jud.  6'"^*^ 
J06-16  ^pp_  j55^  i67«.),  which  perhaps  carried  on  the  history  of  E  to  the 
time  of  Samuel.  Graf  pointed  out  the  resemblance  of  i  Sa.  12  to  Josh.  24 ; 
and  remarked  that  the  discourse  in  the  one  seems  "to  close  the  history  of  the 
Judges,  as  the  discourse  in  the  other  closes  that  of  the  conquest  of  Palestine  " 
{Gesch.  B.  p.  97  :  cf.  Del.  Ge7i.  p.  33).  That  this  narrative — or  at  least  the 
representation  contained  in  it — was  known  to  Jeremiah  may  be  certainly 
inferred  from  Jer.  1 5^ ;  for  it  is  only  here  (and  not  in  the  other  narrative  of 
Saul's  appointment  as  king)  that  mention  is  made  of  Samuel  as  interceding  for 
the  people  (Comill,  ap.  Budde,  p.  178). 

II.  C.  15-31.  Saul  and  David. 

(i)  C.  15-18.  Rejection  of  Saul.  Introduction  of  David  to 
the  history.  Saul's  jealousy  aroused  by  his  successes  against  the 
Philistines. 

C.  15  (Saul  and  Amalek)  was  evidently  not  written  originally 
in  continuation  of  c.  14:  for  (i)  it  would  be  out  of  place  after 
the  narrator  of  c.  14  had  finished  his  account  of  Saul's  reign 
^v.47-51) .  ^2)  the  style  and  representation  differ. 

In  c.  14,  for  instance,  the  history  is  narrated,  so  to  say,  objectively :  Amalek, 
v.'*^,  is  smitten  (it  is  implied)  because  they  spoiled  the  Israelites :  here  a 
theoretical  motive  is  assigned  for  the  expedition,  v. 2-  6^  and  supreme  im- 
portance is  attached  to  \he:  principle  actuating  Saul  in  his  conduct  of  it  (v.^"*""-) : 
the  circumstances,  also,  of  Saul's  rejection  are  so  told  as  to  inculcate  at  the 
same  time  the  prophetic  lesson  (Jer.  721-28)  that  Jehovah  demands  obedience 
in  preference  to  sacrifice.  Of  course,  the  fact  that  the  history  is  thus  told 
with  a  purpose  does  not  invalidate  its  general  truth:  "that  Saul  actually 
smote  the  Amalekites,  and  that  Samuel  actually  slew  Agag  at  Gilgal  before 
Jehovah,  are  historical  facts,  which  no  ground  exists  for  calling  in  question  " 
(Wellh.  Comp.  p.  249). 

C.  15  holds,  in  fact,  an  intermediate  position  between  the  two 
[169]  currents  of  narrative  9^  &c.  and  c.  8  &c. ;  it  presupposes  the 

*  But  hardly  written  by  the  same  hand :  see  Kittel,  St.  u.  Krit.  1892, 
pp.  66,  71,  Gesch.  ii.  25-28  ;  and  cf.  above,  pp.  171  bottom,  172  top. 

+  Which,    especially  in  the  view  taken  in  it  of  the  monarchy,    presents 
affinities  with  Hosea  (Budde,  p.  184  f.). 


1-2  SAMUEL  179 

former  (for  v.^  points  back  to  10^,  and  a  phrase  in  v.^^^  appears 
to  be  borrowed  from  14^^),  but  approximates  in  its  prophetic 
tone  to  the  latter."^  Its  contents  adapt  it  for  the  position  which 
It  now  holds  in  the  book,  after  the  formal  close  of  the  history  of 
Saul's  reign,  i4^''-^i,  and  before  the  introduction  of  David :  note 
in  particular  v.^s,  which  explains  how,  in  what  follows,  David  is 
the  principal  figure  even  during  the  lifetime  of  Saul. 

In  c.  16-18  there  are  two  accounts  of  David's  introduction  to 
the  history.  According  to  one  account,  i6^^-23,  he  is  of  mature 
age,  "  a  man  of  war,  and  clever  in  speech  \or  in  business],"  on 
account  of  his  skill  with  the  harp  brought  into  Saul's  service 
at  the  time  of  the  king's  mental  distress,  and  quickly  appointed 
his  armour-bearer  (v.^^-^i).  According  to  the  other  account, 
171-18^,  he  is  a  shepherd  lad,  inexperienced  in  warfare,  who 
first  attracts  the  king's  attention  by  an  act  of  heroism  against 
the  Philistines:  in  this  account,  moreover,  the  inquiry  ly^s-ss 
comes  strangely  from  one  who,  according  to  i6^*-23,  had  not 
merely  been  told  who  his  father  was,  but  had  manifested  a 
marked  affection  for  David,  and  had  repeatedly  been  waited  on 
by  him  (v.^i-  23). f  Allusions  to  David's  exploit  against  Goliath 
occur,  however,  in  subsequent  parts  of  the  narrative  (see  19^  21^ 
[Heb.  1^]  22^^'^'^^) \  so  that  the  victory  over  Goliath  must  have 
formed  a  prominent  element  in  the  popular  tradition  respecting 
David,  t  and  it  is  only  the  literary  form  in  which  17^-18^  here 
appears,  and  its  collision  with  i6^^"23,  which  forbid  the  supposi- 
tion that  it  was  written  originally  for  the  place  which  it  now 
occupies.  But  that  the  following  section  must  from  the  first 
have  been  preceded  by  some  account  of  David's  military  prowess 
is  evident  from  18''',  which  implies  that  he  had  achieved  some 
success  (or  successes)  against  the  Philistines. 

In  the  section  17^-18^  the  genuine  text  of  LXX  (cod.  Vat.)  omits  [170] 
y  12-31.  41.  80.  55_jg6     gy  ^^  omission  of  these  verses  the  elements  which  conflict 

*  Budde  (pp.  1 88-191)  treats  it  definitely  as  the  sequel  of  I  12. 

t  Contrast  also  18^  ("did  not  let  him  go  back")  with  16^^"^;  and  observe 
that  the  terms  of  17^^  introduce  David  as  a  new  character  in  the  history 
(comp.  9I ;  252  ;  I  Ki.  1 1^^),  The  latter  circumstance  shows,  further,  that 
l6^-^2  (David  anointed  at  Bethlehem)  and  17^-18*^  do  not  both  belong  to  the 
same  stratum  of  narrative. 

+  It  is  remarkable  that  in  II  21^'  Goliath  is  stated  to  have  been  slain  by 
Elhanan  of  Bethlehem  (the  text  •f  i  Ch.  20**  is  plainly  less  original). 


l80  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

with  i6^'*"-3  are  greatly  reduced  {e.g.  David  is  no  longer  represented  as  ttnknown 
to  Saul),  but  they  are  not  removed  altogether  (comp.  17^-  ^'^^'  with  i6^^-  '^^'°), 
It  is  doubtful,  therefore,  whether  the  text  of  LXX  is  here  really  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  the  Heb.  :  Wellh.  {Comp.  250),  Kuenen  {Onderz.  §  23.  7),  and  Budde 
(p.  7.12.  i.)  agree  that  either  the  translators,  or,  as  Kuenen  supposes,  the 
scribe  of  the  MS.  used  by  them,  omitted  the  verses  in  question  from  harmon- 
istic  motives,  without,  however,  entirely  securing  the  end  desired;  on  the  other 
hand,  W.  R.  Smith,  OTJC^  pp.  120 ff.,  431  ff.,  and  Cornill,  Einl.  §  17.  5, 
maintain  the  superior  originality  of  the  LXX  text.  It  is  to  be  observed  that 
the  covenant  with  Jonathan,  18^,  is  presupposed  by  20^.  The  verses  17^-*  ^^ 
have  probably  been  modified  in  form,  for  the  purpose  of  harmonizing  the 
representation  with  that  of  16"'-^. 

In  18^"^**  (Saul's  growing  jealousy  of  David),  the  continuation  of  i6^'*"-' 
(the  evil  spirit  vexing  Saul),  there  are  again  considerable  omissions  in  LXX 
(cod.  Vat.),  the  text  of  LXX  reading  as  follows  : — v.^''  (An^,  women  dancing 
came  forth  out  of  all  the  cities  to  meet  David  with  timbrels^  with  joy,  &c. ), 
'•  ®*  (to  but  thousands),  ^  [see  Swete],  ^^*  (And  Saul  was  afraid  of  David),  ^^'^^' 
2o-2ia  (to  against  him),  22-28a  (^-q  son-in-law),  27-29a  (reading  in  v. 28b  "and  that 
all Israel\ove6.  him  ").  In  this  instance  it  is  generally  admitted  that  the  LXX 
text  deserves  the  preference  :  the  sequence  of  events  is  clearer,  and  the  stages 
in  the  gradual  growth  of  Saul's  enmity  towards  David  are  distinctly  marked 
(comp.  v.i2a.  15b.  29  j^i)^  See  Kirkpatrick  on  i  Samuel,  p.  242  ;  OTJC.^ 
p.  122  f.  ;  or  the  writer's  Notes  on  Samuel,  p.  121:  on  the  other  hand,  Budde, 
p.  217  ff.,  prefers  the  Heb.  text. 

(2)  C.  19-22.  David  finds  himself  obliged  to  flee  from  Saul. 
He  visits  Samuel  at  Ramah  (iq^^-^*),  learns  through  Jonathan 
that  Saul's  enmity  towards  him  is  confirmed  (c.  20),  and  repairs 
in  consequence  first  to  Abimelech  at  Nob,  then  to  Achish  at 
Gath  (c.  21),  and  finally  takes  refuge  in  the  cave  of  Adullam 
(c.  22). 

19I8-24  ig  parallel  with  lo^*^'^^.  Two  explanations  must  have  been  current 
respecting  the  origin  of  the  proverb,  Is  Saul  also  among  the  prophets  ?  both, 
however,  bringing  the  incident  into  connexion  with  Samuel.  The  account 
here  cannot  be  by  the  same  hand  as  that  in  10^""^^,  though  both  were  deemed 
worthy  of  retention  by  the  compiler  of  the  book.  C.  20  has  been  supposed 
to  be  a  doublet  to  19^"'^,  partly  on  account  of  some  resemblance  in  the  situa- 
tion (19^''  and  20^'^''*  ^^'  2^),  partly  on  account  of  the  apparent  incompatibility 
of  David's  uncertainty  as  to  Saul's  feeling  towards  him  with  the  declared 
hostility  of  19^*  ^*^^*  The  resemblance  is,  however,  very  partial  ;  and  Saul's 
attitude  was  probably  apt  to  fluctuate  from  day  to  day  with  his  changeful 
temper  (comp.  19^*-  after  v.^). 

(3)  C.  23-26.  David  as  an  outlaw:  {a)  at  Keilah  (23^"^^); 
{b)  in  the  wilderness  of  Ziph  (231^-29) ;  {c)  in  En-gedi,  where  he 
cuts  off  Saul's  skirt  in  the  cave  (c.  24) ;  {d)  in  Carmel  (David 


1-2  SAMUEL  l8l 

and  Nabal)  (c.  25) ;  {e)  in  the  wilderness  of  Ziph  again,  where  he 
steals  by  night  Saul's  spear  and  cruse  of  water  (c.  26).  C.  24  [171] 
and  c.  26  recount  two  anecdotes  of  David's  outlaw  life.  It  is, 
however,  a  question  whether  the  two  narratives  really  relate  to 
two  different  occasions,  and  whether  they  are  not  rather  merely 
different  versions  of  the  same  occurrence.  There  are  remarkable 
resemblances  between  the  two  accounts ;  and  though  there  are 
also  differences  of  detail,  these  are  hardly  greater  than  might 
have  grown  up  in  a  story  current  among  the  people  for  some 
time  before  it  was  committed  to  writing.  If  the  occasion  in 
c.  26  is  a  different  one  from  that  in  c.  24,  it  is  singular  that  it 
contains  no  allusion,  on  either  David's  part  or  Saul's,  to  David's 
having  spared  Saul's  life,  under  similar  circumstances,  before. 

As  regards  the  resemblances  between  the  two  accounts,  compare  26^  ai^ 
231** ;  262  and  242  ;  26^  and  24^-  ^^b  .  269^- "»  and  24«-  ioi>  j  26"  and  2410 
("Is  this  thy  voice,  my  son  David?")  ;  26^^  and  24^*  ";  26^^*  and  24^ 
(Saul  adjured  not  to  listen  to  men  who  may  have  calumniated  David) ;  2620* 
and  2414  ;  2621  and  24"  ;  26^3  and  2412-  is  ;  2625*  and  2^^^^'  ;  2625b  and  2422. 
By  those  who  hold  the  two  narratives  to  be  different  versions  of  the  same 
event,  that  in  c.  26  is  generally  considered  to  be  the  earlier  and  the  more 
original  (notice  the  antique  conception  underlying  26^^  ;  and  in  2^"^'^^  the 
more  explicit  terms  of  Saul's  answer  as  compared  with  2621-  25) :  otherwise, 
however,  Budde,  p.  228  f. 

(4)  C.  27-31.  David  seeks  refuge  in  the  country  of  the 
Philistines  with  Achish  (c.  27),  The  Philistines  resolve  to 
attack  Israel  (281^-).  Saul  consults  the  witch  at  En-dor  (283-25). 
David  is  dismissed  by  Achish  on  account  of  the  suspicions  of 
the  Philistine  lords  (c.  29).  His  vengeance  on  the  Amalekites 
who  had  smitten  Ziklag  (c.  30).  Death  of  Saul  and  Jonathan  on 
Mount  Gilboa  (c.  31). 

28"'  attaches  immediately  to  c.  27,  and  is  continued  by  c.  29-31.  2%^'-^ 
appears  to  have  been  misplaced.  28^  the  Philistines  have  advanced  to 
Shunem  (in  the  plain  of  Jezreel) ;  29^  they  are  still  at  Aphek,  in  the  Sharon 
(Josh.  12^8  LXX,  Dillm.;  G.  A.  Smith,  PEFQuSL  1895,  p.  252  f.,  Geogr.'' 
p.  675),  and  only  reach  Jezreel  in  29^1.  Thus  the  situation  in  28"*  anticipates 
c.  29-30.  The  narrative  will  be  in  its  right  order  if  28^-25  be  read  after 
c.  29-30.  28^-25  is  treated  by  Wellh.  i^Hist.  pp.  258-262)  as  belonging  to 
the  same  stratum  of  narrative  as  c.  15  :  Budde  (pp.  233-235)  points  out  the 
resemblances  in  style  and  representation  with  I  <^-\<:^^  &c.,  and  regards  v.!'*!"" 
(to  Philistines),  which  is  the  passage  connecting  it  with  c.  15,  as  a  later 
amplification  of  the  original  text. 

*  Where,  however,  my  life  should  probably  be  read  with  LXX  for  a  flea. 


1 82  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

IIL   2  Sa.  1-2  0.  David. 

(i)  C.  1-8.  Lament  of  David  over  Saul  and  Jonathan  (c.  i). 
David  is  made  king  at  Hebron  over  Judah,  and  subsequently, 
after  the  murder  of  Ishbosheth,  over  all  Israel  (e.  2-5^).  [172] 
Capture  of  the  stronghold  of  Jebus,  which  David  henceforth  makes 
his  residence  (5^"-^^).  Successes  against  the  Philistines  (5^""^^). 
The  removal  of  the  Ark  to  the  "  city  of  David  "  (c.  6).  The 
prophecy  of  Nathan  (7^'^'^),  arising  out  of  David's  desire  to  build 
a  Temple  for  the  Ark,  with  David's  prayer  consequent  upon  it 
(7I8-29).    Summary  of  David's  wars,  and  list  of  his  ministers  (c.  8). 

The  thread  of  the  history  is  here  carried  forward  without  interruption. 
Only  the  notices  in  2^°^*^^  are,  probably,  later  insertions:  for  v.^^^  is  the 
natural  sequel  of  v.^,  and  v.^^  Qf  v,^*'''.  And  5^"^'^^  can  scarcely  have  been 
written  originally  as  the  sequel  of  5^"^^  ;  for  were  the  entire  ch.  a  continuous 
narrative,  "  the  hold  "  (rrn^icn)  of  v."  (cf.  23^^)  could  hardly  denote  any  other 
spot  than  "the  hold"  (same  word)  of  v.^  {i.e.  Zion),  which,  nevertheless,  is 
evidently  not  the  case.  V.^'^*  is  the  natural  sequel  of  v.^^  :  it  is  conjectured 
plausibly  by  Budde  (p.  243)  that  the  original  place  of  5^"^^  was  between  6^ 
and  (?. 

C.  8  marks  a  break  in  the  book,  and  closes  the  chief  account 
of  David's  public  doings.  It  should  be  compared  with  the  con- 
clusion of  the  history  of  Saul's  reign,  I  14*6-^^  In  some  respects 
it  anticipates  what  follows,  just  as  that  does  (Amalek,  c,  15), 
comp.  V.2-  ^'  ^2  (Ammon),  with  c.  10-12.  The  oldest  narrative  of 
the  two  reigns  is  constructed  upon  a  similar  model.  First  is 
described  the  manner  in  which  Saul  and  David  respectively  reach 
the  throne ;  then  their  accomplishment  of  the  military  task  in 
the  first  instance  entrusted  to  them  (I  9^^ ;  II  3^^  19^):  then 
follows  a  survey  of  other  memorable  achievements  ;  and  so  the 
history  is  concluded. 

(2)  C.  9-20  [of  which  I  Ki.  1-2  is  the  continuation].  History 
of  events  in  David's  court^ii^^  showing  how  Amnon,  Absalom, 
and  Adonijah  failed  in  turn  to  secure  the  succession  to  the 
throne :  viz.  the  friendly  regard  shown  by  David  to  Jonathan's 
son,  Mephibosheth  (c.  9) ;  the  war  with  Ammon  ;  David  and 
Bathsheba ;  the  birth  of  Solomon  (c.  10-12);  Amnon's  rape  of 
his  half-sister  Tamar,  and  his  murder  by  order  of  Absalom 
(c.  13);  the  rebellion  and  death  of  Absalom  (c.  14-19);  the 
revolt  of  Sheba  (201-22)  (an  incident  springing  out  of  the  revolt 
of  Absalom) ;  list  of  David's  ministers  (2022-26). 


1-2   SAMUEL  183 

The  parts  of  this  narrative  are  mutually  connected  together, 
and  are  marked  by  unity  of  plan :  thus  c.  9  is  required  for  the 
purpose  of  explaining  the  notices  i6i-^  1^24-30  (g^g  ^lo^^  ^nd  [173] 
1,727  (see  9^) ;  the  account  of  the  war  with  Ammon  is  needed  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  how  David  became  acquainted  with 
Bathsheba,  the  future  mother  of  Solomon  ;  the  following  chapters 
describe  in  detail  how  one  after  another  of  Solomon's  elder 
brothers  failed  to  obtain  the  throne.  The  abundance  and 
particularity  of  detail  show  that  the  narrative  must  date  from 
a  period  very  little  later  than  that  of  the  events  related.  The 
style  is  singularly  bright,  flowing,  and  picturesque. 

IV.  C.  21-24.  An  appendix  to  the  main  narrative  of  the 
book,  of  miscellaneous  contents  :  viz.  {a)  the  famine  in  Israel 
stopped  through  the  sacrifice  of  the  sons  of  Saul  by  the 
Gibeonites  (21^-1*);  {d)  exploits  against  the  Philistines  (211^-22); 
{c)  David's  Hymn  of  Triumph  (c.  22  =  Ps.  18);  (d)  David's 
*'  Last  Words "  (23I-'') ;  {e)  further  exploits  against  the  PhiHs- 
tines,  and  list  of  David's  heroes  (23^-39) ;  (/)  David's  census  of 
the  people  (c.  24). 

Here  a  and  /are  in  style  and  manner  closely  related  (24^  is  evidently  the 
sequel  to  21^^^  :  comp.  also  21^^''  242^),  as  are  also  b  and  e.  The  four  chapters 
interrupt  the  continuous  narrative,  c.  9-20.  i  Ki.  1-2  ;  whence  it  may  be 
inferred  that  they  were  placed  where  they  now  stand  after  the  separation  had 
been  effected  between  the  Books  of  Samuel  and  Kings.  The  sources  made 
use  of  by  the  compiler  exhibit  no  affinity  with  c.  9-20.  i  K.  1-2.  The  list  of 
heroes  (like  the  previous  lists,  3^'^  ^w-ie  gis-is  ^(,^  j^a,y  be  derived  from  the 
register  of  the  "  recorder  "  (8^^)  ;  cf.  below,  p.  187. 

Looking  at  1-2  Sa.  as  a  whole,  relatively  the  latest  passages 
will  be  Hannah's  Song,  and  I  227-36  y2_c.  g.  ioi7-27a  jjU  c.  12. 
c.  15.  II  7,  most  of  which,  in  their  present  form,  have  sojne 
afifinities  in  thought  and  expression  with  Dt.,  though  decidedly  less 
marked  than  those  observable  in  the  redaction  of  Kings,  so  that 
■ — except  in  so  far  as  I  7.  8.  12  may  have  been  in  parts  expanded 
by  a  Deuteronomic  hand — they  will  be  /r^-Deuteronomic,  and 
hardly  later  than  c.  700  b.c.  The  rest,  it  is  plain,  is  not 
throughout  the  work  of  one  hand,  or  written  uno  tenore  (cf. 
what  was  said  above  on  I  1-4I*  ;  17^-18^ ;  19I8-24  •  c.  24  and  26  ; 
II  5^ '^■2^) :  but  in  all  probability  it  is  mostly  earlier  than  the 
passages  just  quoted,  and  in  some  parts  (esp.  II  9-20)  nearly 
contemporary  with  the  events  recorded.     The  most  considerable 


1 8^  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

part  which  appears  plainly  to  be  the  work  of  a  single  author, 
is  II  9-20 :  many  parts  of  the  preceding  history  of  David 
(I  15-II  5),  especially  those  which,  as  Wellh.  has  shown,  are 
mutually  connected  together,"*  [174]  ^^^  ^^^"^  ^  continuous 
thread,  are  also,  probably,  by  the  same  hand,  though  whether 
by  the  same  as  II  9-20,  must  remain  here  undetermined. 

Budde  (in  Haupt's  SBOT)  thus  connects  together,  and  attributes  to  the 
oldest  source,t  i  Sa.  9^-10'  lo^-^e*  ni-n.  14-15  132-7*.  i5b-i8.  23  j^i-ae.  52  1514-23 
i8^-  *^  (partly)  '"^^'  20-2ia.  22-30  20^"^*  '^^'^'  '^-^  [21^  H.]  22^"**  ^"^*'*'  ^^"^8*  20-22  2-21-14*. 

19-29  24I-I9.  22b  c.  25.  27.  28I-2  C.  29-30.  28''-^«-  ^^^'-^  C.  3I.  2  Sa.  I^-'*-  ""l--  ^^-23 
C.  2-4.  li}'^-  "'25  2I^^'-2  2'K'^'^-'  "b-39.  13-17a  5I  r6.  7a.  8a.  9-12  ^2-23  37-IO.  13-14a  ^2-5 
^13-16  gie-18  c.   24.   2ll-2a- 3-6.  8-14  c.   9-11.    i2l-7a.9  b.  13-31  c.   13-19.   20^-22;    cf.    the 

criticism  of  Stade,  TA.  Lit.-Zeit.  1896,  No.  i. 

There  are  a  certain  number  of  expressions  which  occur  frequently  in  1-2 
Sa. ;  but  some  are  evidently  colloquialisms,  and  many  occur  likewise  in  the 
narrative  parts  of  Jud.  Kgs.,  so  that  they  appear  to  have  formed  part  of  the 
phraseology  current  at  the  time,  and  their  use  does  not  imply  necessarily 
identity  of  author.     The  following  are  the  most  noticeable  : — 

1.  As  thy  soul  liveih  :  I  \^^  17^^,  II  ii"  14^^  :  preceded  by  As  Jehovah 

liveth  I  203  2526  2  Ki.   22-  4.  6  ^30  | 

2.  V?3  'J3  :  Dt.  I3^S  Jud.  1922  20^3 1  1I6  (Sy^Vn  nn)  2^2  m'^  25",  i  Ki. 

2110-13,  2  Ch.  13':  Vb  (^cjN)  c'N,  I  2525  3022,  II  i67  20I,  I  Ki. 

2ll3.| 

3.  Jehcwah  of  Hosts  :  I  i3-  "  4^  152  1745^  jj  ^lo  (/jj  >^\^^  ,",)  52.  18  78.  26.  27^ 

I  Ki.  1815  I910-1S  2  Ki.  3"  1931  [  =  Is.  3732].  (AH  in  Gen. -Kings. 
Often  in  the  prophets,  except  Joel,  Obadiah,  Jonah,  and  Ezekiel.) 

4.  So  may  God  do  {to  me)  and  more  also  :  I  3I'  14^  20^3  2522,  II  ■^-  35 

I9i'*,  I  Ki.  223,  2  Ki.  631,  J^^_  ji7 .  y^\^  ^  ^\\xx.  verb  (in  the  mouth 
of  a  non-Israelite),  i  Ki.  192201".! 

5.  From  Dan  even  to  Beersheba:    I   320,    II  310   17I1  242- 1^,  Jud,   20I 

(.  .   .  pcV),  I  Ki.  425.     From  B.  even  to  Dan:   i  Ch.  212,  2  Ch. 

30^T 

6.  Prince  or  leader  (I'J:),  of  the  chief  ruler  of  Israel  :  I  9I6  iqI  131^  2530, 

II  52  621  78^  I  !<;},  i35  147  i62^  2  Ki.  2o5.     (All  in  Gen. -Kings.) 

7.  n'?s  to  co?ne  mightily  (of  a  spirit) :  I  lo^- 10  n^  i6i3  ig^o  (of  an  evil 

spirit),  Jud.  i/^- 1^  151^.     Not  so  elsewhere. 

8.  As  Jehovah  liveth  :  I  1439-  ^s  196  2o3-  21  2526.  34  2610.  16  28I"  29^,  II  22^ 

{God)  /^  12^  14I1  1521  (22'''),  I  Ki.  i29  (followed  by  who  redeemed 
my  soul,  as  II  4^)  22^  171- 12  i8io- 1^  221^11,  2  Ki.  22-  ^-  ^  314  480  5I6.  20, 
(All  in  the  hist,  books.  In  the  Pent,  only  As  I  live  thrice  ;  Nu. 
1421.28  [,jj<  ,n],  Dt.  32''o  ['D3N  'n].) 

*  Cf.  e.g.  I  i87  295  ;  i825-  27  (LXX),  II  31^  ;  222«ff-  if^-  ;  232  30^,   II  2I 

^19  .    I  252ff.  3o26ff.  ;    273  3o5. 

t  Though  whether  this  source  is  rightly  identified  with  J  is  very  question- 
able :  the  present  writer  agrees  here  with  Kittel,  St.  tf.  Krit.  1892,  p.  61  ff. 


1-2  KINGS  185 

9.  Blessed  be  thou  {ye)  of  J. :  I  1513  2321,  II  2»,  Ruth  310.    Only  Ps.  115^5 
besides ;  but  cf.  Jud.  172,  Ru.  a^". 

10.  tSB'S  to  spread  out,  deploy  :  I  23^7  278-  ^^  30^-  1^,  Jud.  9^-  ■"  20^.     (All 

in  Gen. -Kings.) 

11.  TP3  pnco  :  I  2522-  34^  I  i^i,  1410  j61i  2121^  2  Ki.  98.! 

Peculiar,  or  nearly  so,  to  1-2  Sa.  are — '?iDnN  (I  4'  lo^^  1421  19',  H  52^ 
The  usual  form  is  ^iDn).— ib'nt  hv  nonNi  (1 4^2,  II  i2  I532|)._^3^^  .th  no  (I  4I8, 
II  i'»|).— pjv  n;;i  '?'?iyD  HE'N  ni;(i)  b'^nd  (I  15^  22i''t).— ^db'  in  the  piel=\.o 
summon  (I  15-*  23^!). — uhv youth,  the  masc.  of  r\r:hv  (I  17^  2o22|). — Battles  of 
fehovah  [175]  (I  iS^^  2528  ;  rather  differently  Nu.  2i^'*|).— iS  njB'  n'^i  a?/^'  «^/ 
repeat  it  to  hi»i  (I  26^,  II  20^°|). — The  comparison  to  an  angel  of  God  {^  2(f,  II 
J4I7.  20  19271), — 13  ,-,nN  'HM  as  a  link  of  transition  (II  2^  8^  lo^  13^  21^8  .  rather 
differently  I  24^.  Never  in  Hex, :  in  Jud.  only  16^  ;  in  Ki.  only  II  6^). — 
TDn  belly  {II  2^^  32^  4^  [not  LXX]  2o^0|).— ma  to  eat,  man  to  give  food  to, 
r\^-\2  food  (II  3^  12^'  i^s-?.  10^  An  uncommon  word :  elsewhere  only  in  the 
piel,  Lam,  4^°  ;  and  nna/^^^,  Ps.  6922). 

§  3.  1-2  Kings. 

Literature. — K.  C.  W.  F.  Bahr  in  Lange's  Bibelwerk,  1868;  Otto 
Thenius  in  the  Kgf  Exeg.  Handb.'^  1873  ;  C.  F.  Keil,2  1876  ;  Wellhausen  in 
Bleek's  EinL  (1878)  pp.  231-266  \  =  Comp.  pp.  266-302,  359-361];  Hist. 
p.  272  fif.  ;  Stade,  Der  text  des  Berichtes  iiber  Salomd's  Bauten  in  the  ZA  TW. 
1883,  pp.  129-177  (important:  see  the  chief  results  in  QFB.^;  also  Stade's 
Gesch.  Isr.  i.  pp.  311-343,  with  illustrations);  ib.  1884,  p.  271  ff.;  1885, 
pp.  165  ff.,  178,  275  ff.;  1886,  p.  156  ff.  (on  other  passages  of  Kings); 
Klostermann  (see  p.  172,  with  the  caution) ;  Kittel,  Gesch.  ii.  pp.  45  ff.,  177  ff.; 
F.  W.  Farrar  (in  the  "Expositor's  Bible"),  1893-4. 

The  two  Books  of  Kings  embrace  the  history  of  Israel  from 
the  period  of  David's  nomination  of  Solomon  as  his  successor, 
consequent  upon  the  rebellion  of  Adonijah,  to  the  release  of 
Jehoiachin  from  prison  in  Babylon  by  Evil-merodach,  562  B.C. 
The  structure  of  the  two  books  is  essentially  similar  to  that  of 
the  central  part  of  the  Book  of  Judges  :  materials  derived  from 
older  sources  have  been  arranged  together,  and  sometimes  ex- 
panded at  the  same  time,  in  a  framework  supplied  by  the  com- 
piler. The  framework  of  the  compiler  is  in  general  readily 
distinguishable.  It  comprises  the  chronological  details,  refer- 
ences to  authorities,  and  judgments  on  the  character  of  the 
various  kings,  especially  with  reference  to  their  attitude  to  the 
worship  at  the  high  places, — all  cast  in  the  same  literary  mould, 
and  marked  by  the  same  characteristic  phraseology.  Both  in 
point  of  view  and  in  phraseology,  the  compiler  shows  himself  to 
be  strongly  influenced  by  Deuteroiioniy . 


1 86  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

The  Books  of  Kings  may  be  treated  conveniently  in  three 
parts: — (i)  I  i-ii  Solomon;  (2)  I  12 -I I  17  Israel  and  Judah\ 
(3)  II  18-25  Judah.  Each  part  shows  abundant  marks  of  the 
compiler's  hand ;  but  the  scheme  or  plan  of  his  work,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  is  most  evident  in  the  second  part,  where  the 
compiler  has  to  arrange  and  bring  into  mutual  relation  with  one 
another  the  successive  reigns  in  the  two  contemporary  kingdoms. 
[176]  For  each  reign  he  adopts  an  introductory  and  concluding 
formula,  couched  in  similar  terms  throughout,  between  which 
are  described  the  events  belonging  to  the  reign  in  question,  only 
very  rarely  an  isolated  notice  being  allowed  to  appear  after  the 
closing  formula  (I  16"  II  15^^;  cf.  24''). 

These  formulae  are  too  well  known  to  need  quotation.  The  opening 
formula,  in  the  case  of  the  kings  of  Judah  {e.g.  I  \^^'),  consists  of  two 
sentences,  the  first  defining  the  synchronism  with  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  the 
second  stating  the  age,  the  length  of  reign,  and  the  name  of  the  king's 
mother.  In  the  case  of  the  kings  of  Israel  {e.g.  I  15^),  it  consists  usually 
of  a  single  sentence,  in  which  the  synchronism  with  the  kingdom  of  Judah 
and  the  length  of  reign  are  alone  stated.  The  closing  formula  for  the  kings 
of  Judah  {e.g.  II  S^^^-)  consists  of  two  sentences,  the  first  containing  the 
compiler's  reference  to  his  source,  the  second — rarely  separated  from  the  first 
by  an  intervening  notice  (I  14^''  1^'  ^^  22^^-^^,  II  1537)— mentioning  the  death 
and  burial  of  the  king,  and  the  name  of  his  successor.  In  the  case  of  the 
kings  of  Israel  {e.g.  I  i6^**)  the  formula  is  similar,  except  that  the  words 
"was  buried  with  his  fathers"  are  never  used.  Slight  deviations  from  these 
formulae  occasionally  occur,  arising  mostly  out  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
case:  thus  the  clause  *'and  slept  with  his  fathers  "  is  omitted  in  the  case  of 
those  kings  who  came  to  a  violent  end,  II  12^^  14^0  21^6  23^*^.  The  repetition 
of  the  closing  formula  in  the  case  of  Jehoash  II  i3^2f.  j^isf.  jg  j^o  doubt  the 
result  of  some  error  :  its  position  in  13^^^*,  immediately  after  the  opening 
formula  (v.^°^-),  is  contrary  to  analogy. 

Tix^  judgments  on  the  several  kings  ("And  he  did  that  which  was  right — 
or  that  which  was  evil — in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah  " ;  in  the  case  of  Israel,  always 
"that  which  was  evil")  usually  follow  the  opening  formula,  and  are  mostly 
confined  to  a  single  verse  (as  I  15^^).  Occasionally,  however,  they  are  longer, 
and  embrace  fuller  particulars  (as  I  1422-24  1511-14  1530-33^  jj  j63-4)_ 

The  Book  of  Kings  differs  from  all  the  preceding  historical 
books,  in  the  fact  that  the  compiler  refers  habitually  to  certain 
authorities  for  particulars  not  contained  in  his  own  work.  These 
authorities  are  (i)  for  the  reign  of  Solomon,  the  "Book  of  the 
acts  of  Solomon  "( 1  Ki.  11^^);  (2)  for  the  Northern  kingdom, 
the  "Book  of  the  chronicles  of  the  kings  of  Israel"  (17  times — 
for  all  the  kings   except   Jehoram   and    Hoshea);    (3)  for  the 


1-2   KINGS  187 

Southern  kingdom,  the  "  Book  of  the  chronicles  of  the  kings  of 
Judah  "(15  times — for  all  except  Ahaziah,  Athaliah,  Jehoahaz, 
Jehoiachin,  and  Zedekiah).  These  authorities,  it  is  to  be  noticed, 
are  always  referred  to  for  information  respecting  the  kings,  their 
buildings,  warlike  enterprises,  and  other  undertakings ;  for  instance, 
[177]  "  And  the  rest  of  the  acts  of  Solomon,  and  all  that  he  did, 
and  his  wisdom,  are  they  not  written  in  the  Book  of  the  acts  of 
Solomon  ? "  *  It  may  be  safely  inferred  from  the  character  of 
these  references  that  the  "  Books  of  chronicles  "  were  oi  di political 
character  :  they  contained  notices  of  the  public  and  official  doings 
of  the  several  kings,  f  The  Book  of  the  acts  of  Solomon  in- 
cluded, in  addition,  some  specimens  or  notices  of  his  "wisdom." 
The  name  by  which  the  Books  are  quoted  points  to  the  same 
conclusion.  The  expression  chronicles  (lit.  words,  or  acts,  of 
days)  is  the  proper  term  used  to  denote  an  o^QXdX  journal,  or 
minutes  of  events :  i  Ch.  2  7 2*  it  is  implied  that  the  results  of 
David's  census  would  in  the  ordinary  course  of  things  have  been 
included  in  the  "chronicles"  of  his  reign;  Neh.  12^3  a  "book 
of  chronicles "  is  mentioned,  in  which  the  heads  of  Levitical 
families  were  registered.  Now,  it  appears  from  2  Sa.  8^^  20^*, 
I  Ki.  4^,  2  Ki.  1 81^- 2'',  2  Ch.  34^  that  David,  Solomon,  Hezekiah, 
and  Josiah  had  among  their  ministers  one  who  bore  the  title  of 
recorder  (lit.  remembrancer :  "l"'DTD,  LXX  6  vTro/xi/jiVT^a-Kiov,  6  vTro/xvyj- 
fxaroypdcjios,  o  cirt  tC)v  vTTOfxvrjfjbOLTwv) ;  and  it  may  reasonably  be 
inferred  that  the  other  kings  as  well  had  a  similar  minister.  It 
can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  function  of  this  minister  was  to 
keep  an  official  record  of  the  public  events  of  the  reign,  |  such  as 

*  Other  phrases  used  are  :  "how  he  warred,  and  how  he  reigned  "  (1 14^^), 
"  and  all  that  he  did  "  (I  14^^  a/.),  "and  all  his  might,  and  all  that  he  did, 
and  the  cities  that  he  built"  (I  15^),  "and  his  treason  that  he  wrought" 
(I  16^*',  II  IS^'^),  "and  all  that  he  did,  and  the  ivory  house  which  he  built, 
and  all  the  cities  that  he  built"  (I  22^^),  "and  his  might,  and  how  he  fought 
against  Amaziah  king  of  Judah"  (II  14-^^),  "and  all  that  he  did,  and  his 
might,  how  he  warred,  and  how  he  recovered  Damascus  and  Hamath  "  {y.^), 
"and  all  his  might,  and  how  he  made  the  pool,  and  the  conduit,  and  brought 
water  into  the  city"  (II  202°),  "and  all  that  he  did,  and  his  sin  that  he 
sinned  "(II  21"). 

t  The  sin  of  Manasseh  would  be  no  doubt  his  public  recognition  of 
idolatry. 

:J:  Comp.  Est.  22^6^,  in  which  last  passage  "chronicles"  is  in  apposition 
with  "book  of  records"  (mjiDin  nso),  a  term  used  in  the  Aramaic  sections  of 
Ezra  to  denote  the  Persian  official  aichives  (Ezr.  4''' ;  cf.  6-). 


1 88  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

would  be  denoted  by  D^D\'I  ^"im  or  "  chronicles."  It  has  been 
questioned  whether  the  "  Books  "  referred  to  in  Kings  are  the 
actual  official  records  of  the  two  kingdoms,  or  two  independent 
historical  works  based  upon  them.  Modern  scholars,  though  not 
upon  very  decisive  grounds,  prefer  generally  [178]  the  latter 
alternative.  The  difference  is  not  important.  In  either  case 
the  two  books  were  digests  or  summaries  of  events  of  national 
importance,  with  names  and  lists  of  officers,  &c.  The  book 
dealing  with  the  reign  of  Solomon  appears  to  have  been  distinct 
from  either  of  the  two  containing  the  annals  of  the  two  kingdoms 
subsequent  to  the  rupture. 

In  the  narrative  of  Kings  (apart  from  the  compiler's  frame- 
work) two  elements  are  distinguishable — (i)  brief,  statistical 
notices,  sometimes  called  the  "Epitome,"  relating  chiefly  to 
events  of  political  importance  \  (2)  longer,  continuous  narratives, 
describing  usually  occurrences  in  which  the  prophets  were  more 
or  less  directly  concerned.  In  form  the  Epitome  is  no  doubt 
the  work  of  the  compiler ;  but  the  particulars  embraced  in  it, 
after  what  has  been  said,  may  reabonably  be  regarded  as  derived 
by  him  from  the  two  books  named.  The  longer  narratives, 
which  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  formed  part  of  the  official 
annals  (for  these  are  uniformly  referred  to  in  connexion  with  the 
public  doings  of  the  kings)^  will  have  been  taken  by  him  from 
various  independent  sources.  These  narratives  are  written 
mostly  in  a  bright  and  chaste  Hebrew  style,  though  some  of  them 
exhibit  slight  peculiarities  of  diction,*  due  doubtless  (in  part) 
to   their   North   Israelitish   origin.     Their   authors   were  in  all 

*  E.g.  in  the  Elisha-narratives,  'nx  for  nx  thou  (fem.)  II  4^^- ^3  8^  (also 

I  142,  Jud.  172,  Jer.  430,  Ez.  i(?-^\\  and  the  other  ferns,  in  '-42-  »•  7.  23 .  t^g 
prep,  -nx  with,  written  -nix  (as  often  in  Jer.,  Ez.)  12  times  between  I  20  and 

II  8  (I  2.0^  bis  227-  8  (inxp)  24  jj  jis  3I1. 12.  26  516  88) ;  and  slight  solecisms 
of  form  or  expression,  as  'njinntynn  II  5^8.  ^  in  liWp  6^^  (Klost.,  however, 
after  LXX,  ».^J0) ;  hd'K  where?  G^  Kt.  (  =  1^^]);  r<^  fem.  (Aram.  ni)  6^^  ; 
mt5'n3  7^2.  □nni;9i8.  D.TVNnj;  920 ;  the  verb.  (Aram.)  rh^'r^  ^.  Comp.  also 
psb  to  suffice  (Aram,  pso),  i  Ki.  20^°  (in  normal  Hebrew  NiD,  Nu.  11^2,  Jud. 
21^^) ;  D'ln  nobles  (lit.  free,  a  common  Aram,  word)  21 8- 1^.  (-niN,  however, 
will  hardly  have  been  the  pronunciation  of  the  original  author :  notice  the 
frequent  plena  scriptio ;  and  the  occurrence  several  times  in  the  same  chapters 
of  the  usual  form  -ON.)  As  the  book  approaches  its  close,  some  deterioration 
of  style  is  noticeable,  though  mostly  (as  it  seems)  in  the  parts  due  to  the  com' 
piler,  e.g.  II  17.  c.  21-25. 


1-2  KINGS  189 

probability  prophets, — in  most  cases,  prophets  belonging  to  the 
Northern  kingdom ;  though  the  data  do  not  exist  for  identifying 
them,  in  individual  cases,  either  with  any  of  the  prophets  named 
incidentally  in  the  narrative  of  Kings,  or  with  those  mentioned 
from  time  to  time  in  the  Chronicles  in  connexion  with  the  history 
[179]  of  particular  reigns.*  These  prophetical  narratives  appear 
in  most  cases  to  have  been  transferred  by  the  compiler  to  his 
work  without  material  alteration.  Sometimes,  however,  especially 
where  speeches  or  prophecies  are  concerned,  the  style  and 
thought  so  closely  resemble  those  of  the  framework,  that  it  is 
impossible  not  to  conclude  that  the  original  text  has  been  ex- 
panded or  developed  by  him. 

From  the  fulness  of  particulars  respecting  the  history  of  the 
Temple  (II  ii^^-;  12^-16;  1610-18.  2  23^-),  it  has  been  conjectured, 
not  improbably,  that  the  Temple  archives  were  also  among  the 
sources  employed  by  the  compiler.  In  the  chronology,  the  age 
at  accession  and  regnal  years  of  the  several  kings  are  generally 
considered  to  be  derived  from  the  two  official  "  chronicles " : 
but  the  synchronisms  will  hardly  have  been  taken  from  the  same 
sources ;  for  it  is  not  probable  that  in  each  kingdom  the  acces- 
sions would  be  dated  regularly  by  the  regnal  years  of  the  other. 
The  author  of  a  joint  history  of  both  kingdoms  would,  however, 
have  a  sufficient  inducement  to  notice  such  synchronisms;  so 
that  they  may  be  reasonably  attributed  to  the  compiler,  who  may 
be  supposed  to  have  arrived  at  them  by  computation  from  the 
regnal  years  of  the  successive  kings,  f 

In  the  arrangement  of  the  reigns  of  the  two  series  of  kings  a  definite  prin- 
ciple is  followed  by  the  compiler.  When  the  narrative  of  a  reign  (in  either 
series)  has  once  been  begun,  it  is  continued  to  its  close, — even  the  contem- 
porary incidents  of  a  prophet's  career,  which  stand  in  no  immediate  relation 
to  public  events,  being  included  in  it :  when  it  is  ended,  the  reign  or  reigns 
of  the  other  series,  which  have  synchronized  with  it,  are  dealt  with  ;  the 
reign  overlapping  it  at  the  end  having  been  completed,  the  compiler  resumes 
his  narrative  of  the  first  series  with  the  reign  next  following,  and  so  on. 

We  may  now  proceed  to  consider  the  Books  of  Kings  in 
detail. 

I.   I  Ki.  i-ii.  Solofnon. — Here  c.  1-2  is   the   continuation 

-*  2  Ch.  929  1 2^5  1322  2034  2622  32^2  3318  (?). 

t  See  the  note  in  the  writer's  Isaiah,  his  life  and  times,  p.  i2flF.,  with  the 
references  (esp.  V^eWh..  Jahrb.  filr  Deutsche  TheoL  1875,  pp.  607-640). 


190  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

of  2  Sa.  9-20  (p.  182),  forming  at  once  the  close  of  the  history 
of  David  and  the  introduction  to  that  of  Solomon.  Only  2^-^, 
as  the  phraseology  unmistakably  shows  (see  p.  200),  owes  its 
present  form  to  the  compiler;  and  the  two  notices  respecting 
David's  death,  and  the  length  of  his  reign,  in  2^^-11,  may  be 
due  to  his  hand  also.  In  other  respects  c.  1-2  is  entirely  in 
[180]  the  style  of  2  Sa.  9-20,  and  appears  to  be  the  work  of  the 
same  author.  Solomon's  throne  being  now  secured,  the  account 
of  his  reign  follows,  c.  3- 11.  The  principle  upon  which  the 
narrative  is  here  arranged  has  been  pointed  out  by  Wellh.  The 
central  point  is  the  description  of  Solomon's  buildings,  the 
Temple  and  the  royal  palace  contiguous,*  c.  6-7.  On  each  side 
of  this  the  compiler  has  placed  a  group  of  narratives  and  shorter 
notices,  with  the  view  of  illustrating  Solomon's  wisdom  and  mag- 
nificence. At  the  close,  c.  1 1,  comes  some  account  of  Solomon's 
political  opponents,  preparatory  to  the  narrative,  c.  12,  of  the 
division  of  his  kingdom.  Thus  ^^-^^  describes  Solomon's 
choice  of  wisdom,  which  is  at  once  followed  by  an  illustration  of 
it  as  afforded  by  his  judgment  on  the  two  children.  C.  4  gives 
a  picture  of  the  character  and  extent  of  his  empire ;  c.  5  (nego- 
tiations with  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  and  preparations  for  the  work 
of  building  the  Temple)  is  introductory  to  c.  6-7,  as  8^-9^ 
(prayer  of  dedication,  and  warning  for  the  future)  forms  the  con- 
clusion to  it.  9IO-28  consists  of  notices  relating  indirectly  to 
Solomon's  buildings  (the  cities  offered  by  him  to  Hiram  in 
acknowledgment  of  his  services;  the  levy  raised  by  Solomon 
from  among  the  Canaanites  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  his 
buildings;  his  navy  bringing  gold  from  Ophir).  In  lo^-^^  (the 
narrative  of  the  visit  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba)  another  even 
more  dazzling  picture  is  presented  of  Solomon's  wisdom  and 
royal  splendour.  lo^^-^^  the  notices  of  the  wealth  which  Solomon's 
wide  commercial  relations  brought  in  to  him  (9^^'^^),  which  had 
been  interrupted  by  the  episode  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  are 
resumed.  It  will  be  evident  from  this  survey  how  homogeneous, 
speaking  generally,  c.  3-4  is  with  9^^-10-^.  C.  11,  in  terms 
ominous  of  the  future,  describes  how,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
compiler,  Solomon's  reign  had  been  clouded,  partly  by  his  own 
declension  in  religion,  partly  through  the  troubles  occasioned  by 
political  opponents. 

*  See  the  art.  "Jerusalem,"  Part  ii.,  in  the  Encycl,  Britannica  (ed.  9). 


1-2   KINGS  191 

The  parts  of  c.  3-1 1  which  have  been  added,  or  expanded, 
by  the  compiler  are  distinguishable  without  much  difficulty,  viz. 
32-3  (which  agrees  with  the  disapproval  of  the  high  places  ex- 
pressed elsewhere  by  him  :  the  narrator  of  3^^"-,  on  the  contrary, 
does  not  seem  to  consider  any  excuse  to  be  necessary);  3^* 
(notice  the  Deuteronomic  phraseology :  see  p.  200  f.,  Nos.  2, 
[181]  3,  22b)  \  611-13;  81-5.*  G-11  (expanded  probably  from  a  narra- 
tive originally  briefer) ;  S^s-ei  (the  prayer  of  dedication,  which  in 
its  present  form  is  clearly  the  work  of  the  compiler) ;  91-^  (the 
Deuteronomic  phrases  are  here  even  more  strongly  marked  than 
in  the  prayer:  see  below);  ii^-i^  (in  its  present  form),  and  parts 
of  v.32-39 :  perhaps  also  5!-^,  S^^-i^,  though  these  two  sections, 
which  are  kindred  in  character  and  import  with  the  prophecy 
of  Nathan,  2  Sa.  7,  may  be  the  work  of  an  earlier  prophetical 
narrator.  All  these  passages  are,  on  the  one  hand,  so  different 
in  style  from  the  main  current  of  narrative,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  have  such  affinities  both  in  style  and  in  point  of  view 
with  the  subsequent  parts  of  the  two  books  which  are  plainly 
the  work  of  the  compiler,  that  no  hesitation  need  be  felt  in 
attributing  them  to  his  hand.  What  remains  is  (in  the  main) 
the  pre-Deuterononiic  narrative  of  SolomorHs  reign,  though  prob- 
ably not  entirely  in  its  original  order,  and  including  a  few 
additions  made  to  it  subsequently.  34-13. 15. 16-28  jqI-is  will  be 
prophetical  narratives  of  relatively  early  origin.  The  list  of 
officers  in  41-1^,  with  the  sequel  (describing  their  duties)  in  427-28^ 
may  naturally  be  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  State-annals 
(the  "Book  of  the  acts  of  Solomon,"  ii*i).  The  intermediate 
verses,  420-26^  interrupt  the  connexion,!  and  seem  to  be  an 
insertion,  which  the  expression  in  v. 2*  ^^ beyond  the  River"  [i.e. 
the  Euphrates],  applied  to  the  country  west  of  the  Euphrates,  and 
implying  consequently  a  Babylonian  standpoint  (see  Ezr.  4^^^' 
53  &c.),  shows  cannot  be  earlier  than  the  period  of  the  exile. 

In  5^*^^'  the  numbers  are  larger  than  is  probable ;  and  the  entire  notice 

*  6""^^  and  parts  of  8^"^  are  not  in  LXX ;  and  as  6^^""  and  the  parts  of 
81-5  not  in  LXX  contain  phrases  of  H  and  P  (with  6^^  cf.  Lev.  18-*  26^ ;  with 
6^^  cf.  Ex.  258  29*5 :  on  8^-5  see  p.  I44«.),  it  is  probable  that  they  are  not 
the  work  of  the  principal  compiler,  but  were  added  at  a  later  date  by  a  writer 
(or  writers)  influenced  by  P  (comp.  on  Josh,  20,  p.  112). 

t  The  Heb.  word  rendered  those  in  \.^  (h'^n)  should  properly  be  these. 
In  the  LXX,  ^^^'  immediately  foll(^s  ^^^  (420^-  standing  after  2*«). 


193  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

(in  spite  of  the  explanation  proffered  in  2  Ch.  2^"*)  is  in  imperfect  relation 
with  v.^^'-.  910-28  consists  of  a  series  of  notices,  imperfectly  connected 
together:  v.^'',  for  instance,  appears,  in  fact,  to  refer  to  an  incident  anterior 
to  v.^^^"^^  :  the  "account"  of  the  levy,  promised  in  v.^^,  only  follows  in  v.^**, 
the  intermediate  verses  being  parenthetic :  9^^*  (Pharaoh's  daughter  and 
Millo)  has  no  point  of  contact  either  with  what  precedes  or  with  what  follows. 
And  9^  (no  levy  of  Israelites)  conflicts  with  5^^'-,  cf.  ii^  (which  speaks  of 
the  "burden  of  the  house  of  Joseph").  The  literary  form  of  9I0-28  is,  for 
some  reason,  less  complete  than  that  of  any  other  portion  of  the  Books  of 
Kings.  In  the  LXX  many  of  the  notices  are  [182]  differently  arranged, 
and  the  text  is  sometimes  briefer :  it  seems,  therefore,  that  in  the  MSS. 
used  by  them  the  Hebrew  text  here  had  not  yet  reached  the  form  in  which 
we  now  have  it.  * 

8^^^'  has  a  poetical  tinge.  It  is  remarkable,  now,  that  in  LXX  (where  it 
stands  after  v.^^)  it  appears  in  a  fuller  form,  with  the  addition  ovk  Idoi;  avrrj 
y^ypairrai  iv  pi^\l(p  rrjs  (fdrj^ ;  i.e.  (as  can  hardly  be  doubted :  cf.  Josh.  10^* 
Pesh.f)  ■ia'\n  nsD  hv  nnina  n\t  n"?.!  (comp.  Wellh.  Comp.  271  ;  Encycl.  Brit.^ 
xiv.  p.  84).  The  original  Hebrew  cannot  be  represented  quite  exactly  by 
the  Greek  text,  and  Cheyne's  restoration  {Origin  of  the  Psalter,  p.  212)  t  is 
no  doubt  preferable  to  Wellh. 's  :  but  the  words  just  quoted  cannot  have  been 
invented  by  the  translators;  it  appears  therefore  that  the  "Book  of  Jashar" 
(p.  121)  contained  a  poetical  account  of  the  foundation  of  Solomon's  Temple, 
and  was  still  cited  by  name  in  the  text  of  Kings  used  by  the  LXX. 

The  kernel  of  c.  11  is  old ;  but  the  narrative  must,  in  parts, 
have  been  recast,  and  placed  in  a  different  light.  In  v.^-^^,  v."^ 
— where  ti<  then  connects  imperfectly  with  v.^"^ — and  the  notice 
v.^  respecting  the  number  of  Solomon's  wives,  are  no  doubt 
excerpts  from  the  older  narrative:  the  emphasis  laid  on  the 
declension  caused  thereby  in  Solomon's  religion  is  expressed  in 
phrases  which  betoken  the  hand  of  the  compiler.  In  what 
follows,  the  original  purport  of  the  narrative  can  hardly  be  that 
which  now  appears.  In  the  narrative  in  its  present  form,  the 
"adversaries"  in  v.^^*^-  are  described  as  "raised  up"  by  way  of 
punishment  for  the  sins  of  Solomon's  later  days  (v.^-  *•  ^) :  but, 

*  Compare  the  last  two  notes.  So  S^^-  ^^-^  6^"^-^  take  the  place  in  LXX 
of  6^^ :  6^1-1^  and  9^^-25  are  omitted :  on  the  other  hand,  9="^-  23- "  appear 
(with  429^-  31^  51°)  after  2^  ;  g^^-  "*  (with  3^)  after  4^^ ;  924*  after  g^ ;  g^^-  "b-2a 
after  1022  .  there  are  also  several  additions.  In  some  cases  (but  by  no  means 
in  all)  there  is  good  reason  to  suppose  that  the  recension  represented  by 
the  LXX  has  preserved  better  readings  than  the  Hebrew ;  see  examples  in 
QFB\ 

t  Where  "ib^'H  is  similarly  confused  with  Trn  t/ie  song  (\t\*.^*-^  ^?\ 


1-2   KINGS  193 

in  point  of  fact,  the  incidents  described  in  v,^'^-^^'  24-25  (note  the 
expression  "a//  the  days  of  Solomon"),  if  not  also  in  v.^^-^s, 
occurred  early  in  his  reign ;  hence,  if  the  view  of  the  compiler 
be  that  of  the  original  narrator,  the  punishment  will  have  pre- 
ceded the  sin  which  occasioned  it.  It  seems  clear  that  the 
narrative  itself  (v.^*^-)  is  ancient,  but  that  the  setting  (v.^-^^), 
which  represents  the  events  narrated  as  the  punishment  for  the 
idolatry  of  v.^-^,  was  added  subsequently  by  the  compiler.  In 
the  narrative  of  Ahijah  (v.^^^^^),  v.^--^^  must  have  been  [183] 
expanded  by  the  compiler,  as  they  abound  with  marks  of  his 
style  (see  p.  200  ff.).  n^i-^s  jg  the  concluding  formula  of  Solo- 
mon's reign,  in  the  compiler's  usual  manner. 

The  work  which  lay  at  the  basis  of  the  pre-Deuteronomic 
account  of  Solomon's  reign  must  have  been  one  in  which  the 
arrangement  of  material  was  determined  less  by  chronological 
sequence  than  by  community  of  subject.  In  other  words,  it  was 
not  so  much  a  chronicle  as  a  series  of  detached  notices.  The 
description  of  the  buildings  forming  the  central  feature  in  it, 
particulars  respecting  the  preparations  or  materials  required  for 
them,  and  notices,  or  short  narratives,  illustrating  Solomon's 
wisdom,  or  splendour,  or  the  organization  of  his  empire,  were 
placed  on  either  side  of  it.  At  the  close  came  c.  ii  (in  its 
original  form),  containing  some  account  of  the  political  opponents 
who  from  time  to  time  disturbed  the  tranquillity  of  his  reign. 
Throughout,  the  author  evinces  a  warm  admiration  for  Solomon  : 
he  recounts  with  manifest  satisfaction  the  evidences  of  his 
wisdom,  and  dwells  with  pride  on  the  details  of  his  imperial 
magnificence,  on  the  wealth  which  streamed  into  Jerusalem 
from  all  quarters,  on  his  successful  alliances  and  commercial 
undertakings,  and  on  the  manner  in  which  his  fame  commanded 
the  wonder  and  respect  of  distant  nations.  The  darker  shades 
in  the  picture  seem  largely,  though  not,  perhaps,  entirely,  to  be 
due  to  the  Deuteronomic  compiler. 

II.  1  Ki.  12-2  Ki.  17.  Israel  and  Judah.  —  Here  we  have 
alternately  short  notices  and  long  continuous  narratives — the 
latter  now  and  then  expanded  by  the  compiler — arranged  in  a 
chronological  framework,  in  the  manner  indicated  above.  The 
longer  narratives  are  sometimes  slightly  modified  at  the  beginning 
and  end  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  connexion  with  the 
history   on   either   side   of  ihem.      C.    J  3    contains   the   older 


194  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

narrative  of  the  defection  of  the  ten  tribes  from  the  dynasty  of 
David;  v.26-33  (Jeroboam's  calves,  and  the  worship  instituted 
in  connexion  with  them)  may  be  due,  in  their  present  fofm,  to 
the  compiler;  12^^  introduces  the  account  of  the  prophecy 
against  the  altar  of  Bethel — a  narrative  not  probably  of  very 
early  origin,  as  it  seems  to  date  from  a  time  when  the  names  both 
of  the  prophet  of  Judah  and  of  the  "  old  prophet "  were  no  longer 
remembered.  1333-34  lead  back  to  the  main  thread  of  the  history. 
14I-18  (the  wife  of  Jeroboam  and  the  prophet  Ahijah)  [184]  is  in 
its  substance,  no  doubt,  ancient ;  but  the  answer  of  Ahijah  has 
certainly  in  parts  been  recast  in  the  phraseology  of  the  compiler 
(esp.  V.8-  9- 10- 15- 16). 

Observe  the  standing  phrases  of  the  compiler  in  these  verses  (see  p.  200  ff. ) ; 
and  the  anachronism  in  14^  (as  addressed  to  JeroboatJi),  "above  all  that  were 
before  thee''  {\(P'  ^  (cf.  v.^^  II  172  igs)  show  besides  that  this  phrase  is  the 
compiler's).  In  some  of  its  other  features  the  prophecy  bears  a  striking 
resemblance  to  those  of  Jehu  son  of  Hanani  16^"'*,  Elijah  2i20b"22,  the  un- 
named prophet  21^4,  and  the  disciple  of  Elisha  II  Q*^"^**  (comp.  14'  with  16^; 
Tpn  pnt^D  1410  16"  2i2i,  II  98  [I  Sa.  2522-  34] .  y^^^  ^^j^y  i^io  2121,  n  98  1426 
[in  a  notice  of  the  compiler's]  ;  nnx  lyn  14^°  16^  [nnx]  2121 ;  Him  that  dicthy 
&c.,  14-'^  16^  2i24)  :  but  it  is  quite  possible  that  these  phrases  are  original 
here,  and  have  been  adopted  thence  by  the  compilfer  when  he  recast,  or 
amplified,  the  other  later  prophecies  quoted.  (That  the  prophecies  in  the 
Books  of  Kings  have  really,  in  parts,  been  amplified  by  the  compiler  may 
be  inferred  upon  two  grounds :  not  only  do  the  parts  in  question  exhibit 
common  features,  connecting  them  with  the  compiler,  but  in  style  and  ex- 
pression they  have  no  parallel  in  the  prophecies  of  Amos,  Hosea,  or  other 
prophets,  whose  writings  have  been  preserved  independently,  prior  to 
Jeremiah. ) 

From  14I9  to  c.  16  the  history  consists  chiefly  of  a  collection 
of  short  notices  (1425-28  156.  7b.  12-13. 15. 16-22. 27-28  &c.)  arranged  in 
the  schematism  of  the  compiler  (the  chronology  and  judgments 
on  the  kings),  as  14I9-20.  21-24.  29-31  1^1-2.  3-5. 7a.  8.  9-11.  i4. 23-24. 25-26. 
29-32.33-34  i6i-4  (recast),  &c.  (On  the  phraseology  of  these  pas- 
sages, see  below,  p.  200  ff.) 

C.  16  ended,  the  framework  expands  for  the  purpose  of 
admitting  the  narratives  respecting  Elijah  and  Elisha.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  all  these  narratives  are  by  the  same  hand :  but 
all  appear  to  be  of  North  Israelitish  origin ;  and  all,  especially 
those  dealing  with  Elijah,  exhibit  the  ease,  and  grace,  and  vivid- 
ness which  belong  to  the  best  style  of  Hebrew  historical  narrative. 
The  beginning  of  the  history  of  Elijah  has  probably  been  omitted 


1-2   KINGS  195 

by  the  compiler :  the  place  whence  Elijah  is  to  depart,  1 7^,  the 
ground  for  which  he  is  persecuted  and  addressed  as  the  "Troubler 
of  Israel,"  i8i<^-  i'',  and  particulars  respecting  the  murder  of 
the  prophets  by  Jezebel,  alluded  to  iS^^,  are  not  stated  in  the 
existing  narrative.  The  suddenness,  however,  with  which  Elijah 
is  introduced  upon  the  scene,  and  the  abruptness  of  his  first 
utterance  in  1 7^,  are  in  harmony  with  the  character  which  every- 
where belongs  to  the  prophet's  movements,  and  the  dramatic  form 
in  which  the  narrative  is  cast.  C.  17  the  drama  opens :  [185] 
the  severity  of  the  famine  foretold  by  Elijah  is  left  to  be  inferred 
by  the  reader  from  the  picture  of  the  privations  to  which  the 
prophet  himself  is  exposed.  C.  18  recounts  the  triumph  of 
Elijah  upon  Carmel;  c.  19  the  reaction  experienced  by  him 
afterwards;  his  withdrawal  to  Horeb;  the  mysterious  vision 
there ;  the  commission  (v.^^^^^)  assuring  him  of  the  final  triumph 
of  his  cause.  The  events  to  which  this  commission  correspond 
are  related  in  2  Ki.  S''-^^  c.  9-10,  but  with  a  different  motive, 
from  a  political  rather  than  a  religious  standpoint  and  without 
reference  to  Elijah, — an  indication  that  these  narratives,  together 
with  I  20.  22  (where  likewise  the  predominant  interest  is  political), 
did  not  originally  form  part  of  the  same  literary  whole  as  I  17-19. 

1  21,  however  (Ahab  and  Naboth),  is  in  the  style  of  I  17-19: 
Elijah,  as  before,  suddenly  intercepts  Ahab  with  his  unwelcome 
presence ;  and  the  close  of  the  struggle  between  the  prophet  and 
the  king  looms  in  view  (v.^^-  2^).  But  the  narrative  which  re- 
cords actually  the  death  of  Ahab,  though  designed  by  the  com- 
piler to  describe  the  end  of  Ahab  foretold  by  Elijah,  was  not, 
perhaps,  written  as  the  sequel  to  c.  21  :  in  particular,  the  place 

2  237-38  (Samaria),  where  the  dogs  licked  the  blood  of  Ahab,  does 
not  accord  with  the  prediction  in  21^^  (Jezreel).  II  i  presents  an 
impressive  picture  of  Elijah's  inviolable  greatness ;  II  2  (the 
ascension  of  Elijah)  is  at  once  the  close  of  the  history  of  Elijah 
and  the  introduction  to  that  of  Elisha ;  from  a  literary  point  of 
view  it  is  more  closely  connected  with  the  latter  than  with  the 
former. 

To  the  same  hand  to  which  are  due  I  20.  22  may  also,  perhaps, 
be  ascribed  II  3'*"-^  (Jehoram  and  Jehoshaphat  against  Moab) ; 
524_y2o  (siege  of  Samaria  by  Benhadad :  its  relief  in  accord- 
ance with  Elisha's  prediction);  and  91-10^^  (the  "photographic 
picture  "  of  the  accession  o^  Jehu).     In  all  these  narratives  the 


196  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

political  interest  predominates  above  the  biographical ;  and  some 
noticeable  similarities  of  form  and  expression  also  occur. "^ 

The  history  of  Elisha  is  comprised  in  a  series  of  short  narra- 
tives, describing  particular  incidents  in  his  life :  these  are  intro- 
duced by  II  2 1-1^  (Elisha  succeeds  to  the  inheritance  of  Elijah), 
the  rest  consisting  of  2^^'^'^  (the  bitter  waters  [186]  sweetened) ; 
v^ 23-25  (j-i^Q  mocking  children  rent  by  bears) ;  4^-"^  (the  widow's  oil 
multiplied) ;  v.^"^^  (the  Shunammite  woman) ;  v.'^^"^^  (the  poisoned 
pot  rendered  harmless) ;  v.^^^**  (the  barley  loaves  multiplied) ; 
c.  5  (Naaman) ;  6^-"^  (the  iron  axe-head  made  to  swim) ;  v.^"^^ 
(attempt  of  the  Syrians  to  capture  Elisha) ;  S^-^  (Gehazi  recounts 
Elisha's  wonders  to  the  king) ;  vJ-'^^  (Elisha  and  Hazael) ;  13I4-19 
(Elisha  and  Joash) ;  v.^^'^^  (miracle  wrought  by  Elisha's  bones). 
These  narratives  no  doubt  exhibit  the  traditions  respecting 
EHsha  as  they  were  current  in  prophetic  circles  in  the  9-8  cent. 
B.C. :  their  immediate  source  may  have  been  a  work  narrating 
anecdotes  from  the  life  of  Elisha  (and  perhaps  from  the  lives  of 
other  prophets  as  well). 

The  narratives  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  appear  to  have  been  incorporated  by 
the  compiler  without  substantial  alteration  :  only  here  and  there  has  one  of 
them  been  expanded  by  an  insertion  which,  by  its  manner,  betrays  the  com- 
piler's hand  (I  21^^^'^^:  notice  the  phrases  in  v. 2°^"^^,  and  the  awkward 
parenthesis  in  v.^s-se.  n  g7-i0a^  where  not  only  do  the  phrases  of  the  com- 
piler abound  (p.  200  fF.),  but  it  is  difficult  not  to  think  that  v.^°^  "and  he 
opened  the  door  and  fled,"  in  agreement  with  the  command  v.^^,  should 
follow  immediately  the  announcement  of  v.^). 

In  contrast  with  the  sections  dealing  with  the  N.  kingdom,  in 
which  the  prophets  play  such  a  considerable  part,  the  longer 
narratives  relating  to  the  S.  kingdom  II  111-12^^  (elevation  of 
Joash  to  the  throne,  and  his  measures  regarding  the  Temple), 
1510-18  (the  altar  of  Ahaz)  place  the  Temple  and  priesthood  of 
Jerusalem  in  the  foreground.  These  narratives  are  evidently 
of  Judaean  origin,  and  (to  judge  from  the  minuteness  in  the 
details)  based  probably  upon  official  documents.  The  section 
1 3I4-19  (Elisha  and  Joash)  has  been  noticed  above :  1 4^"^^ 
(Amaziah's  challenge  of  Joash),  it  may  be  inferred  from  v.^^ 
" Beth-shemesh  w/ii'c/i  belongeth  to  Judah''''  (cf.  I  19^),  is  of 
Israelitish  origin.     The  narrative  in  the  following   chapters  is 

*  Comp.  I  20I8,  II  7I2  iol4  ;  I  2030  ^«'^  (mn3  mn)  22^5,  II  92I  ;  I  22''^'  5.  7^ 
II  f'^-  "  ;  VT  ISn  I  22^^  II  923. 


1-2  KINGS  197 

composed  chiefly  of  short  notices — even  the  long  and  important 
reigns  of  Jeroboam  and  Azariah  (Uzziah)  receiving  each  hardly 
more  than  a  single  verse  of  independent  detail  (14^2. 25  |^y  26-27  jg 
comment]  15^).  After  the  close  of  the  N.  kingdom  (17^),  the 
compiler  introduces  a  long  survey  of  the  causes  which,  in  his 
judgment,  led  to  its  fall  (17^"^^),  and  explains  (v.^^-^^)  the  origin 
of  the  mixed  population  and  religion  of  the  country  of  Samaria 
at  the  time  in  which  he  lived. 

[187]  III.  2  Ki.  18-25.  Judah. 

With  c.  18  begins  the  reign  of  Hezekiah.  18^-^2  jg  the  com- 
position of  the  compiler,  though  the  particulars  in  v.^-'*.  8  are 
doubtless  derived  by  him  from  his  sources ;  v.^"^^  repeats,  in  brief, 
the  account  of  the  close  of  the  N.  kingdom.  181^-19^''  com- 
prises the  narrative  of  the  invasion  of  Judah  by  Sennacherib 
in  his  campaign  of  701,  and  the  miraculous  occurrence  which 
obliged  his  retreat.  Here  the  brief  notices  in  iS^^'^^  differ  in 
character  from  the  circumstantial  narrative  commencing  with 
\}'^ ;  it  is  also  remarkable  that  the  name  of  the  king,  which 
v.i''^'  is  uniformly  written  in'ptn,  is  here  spelt  n^ptn :  it  is  fair  to 
infer,  therefore,  that  they  are  derived  from  a  different  source, 
which  may  well  be  the  State-annals.  iS^^-ip^^  is  the  one  long 
narrative  in  the  Book  of  Kings  relating  to  Judah,  and  similar 
in  general  character  to  the  prophetical  narratives  of  the  N.  king- 
dom. It  includes  a  prophecy,  iq^i-^i,  attributed  to  Isaiah,  and 
unquestionably  his ;  but  there  is  no  ground  for  supposing  that 
the  narrative  as  a  whole,  though  it  stands  also  (together  with 
20I-19)  in  the  Book  of  Isaiah  (c.  36-39),  is  from  Isaiah's  hand ; 
as  will  be  shown  (under  Isaiah),  there  are  reasons  for  concluding 
it  to  be  the  work  of  a  prophet  writing  in  the  subsequent  genera- 
tion, which  was  incorporated,  with  slight  additions,  in  his  work 
by  the  compiler  of  Kings. 

As  the  narrative  approaches  the  time  in  which  the  compiler 
himself  lived  (c.  2 1  ff.),  and  in  which,  therefore,  the  writer's 
personal  knowledge,  or  information  derived  from  the  generation 
immediately  preceding,  would  be  available,  his  own  share  in 
the  work  appears  to  increase.  In  the  account  of  the  reign  of 
Manasseh  (c.  21),  the  narration  of  concrete  facts  scarcely  extends 
beyond  v.^-  •**•  ^'  ^^'  ''*•  i^* :  the  rest  is  the  comment  of  the  com- 
piler, v.^i-15,  which  is  not  assigned  to  any  individual  prophet, 
though  it  agrees  remarkablji  with  parts  of  Jeremiah  (see  below. 


198  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

p.  203),  being  probably  the  compiler's  summary  of  the  teaching 
of  contemporary  prophets. 

The  reign  of  Josiah  (22^-2330)^  including  the  two  important 
events,  the  discovery  of  the  Book  of  the  Law  and  the  reforma- 
tion based  upon  it,  engrosses  naturally  the  interest  of  the  com- 
piler, and  is  described  by  him  at  some  length :  the  parts  in  which 
his  own  style  is  specially  prominent  are  2  2^3b.  leff.  ^^id  233-21-28 
(especially  v.^s^  from  Dt.  6^;  and  v.2c-27).  [igg]  2522-26  ig  an 
abridgment  of  Jer.  40^-9  411^- i7f.  42^  4^^-:  2527-30  cannot,  of 
course,  have  been  written  before  the  year  of  Jehoiachin's  release, 
B.C.  562. 

According  to  Wellh.  and  Kuenen,  the  compilation  of  the 
Book  of  Kings  was  completed  substantially  de/ore  the  exile  (c. 
600  B.C.),*  only  short  passages  which  imply  an  exilic  standpoint 
being  introduced  afterwards. 

These  passages,  as  given  by  Kuenen  (p.  420),  are  I  420-26  [Heb.  4^°-5^] 
(see  V.24);  9I-9  ii9-i3  (jn  their  present  form);  II  1719-20.  2o"-^8.  21IO-I6. 
2213-20.  2326-27;  242-4;  24l8_2580^ 

I  420-26  jjas  been  discussed  above  (p.  191):  as  the  passage  seems  clearly 
to  be  an  insertion  in  the  text  of  c.  4,  s.^  does  not  (cf.  Keil,  Einl.  §  58.  3)  show 
that  the  Book  of  Kings,  as  a  whole,  was  only  compiled  during  the  exile. 
II  i7i9'«  likewise  interrupts  the  connexion.  The  original  writer  is  dealing 
only  with  the  causes  of  the  declension  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel',  in  v.-'^  he 
remarks  that  in  consequence  of  Israel's  rejection  Judah  only  was  left ;  and 
the  sequel  to  this  is  v.  21-23^  describing  how  this  result  came  about  (" /^^r  he 
rent  Israel  from  the  house  of  David,"  &c.).  V.^^'20,  commenting  on  the 
faithlessness  oi  Judah,  and  the  rejection  and  exile  of  the  entire  seed  of  Israel, 
is  plainly  an  insertion  made  by  a  subsequent  writer,  who  desiderated  a 
notice  of  the  same  causes  producing  a  similar  effect  in  the  case  of  Judah. 
II  24^^^*  can,  of  course,  only  have  been  written  after  the  exile  had  com- 
menced. The  other  passages  are  either  such  as  are  thought  to  presuppose 
the  fall  of  the  city  and  temple,  or  contain  references  to  passages  which  do 
this  (I  11^^  to  9!-^;  II  2326  248  to  2iio-^°  [Manasseh]):  but  very  similar 
anticipations  are  expressed  by  Jeremiah  before  the  exile  ;  so  that  no  sufficient 
reason  exists,  at  least  on  the  ground  of  the  contents  of  these  passages,  for 
attributing  them  to  a  different  hand  from  that  of  the  main  compiler  of  the 
Book.     But  it  must  be  admitted  that  II  21^0-15  2326-27  interfere  with  the  con- 

*  Notice  the  expression  to  this  day,  II  822  16^,  in  passages  belonging  clearly 
to  the  compiler,  and  not  taken  by  him  from  his  sources,  and  of  which  at  least 
the  first  appears  to  imply  that  the  Jewish  State  was  still  existing  when  it  was 
written;  also  the  precise  information  respecting  the  Samaritans,  1724-34  (^^;2/^ 
this  day,  v.^),  which  a  writer  near  at  hand  would  be  more  likely  to  possess 
than  one  resident  in  Babylonia. 


1-2  KINGS  199 

nexion,  and  wear  the  appearance  of  being  insertions  made  after  the  original 
narrative  was  completed,  so  that  upon  literary  grounds  this  view  of  their  origin 
is  not  untenable.  On  the  whole,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  redaction  of 
Kings  was  not  entirely  completed  by  the  main  compiler ;  though  it  is  only 
occasionally  possible  to  point  with  confidence  to  the  passages  which  belong  to 
a  subsequent  stage  of  it. 

That  it  is  one  and  the  same  compiler  who  formulated  the  short  notices  or 
"Epitome,"  and  at  the  same  time  combined  them  with  the  longer  narratives, 
is  shown  (against  Thenius)  by  Wellh.  p.  298  (after  Kuen.  Onderzoek^  i.  266  f.) : 
there  are  cases  in  which  each  presupposes  the  other ;  and  the  contents  [189] 
of  the  Epitome  are  much  too  fragmentary  for  it  to  have  ever  constituted  an 
independent  history. 

The  compiler  of  Kings,  though  not,  probably  (as  has  some- 
times been  supposed),  Jeremiah  himself,  was  nevertheless  a  man 
like-minded  with  Jeremiah,  and  almost  certainly  a  contemporary 
who  lived  and  wrote  under  the  same  influences.  Deuteronomy 
is  the  standard  by  which  the  compiler  judges  both  men  and 
actions ;  and  the  history,  from  the  beginning  of  Solomon's  reign, 
is  presented,  not  in  a  purely  "  objective "  form  (as  e.g.  in  2  Sa. 
9-20),  but  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Deuteronomic  code. 
It  is  a  characteristic  of  the  passages  added  by  the  compiler  (so 
far  as  they  are  not  notices  based  upon  his  sources)  that  they  do 
not  usually  add  to  the  historic  contents  of  the  narratives,  but 
(Uke  the  corresponding  additions  in  Judges)  present  comments 
upon  it,  sometimes  introduced  as  such,  sometimes  introduced 
indirectly  in  the  shape  of  prophetic  glances  at  the  future,  at 
different  stages  of  the  history.  The  principles  which,  in  his  view, 
the  history  as  a  whole  is  to  exemplify,  are  already  expressed 
succinctly  in  the  charge  which  he  represents  David  as  giving  to 
his  son  Solomon  (I  2^-^) :  they  are  stated  by  him  again  in  3^'*, 
and  more  distinctly  in  9^-^.  Obedience  to  the  Deuteronomic 
law  is  the  qualification  for  an  approving  verdict :  deviation  from 
it  is  the  source  of  ill  success  (I  ii^-^^  i^-'^'^  162,  II  ly^-is  &c.), 
and  the  sure  prelude  to  condemnation.  Every  king  of  the 
Northern  kingdom  is  characterized  as  doing  "that  which  was 
evil  in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah":  in  the  Southern  kingdom  the 
exceptions  are  Asa,  Jehoshaphat,  Jehoash,  Amaziah,  Uzziah, 
Jotham,  Hezekiah,  Josiah, — usually,  however,  with  the  limitation 
that  "the  high  places  were  not  removed,"  as  demanded  by  the 
Deuteronomic  law.  The  writer  viewed  Jeroboam  as  the  author 
of  a  schism,  and  the  founder  of  a  worship  which  contravened  the 


200  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

first  principle  of  the  Deuteronomic  code,  the  law  of  the  Central 
Sanctuary,  and  lent  itself  readily  to  contamination  by  heathen 
cults :  hence  his  uniformly  unfavourable  verdict  on  the  rulers  of 
the  N.  kingdom.  He  does  not,  however,  place  all  deviations 
from  the  law  of  Dt.  in  the  same  category :  he  views,  indeed,  the 
worship  (of  Jehovah)  at  the  high  places  with  disfavour,  but  the 
kings  who  permit  it  are  not  thereby  disqualified  from  receiving  a 
verdict  of  approval,  as  are  those  who  patronized,  or  encouraged, 
practices  actually  heathen. 

[190]  Phrases  characteristic  of  the  compiler  of  Kings.  In  many  of  these 
the  influence  of  Dt.  is  directly  traceable  ;  others,  though  not  actually  occurring 
in  it,  frequently  express  thoughts  in  harmony  with  its  spirit. 

1.  To  keep  the  charge  of  Jehovah  :  I  2^,  Dt.  ii^ ;  cf.  Josh.  22^  (D'^). 

2.  To  walk  in  the  ways  oj  Jehovah  :  I  2^  -^^  8^8  ijss.  38^  d^^  ge  iqIS  ^^•a 

\cf  26"  28^  30I6,  Josh.  225. 

3.  To  keep  (or  execnte)  his  statutes  and  commandments  and  judgments 

(sometimes  with  one  term  omitted,  or  even  commandments  alone) : 

I  23  3I4  858.  61  94.  6   1 133.  34.  38  148^   U   jylS  (cf.   y^l)  19  igS  238.       In  Dt. 

constantly.  (The  reference  throughout  is  specially  to  Deuteronomy. 
So  generally,  where  the  law,  or  Moses,  is  alluded  to :  18^  (Dt. 
io5  29I),  63  (]3t_  420  76  [also  Lev.  2026]),  66  (Dt.   \i^^-  2519),  II  lo^i 

I4«  (Dt.   24I6),    18I2  218  228  2321-  25.) 

4.  Testimonies  (nny) :  I  2^  II  171^  23^  (in  Dt.  pointed  nny  :  4^  d^''-  20). 

5.  That  thou  may  est  prosper^  &c. :  I  2^,  Dt.  29^,  Josh.  i"^^. 

6.  To  establish  his  [my)  word:  I  2^  6^2  820  12^^ ;  cf.  Dt.  9". 

7.  To  walk  before  me  {in  truth,  uprightness,  &c.) :  I  2^  3^  823-25  9^(11 

2o3  the  Hithp. ). 

8.  There  shall  not  fail  (lit.  be  cut  off)  to  thee  :  I  2"  825  9B.    Cf.  Jer.  3317.  is 

35^^ ;  and  with  p  [from)  2  Sa.  32^,  Josh.  92^. 

9.  With  all  the  heart  and  with  all  the  soul :  I  2"*  8^,  II  235-  26,  as  often 

in  Dt.  (in  II  232^  with  nND  in  the  rare  sense  of  "might,"  only 
besides  in  Dt.  6^) :  see  p.  loi.  Cf.  with  all  the  heart  (alone) : 
I  823  148,  II  io3i. 

10.  To  build  an  house  to  the  name  of  J :  I  32  53-  6  g"-  is.  19.  20.  44. 48  (cf.  9?) . 

dependent  on  2  Sa.  7^3  [^^  prophecy  of  Nathan). 

11.  As  it  is  this  day  (pointing  out  agreement  of  promise  with  event) :  I  3^ 

82^-  61^  Dt.  230  ["see  the  writer's  note],  420-  38  gis  jqIs  2928  [Heb.27]. 

12.  Given  me  rest  on  every  side;  I  5^  [Heb.-"^],  Dt.  12^°  25^^,  Josh.  21^2 

23I  (D2),  2  Sa.  7I. 

13.  Chose  out  of  all  the  tribes  of  Israel:  I  S^^  Ii32  1421,  H  ^i?. 

14.  That  my  name  might  be  thei-e  :  I  8^^-  29,  II  232'^,     Elsewhere  with  to 

put  (Db):  I  93  1x36  1421,  II  2i4-7  (  =  2  Ch.  337),  as  in  Dt.  (p.  loi, 
No.  35) :  so  also  2  Ch.  620  12". 
In  822''''  and  9^"^  the  reminiscences  from  Dt.,  or  the  Deut.  sections  of 
Joshua,  are  remarkably  abundant : — 

823,  Dt.    433,  Josh.  2"^'  (D2).— v.25  DN  pT   {yd  so  that),  II  218,   Dt.   15 


1-2  KINGS  20I 

(peculiar.  Not  elsewhere,  except  in  the  parallels  2  Ch.  6^*  33^). — v.^  {the 
heaven  of  heavens),  Dt.  iqI^.— v.32,  Dt.  25^— v. ^3%  Dt.  2%"^ .~v .^^  V>i.  11". 
— v.37%  Dt.  2822- 38. _v. 37b,  z^.  y.^s  (comp.  esp.  "gates";  p.  99,  No.  6).— 
v.40a,  Dt.  41*"'  12I  3ii3._v.«a,  Dt.  2921.— v.42a,  Dt.  ii2  and  often.— v.« 
{peoples  of  the  earth)  ^3-60^  Dt.  28^0,  Josh.  42^  (D2).— v.^^  {thy  name  is  called 
over,  viz.  in  token  of  ownership  [see  2  Sa.  1228  RV.  marg."]),  Dt.  28^°  (esp. 
in  Jer.,  as  7'^^^'  2^"^  al.).—\.'^,  Dt.  20^  2110.— v/«  {deliver  up  before:  see  p. 
loi,  No.  29).— v.47%  Dt.  30^— [191]  v.^,  Dt.  302.— v.",  Dt.  ^^.—ib.  {iron- 
furnace),  Dt.  420,  Jer.  ii^.j— v.«52b^  Dt.  ^^^.—v.^,  Josh.  2i«  2314  (D2).— v.'^ 
(see  above,  Nos.  2,  3).— v.^o*,  Josh.  42^  (D^).— v.«o^  Dt.  439.-93  {to  put  my 
name  there :  see  above,  No.  14). — v.*  (see  Nos.  7,  3). — v.^^,  Dt.  292*. — ^v.^, 
Dt.  2837._v.8b-9,  Dt.  2924-26  (Jer.  228-8;  cf.  519  i6iof-). 

15.  Perfect -\i\io\\y  devoted  (of  the  heart) :  I  8^1  ii*  153-  ",  u  20^= Is. 

38^     Only  so  besides  in  Ch. 

16.  To  cut  off  from  tipon  the  ground'.  I  97  1334  {to  destroy)  14^^  {to  root 

up)  :  with  the  same,  or  similar,  verbs,  Dt.  42^  6^^  ii^7  2821-  63  2928, 
Jer.  1214  2410  2710  28I6. 

17.  To  dismiss  {rhv)  from  before  my  {his)  face  \  I  97,  Jer.   15^:  so  with 

cast  away  {'yhn;r\),  II  1323  1720  q^^  ^ot  "pyD]  2420,  Jer.  7^^;  with 
remove  (^'Dn),  II  17^8.  23  2327  243,  Jer.  3231  .  ^jj-j^  ^^j^  off{n!^:^),  Jer. 
2339.     Not  in  Dt. 

18.  Ii2  :  Josh.  2312b  (Dt2)  ;  of.  Dt.  f-  ^\ 

19.  D-iiipB'  detestable  things  (of  false  gods)  :  I  ii^-7,  II  23^3.24^  j)^.  29" 

[Heb.  16]  (cf.  the  writer's  note  here  ;  or  Clark's  Bible  Diet.,  s.v. 
Abomination,  4).  So  Jer.  4I  730  1327  16^8  3234,  ^.z.  5"  720  11I8.21 
2o7.  8.  30  3723^  Is  663. 

20.  To  do  that  zvhich  is  evil  in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah  :  I  li^,  and  more  than 

thirty  times  besides  (p.  loi.  No.  26). 

21.  qjNnn  to  be  angered  :  I  ii^,  II  17^8,  Dt.  i37  421  98.  20.| 

22*.  For  the  sake  of  David  thy  father  (or  }?iy  servant)  :  I  Iii2'  is*  32.  84 

(cf.  V.36)  154,  II  819  1934  206. 
22b.   Other  references  to  David  as  a  standard  of  piety  are  also  frequent : 

I  33.  6.  14  g4  ii4.  6.  33.  38  j^S  i^3.  5.  U     H  1^3  152  l83  222. 

23.  Chosen,  with  reference  to  Jerusalem  :  I  iji^-  ^2-  36  544.  48  (^f.  v.i^)  1421, 

II  2x7  2327.     Based  on  Dt.  (p.  100,  No.  11). 

24.  To  do  that  which  is  right  in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah  :  I  ii33.  38  j^8  j^s.  11 

2243,  II   I030  122  1^3  1^3  152  (p_    jqj^  J^O.   25). 

25.  A  lamp  (for  David)  :  I  ii^e  154,  H  81^  =  2  Ch.  2i7, 

26.  71?  provoke  Jehovah  to  anger  [rather,  to  vex  Him,  D'-yan]  :  I  \/!^'  ^'^ 

jc30    J 52.  7.  13.  26.  33   2l22   22^3    H   17II.  17    2x6-  15   22^"^  2i^^'  ^^    Dt.    A^^ 

(see  the  writer's  note  here),  9I8  3x29  3216-  21,  Jer.  718-  «  8i9  xxi7  256-  7 

0229.  30.  32  ^^3.  8^ 

27.  Behold,  I  bring  evil  upon  .  .  .  :   I  14!^  2x2^,  II  2x12  221^  (  =  2  Ch. 

3424),  Jer.  619  Jill  ip3. 15  3^17  4^5.1  7^^  hring evil  upon  also  I  99 
2x29,  II  222'',  j^j^d  often  in  Jer. :  not  common  elsewhere. 

28.  The  fettered  ajid  the  fi-ee  (an  alliterative  proverbial  phrase,  denoting 

*'  all")  :  I  X4K'  2x21,  II  98  1426,  Dt.  3236  (the  Song).t 

29.  Who  made  Israel  to  sin  (of  Jeroboam)  :  I  1416  X526.  30.  84  1526  2282, 


202  LITERATURE  OK  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

II  33  io29-  31  132.  6  1424  159. 18.  24.  28  2315  ;  comp.  2ii6  (of  Manassch 
and  Judah).  Cf.  I  1280  138^  II  1721.  22^ 
30.  Upon  every  high  hill  and  under  every  spreading  tree-.  I  14^3  17I0, 
Jer.  2-^  (the  first  clause  varied  from  Dt.  i  a^^  :  the  second  precisely 
as  there) ;  similarly  II  16^  (  =  2  Ch.  28'*),  Jer.  f  if,  Ez.  6^3:  the 
second  clause  also  (alone)  Jer.  3^3^  Is.  57^.  t 
[192]  31.  Abominations  of  the  nations '.  I  14=^,  II  i63  212.     Cf.  Dt.  iS^- 12_ 

32.  Whom  Jehovah  dispossessed  from  before  the  children  of  Israel :  I  14^ 

2l26,  II  l63  178  21*.       Cf.   Dt.   ff'  «  Il23,  Josh.   23^ 

33.  Idol-blocks  (D'^i^j)  :  I  1512  2i26,  II  1712  2iii-  21  2324.     Also  Lev.  26«>, 

Dt.  29^*,  Jer.  502,  and  esp.  in  Ezek.  [39  times].  \ 

34.  Turned  not  aside  from  .  .  .  :  I  15°  22^3^   ji  ^3  io29  (nnNO)  3i  ('pyp) 

132.  6.  11  1424  1^9.  18  (^3;d)  24.  28  1722  186  (>nnND). 

35.  Vanities  uh^r\  (of  idols)  :  I  i6"-  26,  Dt.  3221 ;  cf.  Jer.  8^9  1422.     Un- 

usual.   Cf.  II  17^^  Jer.  2^  (the  same  phrase, — I'pnnM  hi:\r\  nnx  n"?'!). 

36.  Did  sell  himself  {to  do  evil)  :  I  2i20-  25,  H  17?.     Only  so  here. 

37.  The  people  still  sacrificed  and  burnt  incense  in  the  high  places  :  I  22^3^ 

II  12^  144  154.35  .  similarly  I  32  n^,  H  16^  17"  zf  -.  burnt  incense 
also,  in  a  similar  connexion,  II  18^  22^*^  23^,  and  often  in  Jer.  (i^^ 

I  jl2.  13.  17  jglS  jq4.  13  ^229  448-  8.  15.  17-25\ 

38.  Would  not  destroy  :   l\?P  I  f^,Vil.  \o^^. 

39.  My  {his)  servants  the  prophets  :  II  9'  1713.  23  211^^  242  :  in  Jer.  six 

times  (725  254  26^  291"  351^  44^).     First  in  Am.  3'.     Also  Zech.  i^, 
Ezr.  9",  Dan.  ()'^^.] 

40.  To  blot  out  the  name  from  under  heaven  :  II  142',  Dt.  9^^  29^^  ;  cf. 

724  2519. 

41.  The   ''host  of  heaven''  venerated:    II   17^6  218  [  =  2  Ch.    333]  4.6 

[  =  2  Ch.  335],  Jer.  82  1913,  Zeph.  i».     Forbidden  Dt.  4"  173.  | 

42.  To  cleave  to  Jehovah  :  II  18^  (cf.  the  same  word  in  33,  I  ii2),  as  in 

Dt.  (p.  100,  No.  15).* 

If  the  reader  will  be  at  the  pains  of  underlining  in  his  text  the  phrases 
here  cited,  he  will  not  only  realize  how  numerous  they  are,  but  also  perceive 
how  they  seldom  occur  indiscriminately  in  the  narrative  as  such,  but  are 
generally  aggregated  in  particular  passages  (mostly  comments  on  the  history, 
or  speeches),  which  are  thereby  distinguished  from  their  context,  and  shown 
to  be  presumably  the  work  of  a  different  hand. 

The  following  modes  adopted  by  the  compiler  for  introducing  historical 
notices  are  observable  : — 

43.  In  his  days  ...   I  16=',  II  820  1519  LXX  (see  QPB.^)  2f^  2^\ 

44.  In  those  days  ...   II  10^"  153' 2o\ 

45.  At  that  time  .   .   .   I  14I,  II  166  i8i«  20^2  24I0. 

46.  He  (Nin :  emphatic)  .   .  .   II  h^-  22. 25  j^35b  ^^i.  8^ 

47.  Then  (m)  ...  I  3^6  8i-  ^2  911b.  24b  „?  1521  22^9  (Heb.  ^O),  II  822b  12" 

(Heb.  ^8)  148  15I6  i65.     Comp.  rore  g^  LXX  (  =  924  Heb.). 

*Comp.  also  II  1736-38  and  Dt.  929  6^3  423;  1915.  i9  (kingdoms  of  the 
earth)  and  Dt.  28^5  (also  Jer.  15^24^2526  [but  omit  here  yian  with  LXX: 
notice  the  incorrect  syntax],  29^^  ^^nj .  jgisb  ^nd  Jer.  32" ;  191^^  and  Dt.  4^8. 


1-2  KINGS  203 

This  use  of  )K  is  noticeable.  In  many  cases,  the  notices  introduced  by  it 
[193J  lack  any  definite  point  of  attachment  in  the  preceding  narrative  :  at  the 
same  time,  their  directness  of  statement  and  terseness  of  form  suggest  the 
inference  that  they  may  be  derived  immediately  from  the  contemporary 
annalistic  records  (Ewald,  Hist.  i.  168  ;  Wellh.  Hist.  p.  286).  The  same 
may  be  the  case  with  some  of  the  other  notices  just  cited. 

48.  The  frequency  v^^ith  which  the  prophecies  in  1-2  Ki.  are  introduced 
by  the  same  term  ('3)  na'N  jy  Forasmuch  as  .  .  .  \s>  also  noticeable  : 
I  3I1  818  nil  1321  147  i62  2o28-  86-  42  2i20  (jy,  c.  infin.)  29,  H  1I6  iqSo 
1928  (Isaiah),  21"  2219. 

The  resemblances  with  Jer.  are  most  marked  towards  the  end 
of  the  two  books,  esp.  in  II  1713-20  2iii-i5  22I6-19 :_ 

II  \f^  testified  \  Jer.  11'. 

Turn  ye,  &c.:  cf.  Jer.  18"  25^  3515. 

my  servants  the  prophets  :  see  above,  No.  39  (esp.  *j^  25^1). 
yjW.  40  j812  2i9  hearkened  not '.  Jer.  7^^  11'^,  and  often  besides. 

hardened  their  necks  :  Jer.  7^6  1723  19I5  (from  Dt.  lo^^). 
V .^^  followed  vanity  and  became  vain  :  Jer.  2". 
v.i^  the  host  of  heaven  :  see  above,  No.  41. 
y  18.  23  removed  from  before  his  face  :  see  above.  No.  17. 
v.2<>  rejected  all  the  seed  of  Israel',  cf.  Jer.  31^  If  .  .  .,  I  will  also 

reject  all  the  seed  of  Israel. 
21"  (effect  of  Manasseh's  guilt) :  Jer.  15^. 

V.12  both  his  ears  shall  tingle  :  Jer.  19^  (probably  from  i  Sa.  S^if)* 
v.^^for  a  prey  and  a  spoil:  cf.  Jer.  30^^. 
v.«  :  cf.  Jer.  256-  ^  3282  .  726  (pL,), 
v.i^  24^  innocent  blood  (or  the  blood  of  innocents)  in  Jerusalem  :  Jer.  19* 

22"  (of  Jehoiakim). 
22i6a-  17a  .  jgj.^  \^^-^.     "  This  place  "  is  also  very  common  elsewhere 

in  Jer.,  as  76-  '•  20  i69. 
v.i'^*  to  vex  me  with  the  work  of  their  hands  (so  I  16') :  Jer.  25^'''  '*^ 

3230^  448  (frojn  Dt.  3128). 
v.i'^''  and  my  zurath  shall  be  kindled,  &c. :  Jer.  720. 
\.^^  for  a  desolation  and  a  curse  :  Jer.  42^8^  ^^'^^, 
But  these  parallels  are  not  sufficient  to  show  that  Jeremiah  is  the  compiler 
of  Kings.     The  passages  quoted  consist  rather  of  summaries  of  the  prophetic 
teaching  of  the  time,  which  was  based  ultimately  upon  Dt.,  and  of  which 
the  most  influential  representative  was  no  doubt  Jeremiah  :  hence  it  is  not 
unlikely  that    his    phraseology  acquired    general   currency,    and   would   be 
naturally  employed  by  the  compiler  in  framing  his  summaries. 

It  is  remarked  by  Konig  {Einl.  p.  268),  as  a  small  but  significant  indica- 
tion that  Jer.  was  not  the  compiler  of  Kings,  that  nnn  to  drive  out,  used  often 
in  Jer.  of  the  expulsion  of  Israel  into  exile  (8^  161^  238- «  24^  27!"-  ^^  29!^- 1^- 
3287  4628;  in  the  pass.,  30"  40^2  43',  cf.  49''-36  50":  so  Dt.  301-'*),  is 
never  so  found  in  Kings. 


CHAPTER    III. 
ISAIAH, 

Literature. — W.  Gesenius,  Der  Proph.  Jesaja  ubersetzt  mit  einem  vollst. 

phil.  krit.  u.  hist.  Commentary   1820-21  ;  F.  Hitzig,  Der  Proph.  Jes.  iibers. 

u.  ausgelegt,  1833  (the  source  of  much  that  is  best  exegetically  in  more  recent 

commentaries) ;   H.    Ewald  in  the  Propheten  des  Alten  Bundes^  1840-41, 

2 1 867-68  (parts  of  vols,  ii.,  iv.,  v.  of  the  translation)  ;  A.  Knobel  (in  the 

Kgf.  Exeg.  Handb.),  1843,  *  revised  by  L.  Diestel,  1872  ;  *  (rewritten)  by  A. 

Dillmann,  1890  ;  C.  P.  Caspari,  Beitr'dge  zur  Einl.  in  das  Biich  Jes.   1848  ; 

S.  D.  Luzzatto,  il  prof.  Isaia  volgarizato  e  commentato  [in  Hebrew]  ad  use 

degli  Israeliti,  Padova,  1856-67  ;  F.  Delitzsch,  Bibl.  Comm.  iiber  das  Buck 

Jes.  1866,  ^1889  (transl.  T.  &  T.  Clark,  1890)  ;  T.  K.  Cheyne,  The  Book  of 

Isaiah  chronologically  arranged,  1870,  The  Prophecies  of  Isaiah^  1880,  ^1884  ; 

W.  Kay  in  the  Speaker's  Comm.-,  E.  Reuss  in  La  Bible,  1876;  C.  W.  E. 

Nagelsbach  (in  Lange's  Bibelwerk),  1877  ;  H.  Guthe,  Das  Zukunftsbild  des 

Jes.  1885  J  C.  J.  Bredenkamp,  Der  Proph.  Jes.  erldutert,   1886-87  ;  Kuenen, 

Einl.  ii.  (ed.  2),  1889,  pp.  28-157  ;  F.  Giesebrecht,  Beitr'dge  zur  Jesaiakritik 

(with  notes  on  some  of  the  other  prophets),  1890 ;  B.  Duhm  (in  Nowack's 

** Hand-kommentar"),  1892 ;  'H.'RQ.cVmdirm^DieZukunftserwartung  desjesaia, 

1893  ;  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Introduction  to  the  Book  of  Isaiah,  1895  (very  full  and 

thorough),  and  in  Haupt's  SBOT.  ;  M.  L.  Kellner,  The  Prophecies  of  Isaiah, 

Cambridge,  U.S.A.  1895  (36  pp.:  a  convenient  analysis  of  the  prophecies, 

with  synoptic  tables  of  Ass.  synchronisms,  and  transl.  of  Inscriptions,  &c. )  ; 

J.  Skinner  (in  the  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools),  1896.     Of  a  more  general 

character  are — F.  H.  Kriiger,  Essai  sur  la  theologie  d'&saie  xl-lxvi,  1881  ; 

W.  R.  Smith,  The  Prophets  of  Israel  and  their  place  in  history  to  the  close  of 

the  8th  cent.   B.C.,  1882,  ^1895,  Lectures  v.-viii.  ;   A.  B.  Davidson  in  the 

Expositor,   1883,  Aug.,    Sept.  ;    1884,   Feb.,  Apr.,   Oct.,    Nov.,    Dec.    (on 

c.  40-66) ;  S.  R.  Driver,  Isaiah  ;  his  life  and  times,  and  the  writings  which 

bear  his  najue  (in  the  "Men  of  the  Bible"  series),   ^1893  ;  G.  A.  Smith, 

The  Book  of  Isaiah  (in  the  "  Expositor's  Bible  "),   1889-90  (historical  and 

homiletic).     For  other  literature,  see  DeHtzsch,  p.  34fif.  (E.T.  45  ff.)  ;  Dillm. 

p.  xviiif.;  and  the  authorities  referred  to  in  Kuenen,  I.e. 

On  the  Prophets  generally,  the  character  of  prophecy,  their  relation  to  the 

history,   their  theology,  &c.,  the  following  works  may  be  consulted  :  Aug. 

Tholuck,  Die  Propheten  u.  ihre  Weissagnngen,  i860,  ^^1867  ;  G.  F.   Oehler, 

Die  Theologie  des  AT.s,  1873  (translated),  §  205  ff.;  B.  Duhm,  Die  Theologie 

204 


ISAIAH  205 

der  Propheten^  1875  J  A.  Kuenen,  Prophets  and  prophecy  in  Israel  (very  full 
of  information  on  the  prophets  and  their  work,  but  written  from  an  avowedly 
naturalistic  standpoint),  1877  ;  F.  E.  Konig,  Der  Offenbarungsbegriff  des 
AT.s,  2  vols.  1882  (an  exhaustive  discussion  of  the  nature  of  prophecy,  and 
the  views  that  have  been  held  of  it)  ;  [195]  C.  von  Orelli,  Die  alttest.  Weiss, 
von  der  Vollendung  des  Gottesreiches,  1882  (translated  under  the  title  Old 
Test.  Prophecy) ;  Ed.  Riehm,  Die  Messianische  Weissagung,  ^1885,  transl. 
Edinb.  1891  (to  be  recommended)  ;  C.  A.  Briggs,  Messianic  Prophecy,  1886  ; 
H.  Schultz,  Alttest.  Theologie,^  1889,  p.  213  ff.  (translated,  Edinb.  1892), 
^1895 ;  F.  Delitzsch,  Mess.  Weissagungen  in  Gesch.  Polge,  1890  (transl. 
Edinb.  1891)  ;  F.  W.  Farrar,  The  Minor  Prophets,  1890,  chaps,  i.-iv.  ;  A.  F. 
Kirkpatrick,  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,  1892  ;  C.  G.  Montefiore,  the 
"  Hibbert  Lectures"  for  1892;  R.  Smend,  Lehrb.  der  Alttest.  Rel.-gesch. 
1893  ;  W.  Sanday,  "  Bampton  Lectures "  for  1893  (on  Inspiration),  esp. 
Lect.  iii. ;  parts  of  Wellhausen's  Isr.  undjiid.  Geschichte,  1894,  ^1895  ;  C.  H. 
Cornill,  Der  Isr.  Prophetismus  (five  Lectures),^  1896  (transl.  Chicago,  1895); 
TyxWaxaxiXi,  Alttest.  Theol.  1895,  p.  474  ff.;  G.  A.  Smith,  The  Book  of  the  Twelve 
Prophets^  1896,  i.  11-30,  44-58;  F.  H.  Woods,  The  Hope  of  Israel  {iZ^d). 

B.C.  Chronological  Table. 

745.    TiGLATH-PlLESER  III. 

740.    Uzziah  named  (probably)  in  Assyrian  Inscription.     Call  of  Isaiah. 

']2i\* Pekah  deposed  and  slain  ;   Hoshea  (with  Assyrian  help)  raised  to  the 

throne  of  Samaria.     N.  and  E.  tribes  exiled  by  Tiglath-Pileser. 
732.  Damascus  taken  by  Tiglath-Pileser. 
727.  Shalmaneser  IV. 

722.  Sargon.     Fall  of  Samaria,  and  end  of  the  Northern  Kingdom. 
711.  Siege  and  capture  of  Ashdod  by  the  troops  of  Sargon. 
710.  Sargon  defeats  Merodach-baladan,  and  enters  Babylon. 
705.  Sennacherib. 

703.  Sennacherib  defeats  Merodach-baladan,  and  spoils  his  palace. 
701.  Campaign  of  Sennacherib  against  Phoenicia,  Philistia,  and  Judah. 
681.  Sennacherib  succeeded  by  Esarh addon. 
607.    Nineveh  destroyed  by  the  Medes  and  Babylonians. 
586.  Destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 
549-38.  Period  of  Cyrus'  successes  in  Western  and  Central  Asia. 
538.  Cyrus  captures  Babylon,  and  releases  the  Jewish  exiles. 

Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  "  the  Twelve  "  {i.e.  the  Minor 
Prophets)  form  the  concluding  part  of  the  second  great  division 
of  the  Hebrew  Canon,  "  The  Prophets,"  being  called  specially, 
in  contradistinction  to  the  "Former  Prophets"  (p.  103),  the 
"Latter  Prophets." 

Isaiah,  son  of  Amoz,  received  the  prophetic  call  in  the  last 
year  of  King  Uzziah's  reign  (6^),  i.e.  (according  to  the  chronology, 

*  733-2,  according  to   Rost,  Die   Keilschrifttexte   T.-P.'s  III.   (1893), 
pp.  xxix,  XXXV  f,  • 


206  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

corrected  from  Assyrian  data*)  B.C.  740;  and  he  prophesied  in 
Jerusalem  during  the  reigns  of  the  three  succeeding  kings, 
Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah.  He  was  married  (8^) ;  and  two 
sons  are  alluded  to,  Shear-jashub  (7^)  and  Maher-shalal-hash-baz 
(S^-*).  The  scene  of  his  labours  appears  to  have  been  chiefly, 
if  not  exclusively,  Jerusalem ;  and  from  the  position  which  was 
evidently  accorded  to  him  by  both  Ahaz  and  Hezekiah,  it  has 
been  [196]  conjectured  that  he  was  of  noble  blood.  Few  par- 
ticulars of  his  life  are  recorded ;  the  chief  being  connected  with 
the  part  taken  by  him  at  the  two  crises  through  which  during 
his  lifetime  Judah  passed  (c.  7-8 ;  36-37).  For  how  many 
years  he  survived  the  second  of  these  crises  (b.c.  701)  is  not 
known :  in  2  cent.  a.d.  there  was  a  tradition  current  among  the 
Jews,  and  alluded  to  also  by  Christian  writers,  that  he  suffered 
martyrdom  by  being  sawn  asunder  in  the  persecutions  which 
followed  the  accession  of  Manasseh.  According  to  2  Ch.  26^2 
Isaiah  was  the  author  of  a  history  of  the  reign  of  Uzziah ;  and 
t'd.  32^2  mention  is  made  of  a  "Vision  of  Isaiah,"  containing  an 
account  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  which  formed  part  of  the  (lost) 
"Book  of  the  Kings  of  Judah  and  Israel"  (see  below,  under 
Chronicles)  ;  but  nothing  further  is  known  of  either  of  these 
works. 

The  Book  of  Isaiah  may  be  divided  conveniently  as  follows  : 
— c.  1-12.  13-23.  24-27.  28-33.  34-35-  36-39-  40-66,  Among 
these  prophecies  there  are  some  which,  as  will  appear,  are  not 
the  work  of  Isaiah  himself,  but  belong  to  a  different,  and  later, 
period  of  Israelitish  history. 

I.  C.  1-12.  The  first  collection  of  Isaiah's  prophecies, 
relating  to  the  kingdoms  of  Judah  and  Israel,  and  belonging 
to  various  occasions  from  B.C.  740  to  B.C.  701. 

C.  I.  The  "  Great  Arraignment"  (Ewald).  V.2-9  the  prophet 
charges  his  people  with  unfaithfulness  and  ingratitude :  he  com- 
pares them  to  unnatural  children  who  have  disowned  their 
father;  and  traces  to  their  want  of  discernment  the  troubles 
from  which  they  are  at  present  suffering.  V.^^-^''  the  defence 
which  they  are  supposed  to  offer,  that  the  Temple  services  are 
maintained  with   splendour  and   regularity,  is   indignantly   dis- 

*  See  the  witer's  Isaiah,  pp.  8,  I3f.  (with  the  references)  ;  Schrader, 
A'AT.^p.  465  fif.;  or  the  Beilagen  to  Kautzsch,  Die  heil.  Schrift  des  AT.s 
(above,  p.  3),  p.  131  ff. 


ISAIAH  207 

allowed  by  him :  their  religious  observances  are  not  the  expres- 
sion of  a  right  heart.  V.^^'^^  an  offer  of  pardon  is  made,  on 
God's  part,  to  the  guilty  nation, — an  offer,  however,  which  it 
speedily  appears  will  not  be  accepted  by  it.  y,^^-^i  the  prophet 
passes  sentence.  Jehovah  will  take  the  judgment  into  His  own 
hands,  and  by  a  severe  discipline  purge  away  evil-doers,  and 
restore  the  people  to  its  pristine  and  ideal  character. 

The  date  of  c.  i  is  uncertain,  but  it  must  have  been  written  (notice  in  v.^ 
the  ptcp.  D''?3K)  whilst  a  foe  was  ravaging  the  territory  of  Judah.  According 
to  some  (Ges.  Del.  Dillm.  Hackm.),  these  foes  are  the  allied  troops  of  Syria 
and  Israel  (2  Ki.  15^''),  and  the  ch.  belongs  to  the  beginning  of  Ahaz'  reign, 
[197]  being  the  first  (or  one  of  the  first)  of  Isaiah's  prophecies  after  his  call 
(c.  6)  :  according  to  others  (Hitz.,  W.  R.  Smith,  Duhm,  Cheyne)  they  are 
the  Assyrians  {z6.  18^^),  and  the  ch. — or,  at  least  (Cheyne),  v.^*^* — belongs  to 
the  reign  of  Hezekiah  (B.C.  701),  its  position  at  the  beginning  of  Isaiah's 
prophecies  being  explained  from  the  general  character  of  much  of  its  contents 
fitting  it  to  form  an  introduction  to  the  following  discourses. 

C.  2-5.  Here  Isaiah  dwells  in  greater  detail  on  the  judgment 
which  he  sees  imminent  upon  Judah.  He  opens,  2--\  with  an 
impressive  picture  of  the  pre-eminence  to  be  accorded  in  the 
future,  by  the  nations  of  the  world,  to  Israel's  religion.  V.^-^  he 
contrasts  therewith  the  very  different  condition  of  his  people, 
which  he  sees  about  him ;  and  announces,  v. ^-22,  the  judgment 
about  to  fall  upon  every  object  of  human  pride  and  strength. 
3^-11  a  collapse  of  all  existing  society  is  approaching,  the  cause  of 
which  is  referred,  v.^^-is^  to  the  selfish  and  thoughtless  behaviour 
of  the  nation's  guides.  3^^-4^  Isaiah  attacks  the  luxurious  dress 
of  the  women,  declaring  how  in  the  day  when  disaster  overtakes 
the  city,  and  her  warriors  are  defeated  by  the  foe,  it  will  have  to 
be  exchanged  for  a  captive's  garb.  This,  however,  is  not  the 
end.  For  those  who  escape  the  judgment  a  brighter  future  will 
then  commence,  which  is  described  4^-^.  C.  5,  in  its  general 
scope,  is  parallel  to  c.  2-4.  V.^-''  the  parable  of  the  vineyard 
shows  how  Judah  has  disappointed  its  Lord  and  Owner :  v.^-^* 
the  prophet  denounces,  in  a  series  of  "Woes,"  the  chief  national 
sins ;  ending,  v.^^-so^  with  a  more  distinct  allusion  to  what  may 
shortly  be  expected  at  the  hands  of  an  unnamed  but  formidable 
foe  (the  Assyrians). 

Probably  a  summary  of  discourses  delivered  at  the  end  of  Jotham's  reign, 
or  beginning  of  that  of  Ahaz.  3^^^  implies  that  the  throne  was  occupied  by  a 
weak  king,  such  as  Ahaz  was  :  ttom  2^*  ("  ships  of  Tarshish  ")  it  may  perhaps 


208  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

be  inferred  that  the  seaport  of  Elath,  which  Uzziah  had  recovered  for  Judah 
(2  Ki.  14^^),  had  not  yet  been  captured  by  the  Syrians  {ib.  16^).  The  idea  of 
a  national  catastrophe,  extirpating  evil-doers,  but  preserving  a  remnant, 
worthy  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a  renovated  community  in  the  future  (4^^-)>  is 
characteristic  of  Isaiah ;  it  is  foreshadowed  at  the  time  of  his  call  (6^^^),  and 
recurs  often  afterwards,  1^^'  lo^"-  if'^  (of  Ephraim),  28^  3732.  ^he  **  Day  of 
Jehovah"  (2^2fif.j  jg  ^j^g  figure — first,  as  it  seems,  so  applied  by  Amos  (5^^-  2**) 
— under  which,  with  varying  imagery,  the  prophets  represent  Jehovah's 
manifestation  at  important  moments  of  history  (see  W.  R.  Smith,  P7'oph,  131  f., 
396  f.  ;  Isaiah^  p.  27  f. ). 

By  many  recent  critics,  following  Ewald,  it  has  been  supposed,  chiefly  on 
the  ground  of  the  common  refrain  {^^  9^2. 17.  21  jq4)^  ^^^  ^25-30  belonged 
originally  to  the  prophecy  9^-10^,  526-30  forming  the  climax.  Ewald  (cf.  Smith, 
Propk.  p.  238)  supposed  the  original  order  to  have  been  <^  9^-10*  526-30. 
Dillm.  (p.  43)  98-10^  525  (the  close  of  a  strophe,  now  incomplete),  ^^'^  (cf. 
Skinner,  p.  40) ;  Cheyne  {Introd.  pp.  25  f.,  46,  393,  398  f.),  98-10^  526-29  (525.  30 
being  editorial  additions). 

C.  6.  Isaiah's  call  (year  of  Uzziah's  death — not  later  than  740 
B.C.).  The  vision,  with  its  impressive  symbolism,  is  described 
by  Isaiah  in  chaste  and  dignified  language.  The  terms  of  his 
prophetic  [198]  commission  are  stated  in  v.^^^^^.  He  is  to  be  the 
preacher  and  teacher  of  his  people ;  but  his  work,  whatever  it 
may  accomplish  secretly,  is  to  be  in  appearance  fruitless.  And 
this  is  to  continue  until  the  desolating  tide  of  invasion  has  swept 
over  the  land,  and  purged  to  the  utmost  the  sin-stricken  nation. 
He  is  not,  however,  left  without  a  gleam  of  hope  :  the  core  of  the 
Jewish  nation  will  survive  the  judgment,  and  burst  out  afterwards 
into  new  life :  it  is  a  "  holy  seed,"  and  as  such  is  indestructible 
^y  13b  .  fQj.  ^j^g  figure  of  the  reviving  tree,  cf.  Job  14'^"^). 

C.  T^-q'^.  Prophecies  uttered  during  the  Syro-Ephraimitish 
war  (B.C.  735-734).  An  alliance  had  been  concluded  between 
Pekah,  king  of  Israel,  and  Rezin,  king  of  Damascus,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  opposing  a  barrier  to  the  aggression  of  the  Assyrians ; 
and  the  object  of  the  present  invasion  of  Judah  was  to  force  that 
country  to  join  the  coalition  :  the  intention  of  the  allies  being  to 
depose  Ahaz  (who  cherished  Assyrian  proclivities),  and  to  sub- 
stitute for  him  a  more  subservient  ruler,  the  son  of  one  Tabeel 
(76).  The  invasion  caused  great  alarm  in  Judah  (7^) ;  and  Ahaz 
meditated  casting  himself  upon  the  Assyrians  for  help, — a  policy 
of  which  Isaiah  strongly  disapproved.  Isaiah,  being  directed  to 
go  and  accost  Ahaz,  assures  him  that  his  fears  are  groundless : 
the  power  of  the  two  allied  kingdoms  is  doomed  to  extinction  j 


ISAIAH  209 

their  plan  for  the  ruin  of  Judah  will  not  succeed,  7*"^  To  meet 
Ahaz'  distrust,  Isaiah  announces  the  birth  of  the  child,  who,  in 
spite  of  the  destitution  (v.^^  cf.  v. 22)  through  which  his  country 
must  first  pass,  is  still  the  mysterious  pledge  and  symbol  of  its 
deliverance,  v.^^-^''.  The  thought  which  has  hitherto  been  in  the 
background  is  now  no  longer  concealed :  and  Isaiah  confronjts 
Ahaz  with  the  naked  truth,  declaring  how  his  plan  for  invoking 
Assyrian  help  will  issue  in  unforeseen  consequences :  Judah  will 
become  the  arena  of  a  conflict  between  Assyria  and  Egypt,  and 
will  be  desolated  by  their  contending  armies,  v.^''-^^.  In  S^-^ 
Isaiah  reaflEirms,  in  a  symbolical  form,  the  prediction  of  7^^-  ^^. 
S^-i^  are  words  of  consolation  addressed  to  his  immediate  friends 
and  disciples.  The  tide  of  invasion  will  indeed  inundate  Israel ; 
it  will  even  pass  on  and  threaten  to  engulph  Judah :  but  it 
will  be  suddenly  arrested,  v.^-^^ :  do  not  regard  Rezin  and  Pekah 
with  unreasoning  fear ;  do  not  desert  principle  in  the  presence  of 
imagined  danger,  v.^^"^^.  Dark  times  are  coming,  when  [199]  men 
will  wish  that  they  had  followed  the  "  direction  and  admonition  " 
(v.  20 ;  see  v.^^')  of  Isaiah,  v.i^"^^.  But  nevertheless  Jehovah  has 
a  brighter  future  in  store  for  His  people :  the  North  and  North- 
east districts,  which  had  just  been  depopulated  (in  734)  by 
Tiglath-pileser  (2  Ki.  15^^),  will  be  the  first  to  experience  it;  and 
the  prophecy  closes  with  an  impressive  picture  of  the  restoration 
and  triumph  of  the  shattered  nation,  of  the  end  of  its  oppressors, 
and  of  its  security  and  prosperity  under  the  wondrous  rule  of  its 
ideal  King,  9!-^. 

9^-10'^  (written  probably  shortly  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
same  war,  but  addressed  to  Israel,  not  Judah).  The  prophet  in 
four  strophes,  each  closing  with  the  same  ominous  refrain  (cf. 
Am.  4^"^^),  draws  a  picture  of  the  approaching  collapse  of  the 
N.  kingdom,  which  he  traces  to  its  moral  and  social  disintegra- 
tion, (i)  98-12.  'pjjg  Ephraimites'  proud,  but  inconsiderate, 
superiority  to  danger  has  resulted  in  their  country  being  beset 
on  all  sides  by  its  foes.  (2)  9^^-^''.  A  great  and  sudden  disaster 
befalls  Ephraim,  defeating  the  plans  of  its  statesmen,  and  leaving 
it  defenceless.  (3)  9I8-21.  Rival  factions  contending  with  one 
another  insidiously  undermine  Ephraim's  strength.  (4)  10^"*.  The 
rulers  of  the  nation  have  demoralized  both  the  people  and  them- 
selves :  in  the  day  when  misfortune  comes  they  will  be  unable  to 
cope  with  it,  and  will  perishjielplessly  on  the  battlefield. 


210  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

io5_i26.  A  picture  of  the  pride  and  ambition  of  the  Assyrians, 
of  their  sudden  ruin,  of  the  release  of  Jerusalem  from  its  peril, 
and  of  the  ensuing  rule  of  the  Messianic  king.  This  prophecy 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  creations  of  Isaiah's  genius  :  in  power 
and  originality  of  conception  it  stands  unsurpassed.  The 
Assyrian  is  in  reality  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Providence, 
but  he  fails  to  recognize  the  truth;  and  Isaiah  describes  his 
overweening  pretensions,  lo^-i^^  and  their  sudden  collapse,  v.i*^-^*. 
The  fall  of  the  Assyrian  will  not  indeed  leave  Israel  unscathed ; 
but  those  who  escape,  though  but  a  remnant,  will  have  their  under- 
standing enlightened,  and  will  look  to  Jehovah  alone,  v. 20-23.  Let 
Judah,  then,  be  reassured :  though  the  Assyrian  draw  near,  and 
even  swing  his  arm  audaciously  against  the  citadel  of  Zion,  in 
the  moment  when  victory  seems  secure  he  will  be  foiled,  v.^^-^* ; 
Jerusalem  will  be  delivered,  and  a  reign  of  peace,  under  the 
gracious  rule  of  the  ideal  Prince  of  David's  line,  will  be  inaugur- 
ated, [200]  ii^"^°  :  Israel's  exiles  from  all  quarters  will  return ;  the 
rivalry  of  Judah  and  Ephraim  will  be  at  an  end,  v.^^"^^ ;  and  the 
restored  nation  will  express  its  gratitude  to  its  Deliverer  in  a 
hymn  of  thanksgiving  and  praise,  c.  1 2. 

In  10^*'^  Isaiah  represents  the  Assyrian  as  advancing  against  Jerusalem 
by  the  usual  line  of  approach  from  the  north.  It  does  not  appear,  however, 
that  either  Sargon  or  Sennacherib  actually  followed  this  route ;  and  the 
prophet,  it  is  probable,  intends  merely  to  draw  an  effective  imaginative 
picture  of  the  danger  threatening  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  manner  in  which 
^y  33f.j  it  would  be  suddenly  averted.  The  historical  situation  implied  by  the 
prophecy  agrees  with  that  of  the  year  701  B.C.,  when  Sennacherib,  having 
completed  the  reduction  of  the  rebellious  cities  of  Phoenicia,  was  starting  for 
the  south,  intending  to  reduce  similarly  Jerusalem,  and  the  Philistine  cities  of 
Ashkelon  and  Ekron  :  at  a  time  when  the  Assyrians  were  actually  approaching 
from  the  north,  their  intended  attack  might  readily  take  shape  in  the  prophet's 
imagination  in  the  manner  represented  in  10^"^^  (comp.  Isaiah^  y^.  66  f., 
70-73,  213  f.  Similarly  Ew.  ;  Schrader,  KAT?  p.  386;  Stade,  Gesch,  i. 
614  f.;  Kittel,  Gesch.  ii.  313;  Duhm,  at  least  for  lo"-^*  ^^-^^;  Hackmann). 

Prof.  W.  R.  Smith  {Proph.  297  ff.)  places  the  prophecy  at  the  beginning 
of  Sargon's  reign,  regarding  lo'*'"-  as  an  ideal  representation  of  the  ambitious 
pretensions  of  the  Assyrians,  and  of  the  failure  to  which  they  were  doomed, 
not  suggested  by  any  special  historical  occasion.  Similarly  Dillm.  ;  Guthe, 
Giesebrecht  (in  711).  Kuen.  §  43.  5  places  it  towards  the  end  of  Sargon's 
reign  ;  Cheyne  {Introd.  pp.  50  f.,  55),  abandoning  the  unity  of  the  prophecy, 
assigns  lo"*^-  ^'^'^'^  to  711,  and  iQ27b-32  ^^  ^22,  during  the  siege  of  Samaria. 

Isaiah's  authorship  of  c.  12  is,  however,  questioned  by  an  increasing 
number  of  modern  critics,  who  hold  it  to  be  a  psalm  of  thanksgiving,  attached 


ISAIAH  211 

to  the  original  prophecy  after  the  return  from  exile :  so,  for  instance,  Ewald, 
Cheyne,  Stade,  Kuenen  (§43,  6),  Prof.  Fr.  Brown  {Journ.  of  Bibl.  Lit.  1890, 
p.  128  ff.),  Dillm.  (p.  124  f.),  Comill,  Konig  (§  62.  53).  This  conclusion  is 
based  partly  upon  the  contents  of  the  chapter,  partly  upon  its  phraseology, 
both  of  which  present  deviations  from  Isaiah's  usual  manner,  and  re- 
semblances with  the  usage  of  a  later  age ;  the  details  will  be  found  noted 
most  fully  by  Brown  and  Dillmann  (cf.  also  Cheyne,  p.  58  f.). — ii^^^^^,  also, 
on  account  of  the  ideas  contained  in  it  (which  are  in  some  respects  in  advance 
of  those  found  elsewhere  in  Isaiah  :  note  also  the  contrast  between  v.^*  and 
v.^"^),  and  the  historical  conditions  presupposed  by  it  (see  more  fully  Isaiak,^ 
p.  214  f.),  has  been  considered  by  many  recent  critics  to  have  been  added  in 
the  post-exilic  period,  as  a  supplement  to  11^*^  (Kuen.  §  43.  7 ;  Giesebr.  pp. 
25-52;  Cheyne,  pp.  59-62;  cf.  Skinner,  p.  95).  Dillm.  (p.  121)  defends 
Isaiah's  authorship. 

II.  c  13-23.  Prophecies  dealing  (chiefly)  with  foreign  nations. 
C.  I- 1 2  centre  entirely  round  either  Judah  or  Israel;  the  present 
group  comprises  prophecies,  in  which  though  there  is  often  an 
indirect  reference  to  one  of  these  countries,  the  primary  interest 
lies,  as  a  rule,  in  the  nation  which  they  respectively  concern. 
The  prophets  observed  closely  the  movements  of  history :  they 
saw  in  the  rise  and  fall  of  nations  the  exhibition  of  a  Divine 
purpose;  and  the  varying  fortunes  of  Israel's  nearer  or  more 
distant  neighbours  often  materially  affected  Israel  itself  These 
nations  were,  moreover,  related  to  Israel  and  Judah  in  different 
ways :  sometimes,  for  instance,  they  were  united  by  ties  of  sym- 
pathy and  alliance ;  in  other  cases  they  viewed  one  another  with 
mutual  jealousy  and  distrust.  The  neighbouring  nations,  especi- 
ally, being  thus  in  various  ways  viewed  with  interest  by  their 
own  people,  the  Hebrew  prophets  not  unnaturally  included  them 
in  their  prophetic  survey.  The  foreign  prophecies  of  Isaiah  are 
distinguished  by  great  individuality  of  character.  The  prophet 
displays  a  remarkable  familiarity  with  [201]  the  condition,  social 
or  physical,  of  the  countries  with  which  he  deals  :  and  seizes  in 
each  instance  some  characteristic  aspect,  or  feature,  for  notice 
(e.g.  the  haughty  independence  of  Moab,  the  tall  and  handsome 
physique  of  the  Ethiopians,  the  local  and  other  peculiarities  of 
Egypt,  the  commerce  and  colonies  of  Tyre). 

13I-1423.  On  Babylon.  In  this  prophecy  the  Jews  are 
represented  as  in  exile,  held  in  thraldom  by  the  Babylonians,  but 
shortly  to  be  released  in  consequence  of  the  capture  of  Babylon 
by  the  Medes  (13^'^).  C.  13  describes  the  mustering  of  the 
assailing  forces  on  the  mountains,  the  terror  of  their  approach, 


212  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

the  capture  and  sack  of  the  city,  the  fewness  of  the  survivors 
(v.i2),  and  the  desolation  which  will  mark  thereafter  the  site  of 
Babylon.  14I--  states  the  reason  of  this,  viz.  because  the  time 
has  arrived  for  Israel  to  be  released  from  exile :  "For  Jehovah 
will  have  compassion  upon  Jacob,  and  will  again  choose  Israel^ 
and  settle  them  in  their  own  land."  143-20  the  prophet  provides 
Israel  with  an  ode  of  triumph,  to  be  sung  in  the  day  of  its 
deliverance,  depicting,  with  extreme  beauty  of  imagery,  and  not 
without  a  delicate  under-current  of  irony,  the  fall  of  the  Baby- 
lonian monarch  from  his  proud  estate :  v. 21-23  he  reasserts  the 
irretrievable  ruin  of  the  great  city. 

The  situation  presupposed  by  this  prophecy  is  not  that  of 
Isaiah's  age.  The  Jews  are  not  warned,  as  Isaiah  (39^)  might 
warn  them,  against  the  folly  of  concluding  an  alliance  with 
Babylon,  or  reminded  of  the  disastrous  consequences  which 
such  an  alliance  might  entail;  nor  are  they  threatened,  as 
Jeremiah  threatens  them,  with  impending  exile :  they  are  repre- 
sented as  in  exile,  and  as  about  to  be  delivered  from  it  (14^*2), 
It  was  the  office  of  the  prophet  of  Israel  to  address  himself  to 
the  needs  of  his  own  age,  to  announce  to  his  contemporaries 
the  judgments,  or  consolations,  which  arose  out  of  the  circum- 
stances of  their  own  time,  to  interpret  for  them  their  own 
history.  To  base  a  promise  upon  a  condition  of  things  not  yet 
existent,  and  without  any  point  of  contact  with  thq  circum- 
stances or  situation  of  those  to  whom  it  is  addressed,  is  alien 
to  the  genius  of  prophecy.  Upon  grounds  of  analogy  the 
prophecy  132-1423  can  only  be  attributed  to  an  author  living 
towards  the  close  of  the  exile  and  holding  out  to  his  contem- 
poraries the  prospect  of  release  from  Babylon,  as  Isaiah  held  out 
to  his  contemporaries  the  prospect  of  deliverance  from  [202] 
Assyria.  (Comp.  below,  p.  230.)  The  best  commentary  on  it 
is  the  long  prophecy  against  Babylon,  contained  in  Jer.  50-51^^, 
and  written  towards  the  closing  years  of  the  exile,  which  views 
the  approaching  fall  of  Babylon  from  the  same  standpoint,  and 
manifests  the  same  spirit  as  this  does.  As  the  prophecy  names 
only  the  Medes,  and  contains  no  allusion  to  Cyrus  or  the 
Persians,  it  is  probable  that  it  was  written  shortly  before  549  B.C. 
(in  which  year  Cyrus  overthrew  the  Median  empire  of  Astyages : 
the  Persians  uniting  with  the  Medes,  after  successes  in  Asia 
Minor  and  elsewhere,  captured  Babylon  in  538). 


ISAIAH  213 

14^^-27.  On  the  Assyrian.  A  short  prophecy  declaring 
Jehovah's  purpose  to  overthrow  the  Assyrian  army  upon  the 
"  mountains  "  of  Judah. 

The  date  is  no  doubt  during  the  period  of  Sennacherib's  campaign  against 
Judah  in  701.  The  prophecy  has  no  connexion  with  what  precedes.  It  is 
directed  against  Assyria^  not  Babylon ;  and  it  anticipates,  not  the  capture  of 
the  city  of  Babylon,  but  the  overthrow  of  the  hosts  of  Assyria  in  Judah. 

1428-32^  On  the  PhiHstines.  The  Philistines  are  in  exultation 
at  the  fall  of  some  dreaded  foe :  Isaiah  warns  them  that  their 
rejoicing  is  premature,  that  the  power  which  they  dreaded  will 
recover  itself,  and  prove  even  more  formidable  than  before.  The 
Assyrian  is  approaching  in  the  distance  (v.^^^);  Philistia  will 
suffer  severely  at  his  hands  (v.^ob.  sia^^  though  Zion,  in  the  strength 
of  its  God,  will  be  secure  (v.^o*.  32b)^ 

The  title  (v.^S)  suggests  that  "the  rod  which  smote"  Philistia  was  Ahaz, 
and  assigns  the  prophecy  to  728  [or,  as  others  calculate,  715]  B.C.  But  the 
connexion  of  thought  appears  to  require  the  foe  alluded  to  in  v.^**  to  be 
identical  with  the  foe  alluded  to,  more  directly,  in  v.^^  i.e.  the  Assyrian. 
If  so,  Sargon  will  be  the  "snake"  of  v.^^,  and  Sennacherib  the  more  for- 
midable "serpent  flying  about,"  and  the  date  will  be  some  short  time  after 
Sargon's  death  in  705.  The  Philistines  might  naturally  feel  elated  upon 
receiving  news  of  the  murder  of  Sargon,  who  had  defeated  Hanno  of  Gaza  at 
Raphia  in  720,  and  captured  Ashdod  in  711.  That  Sennacherib  severely 
punished  the  Philistines,  appears  from  his  own  inscription  {Isaiah,  p.  67  f.). 
Cheyne  refers  the  prophecy  to  720,  supposing  the  occasion  to  be  disturbances 
in  Syria  and  Palestine  shortly  after  the  accession  of  Sargon  [Inirod.  p.  81  f.). 

C.  15-16.  On  Moab.  The  prophet  sees  a  great  and  terrible 
disaster  about  to  fall  upon  Moab,  desolating  the  country,  and 
obliging  the  flight  of  its  inhabitants,  c.  15.  He  bids  the  fugitives 
seek  safety  in  the  protection  of  the  house  of  David,  and  send 
tokens  of  their  submission  to  Jerusalem  ;  for  there,  as  he  knows, 
the  violence  of  the  Assyrian  aggressor  will  soon  be  stilled  (cf.  29^0), 
and  a  just  and  righteous  king  will  be  sitting  on  David's  [203] 
throne  (cf.  9^-''),  16^-^.  But  the  haughty  independence  of  the 
Moabites  prevents  their  accepting  the  prophet's  advice ;  and  the 
judgment  must  accordingly  run  its  course,  i6<5-^2^  v.^^-i'^  forms 
an  epilogue.  The  prophecy,  as  a  whole,  had  been  delivered  on 
some  previous  occasion  :  Isaiah,  in  the  epilogue,  affirms  solemnly 
its  speedy  fulfilment. 

The  dates  both  of  the  original  prophecy  and  of  the  epilogue  are  matter  of 
conjecture.     The  epilogue  may  %q  assigned   plausibly  to  a  period  shortly 


214  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

before  Sargon's  campaign  against  Ashdod  in  711,  when  Moab  is  mentioned 
as  intriguing  with  Philistia  and  Egypt  {Isaiah^  p.  45).  But  to  what  date  the 
prophecy  itself  belongs  is  very  uncertain.  The  expression  heretofore  in  v.^^ 
is  ambiguous :  it  may  denote  a  comparatively  short  interval  of  time  (2  Sa. 
15^),  or  one  that  is  much  longer  (Ps.  93^).  The  prophecy  may  have  been 
written  by  Isaiah  some  25  years  before,  in  anticipation  of  the  foray  made  by 
Tiglath-pileser  upon  the  districts  east  of  Jordan  in  734,  which  (according  to 
the  notice  I  Ch.  5^^)  extended  as  far  south  as  Reuben.  But  the  style  and 
tone  of  15^-16^2  impress  many  critics  as  different  from  those  of  Isaiah  ;  and 
hence  they  suppose  it  to  have  been  delivered  originally  by  some  earlier 
prophet,  but  to  have  been  adopted  and  reinforced  by  Isaiah.  The  terms  of 
16^^  (which  in  no  way  connect  the  preceding  prophecy  with  Isaiah  himself) 
rather  support  this  view.  There  are  analogies  for  the  reproduction  (and 
partial  modification)  by  one  prophet  of  a  passage  written  by  another  :  comp. 
2^-4  with  Micah  4^"^ ;  Jer.  49'"^^  and  Obad.  v.^-^*  ^^  ;  and  the  use  made  by  Jer. 
himself  of  this  prophecy  (see  the  reff.  on  RV.  marg.  of  Jer.  48''*  29-34^^  'pj^g 
invasion  (as  the  Moabites  flee  in  the  direction  of  Edom)  appears  to  take  place 
from  the  North ;  Judah  is  represented  as  strong  enough  to  defend  the 
fugitives ;  and  the  territory  N.  of  the  Arnon  (/.<?.  Reuben  and  part  of  Gad) 
is  occupied  by  the  Moabites.  This  combination  of  circumstances  suits  the 
reign  of  Jeroboam  11. ;  and  the  original  prophecy  has  accordingly  been  referred 
to  the  occasion  of  the  subjugation  of  Moab  by  that  king,  presupposed  by 
2  Ki.  14^',  when  the  powerful  monarch  Uzziah  was  ruling  over  Judah — the 
author  being  supposed  to  be  a  prophet  of  Judah  who  sympathized  (15^  16^"^). 
with  the  suffering  Moabites  (so  Hitzig,  Reuss,  Wellh.  in  the  Eticycl.  Brit.'* 
xvi.  535,  W.  R.  Smith,  Proph.  pp.  91  f.,  392,  Dillm.).  Ges.,  Ew.,  Kuen. 
(§  44),  Baudissin,  also,  attribute  15^-16^2  j-q  an  earlier  prophet  than  Isaiah, 
but  without  attempting  to  define  its  occasion  more  particularly.  16^^"^  (which 
is  in  harmony  with  Isaiah's  style  and  thought)  may  be  conjectured,  if  this  view 
be  adopted,  to  be  an  addition  made  to  the  original  prophecy  by  Isaiah  himself 
(Cheyne  formerly). 

17^-1^  On  Damascus.  Isaiah  declares  the  impending  fall 
of  Damascus,  to  be  followed  shortly  by  that  of  Ephraim  as  well, 
v.i-^.  A  remnant  will,  however,  escape,  who  will  be  spiritually 
transformed,  and  recognise  Jehovah  as  the  sole  source  of  their 
strength,  v.^'^.  The  ground  of  Ephraim's  ruin  is  its  forgetfulness 
of  Jehovah,  and  its  adoption  of  foreign  cults,  v.^-^^. 

[204]  The  prophecy  is  parallel  in  thought  to  8^,  though,  from  its  contain- 
ing no  allusion  to  hostilities  with  Judah,  it  may  be  inferred  (Ew.  Del.  Ch. 
Kuen.  Dillm.)  that  it  was  written  before  the  Syro-Ephraimitish  war  had 
commenced. 

jyi2.i4^  A  short  but  singularly  graphic  prophecy,  describing 
the  ocean-like  roar  of  the  advancing  Assyrian  hosts,  and  their 
sudden  dispersion. 


ISAIAH  215 

In  general  conception  (though  the  figures  used  are  different)  the  prophecy 
resembles  14^'^,  and  may  be  assigned  to  the  same  period.  Cheyne  thinks 
that  it  was  written  to  reassure  Judah  during  the  siege  of  Samaria,  c.  723. 

C.  18.  On  Ethiopia  [Heb.  Cush].  The  Ethiopians,  alarmed 
by  intelligence  of  the  advance  of  the  Assyrians,  have  just  sent 
ambassadors  to  the  king  of  Judah  to  induce  him  to  combine 
with  them  in  an  anti-Assyrian  league  (v.^^^**).  Isaiah  sends  them 
back  with  the  assurance  that  their  anxiety  is  needless  :  the  plans 
of  the  Assyrians  will  be  intercepted,  and  their  hosts  overthrown, 
independently  of  the  arms  of  Ethiopia,  v.^*/^-^.  Hereupon  the 
Ethiopians  will  do  homage  to  the  God  of  Israel,  vJ. 

The  prophecy  may  be  assigned,  like  the  last,  to  the  year  701.  An  advance 
upon  Egypt  lay  always  within  the  plans  of  the  Assyrians  :  and  the  Ethiopians 
might  well  fear  that  Sennacherib,  when  he  had  conquered  Judah  and  the 
Philistines,  would  pursue  his  successes,  and  make  an  endeavour  to  add  not 
Egypt  only,  but  Ethiopia  as  well,  to  his  empire.  In  point  of  fact,  Sen- 
nacherib was  advancing  towards  Egypt  when  his  army  (at  Pelusium)  was 
smitten  by  a  pestilence  (Hdt.  ii.  141  j  Isaiah^  p.  81  f.). 

C.  19.  On  Egypt.  A  period  of  unexampled  collapse  and 
decay,  affecting  every  grade  and  class  of  society,  is  about  to 
commence  for  Egypt,  v.^-^^,  to  be  succeeded  by  the  nation's  con- 
version and  spiritual  renovation,  v.^^'^^. 

The  prophecy  is  a  remarkable  one,  both  on  account  of  its  many  allusions 
to  the  characteristic  habits  of  the  people  and  features  of  the  country,  and  for 
the  grand  catholicity  of  the  picture  with  which  it  closes  (Assyria  and  Egypt, 
the  one  Judah's  oppressor,  the  other  its  untrue  friend,  to  be  incorporated,  on 
an  equality  with  Israel  itself,  in  the  kingdom  of  God). 

The  date  of  the  prophecy  is  not  certain  ;  but  it  is  at  least  a  plausible  con- 
jecture that  it  was  written  in  720  B.C.,  when  Sargon  defeated  the  Egyptians 
at  Raphia.  Sargon  did  not  "rule  over"  Egypt  (v.^) ;  but  it  is  not  necessary 
to  suppose  that  Isaiah  has  here  a  definite  person  in  view  ;  he  probably  merely 
means  to  say  that,  in  the  political  disorganization  which  he  sees  to  be  immi- 
nent, the  country  will  fall  a  prey  to  the  first  ambitious  and  determined  man 
who  invades  it.  In  point  of  fact,  Sargon  defeated  the  Egyptian  arms  both  in 
720  and  in  711 ;  Sennacherib  did  the  same  in  701  :  Esarhaddon  penetrated 
into  Egypt,  and  reduced  it  to  the  condition  of  an  Assyrian  province,  c.  672 ; 
Psammetichus,  a  Libyan,  made  himself  master  of  it  shortly  afterwards,  c.  660, 
and  revolutionized  the  policy  of  its  former  kings  by  opening  it  for  the  first 
time  to  the  Greeks.  Others  think  that  the  lofty  hopes  of  the  prophecy  are 
most  consistent  with  the  period  after  701,  when  the  prophet  could  contem- 
plate more  calmly  his  country's  foe  :  so  Ewald  (i.  481  f,  [E.T.  ii.  267  f.]),  who 
describes  this  prophecy  as  Isaiah's  last  and  noblest  "  testament  to  posterity," 
Stade,  Dillm.,  Kuen.  (§  43.  23-ai).      Isaiah's  authorship  of  v.^**"^  (or  of 


2l6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

y  18-26J  j^ag  been  questioned  (see  Cheyne,  p.   looff.):  in  defence  of  it,   see 
Kuen.  §  43.  25  ;  Dillm.  p.  173. 

[205]  C.  20.  On  Egypt  and  Ethiopia.  While  Ashdod  was 
besieged  by  the  Assyrian  troops  in  711,  Isaiah  walks  the  street 
of  Jerusalem  in  a  captive's  garb,  continuing  to  do  so  for  three 
years,  in  order  to  prefigure  the  shameful  fate  that  would  befall 
Egypt  and  Ethiopia  at  the  hands  of  the  victorious  Assyrians. 

The  date  is  fixed  by  Sargon's  inscriptions,  which  alhide  to  the  siege  of 
Ashdod,  and  imply  that  the  revolt  of  the  Philistines,  which  led  to  it,  was 
carried  through  with  promises  of  help  from  Egypt.  Isaiah's  symbolical  act 
was  doubtless  meant  indirectly  as  a  protest  against  the  Egyptianizing  party  in 
Jerusalem,  and  intended  to  impress  forcibly  upon  the  people  of  the  capital 
the  folly  of  reliance  upon  Egypt. 

2 1 1-1^.  On  Babylon.  The  prophet  in  imagination  sees 
Babylon  besieged  by  an  eager  and  impetuous  foe,  v.^^^ :  the 
vision  agitates  and  appals  him,  v.^-* :  the  issue,  for  a  while, 
appears  uncertain,  but  in  the  end  he  is  assured  that  the  city  has 
fallen,  v.^^^ ;  and  he  announces  the  result  to  his  people,  v.^^. 

In  order  to  determine  the  date  of  the  prophecy,  it  is  necessary  to  consider 
what  is  the  siege  of  Babylon  alluded  to  in  it.  The  mention  of  Elam  {i.e., 
substantially,  Persia)  and  Media,  among  the  assailing  forces,  appeared  to 
point  naturally  to  the  attack  upon  Babylon  by  Cyrus,  B.C.  538,  as  the  occa- 
sion of  the  prophecy ;  and  as  no  intelligible  purpose  would  be  subserved  by 
Isaiah's  announcing  to  the  generation  of  Hezekiah  an  occurrence  lying  nearly 
200  years  in  the  future,  and  having  no  bearing  on  contemporary  interests,  it 
has  been  generally  supposed  by  critics  (Ewald,  Hitzig,  &c.)  to  be  the  work  of 
an  author  living  towards  the  close  of  the  Babylonian  captivity,  and  writing 
from  the  same  general  standpoint  as  the  author  of  13^-142^.  The  decypher- 
ment  of  the  Assyrian  Inscriptions  has,  however,  shown  that  Merodach- 
Baladan,  who  bore  from  B.C.  721  to  710  the  title  "king  of  Babylon " 
(Schrader,  Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothek,  iii.  i,  1892,  p.  185  ff.;  cf.  Is.  39^), 
made  repeated  efforts  to  free  his  country  from  the  Assyrian  yoke,  and  that 
the  Assyrians,  on  three  separate  occasions,  in  Isaiah's  own  lifetime,  B.C.  710, 
703,  and  696,  besieged  and  entered  the  rebellious  city  {Isaiah,  pp.  45,  55, 
106).  Hence  Kleinert  {Stud.  u.  Krit.  1877,  p.  I74ff.)  sought  to  show  that 
the  prophecy  had  reference  to  the  first  of  these  sieges,  the  interest  with  which 
the  issue  was  watched  by  Isaiah  being  explained  by  him  from  the  fact  that 
Merodach-Baladan  had  probably  some  understanding  with  Hezekiah  (cf. 
c.  39),  and  that  the  success  of  the  Assyrians  would  mean  the  punishment  of 
those  suspected  of  being  his  allies.  This  view  was  adopted  formerly  by 
Cheyne  {Isaiah,  ed.  3),  and  the  present  writer  {Isaiah,  p.  96fF.)  ;  but  it  has 
not  met  with  the  support  of  recent  writers  on  Isaiah  (Delitzsch,  ed.  4  ;  Kuen. 
§  43.  10  ;  Dillm. ;  &c.)  ;  and  even  Cheyne  has  abandoned  it  {Introd.  p.  124). 
It  seems,  in  fact,  that  the  judgment  of  Ewald  and  the  older  critics  was 


ISAIAH  217 

correct.  The  capture  of  Babylon  by  the  Assyrians  in  710  did  not  in  reality 
(so  far  as  we  know)  affect  Judah  at  all  ;  [206]  nor  was  it,  like  the  conquest  of 
Cyrus  in  538,  followed  by  momentous  consequences  for  the  Jews.  See,  more 
fully,  the  note  in  the  writer's  Isaiah,  ed.  2,  pp.  216-219  \  Cheyne,  Introd. 
p.  121  ff. 

2iii-i2^  On  Dumah  {i.e.  Edom).  A  call  of  inquiry  reaches 
the  prophet  from  Seir  (Gen.  36^^-) :  he  replies,  in  dark  and 
enigmatic  terms,  that  though  the  "  morning  "  {i.e.  brighter  days) 
may  dawn  for  Edom,  it  will  quickly  be  followed  by  a  "  night " 
of  trouble ;  for  the  present  no  more  favourable  answer  can  be 
given. 

2 1 13-17^  On 'Arab.  A  tide  of  invasion  is  about  to  overflow 
the  region  inhabited  by  'Arab  and  Kedar  (v.^^) ;  the  Dedanite 
caravans  passing  through  it  have  to  seek  refuge  in  the  woods  : 
the  people  of  Tema  bring  supplies  to  the  fugitive  traders. 
Within  a  year  Kedar  will  be  so  reduced  in  numbers,  that  only 
an  insignificant  remnant  will  survive. 

'Arab  denotes  not  Arabia  (in  our  sense  of  the  word),  but  a  particular 
nomad  tribe  inhabiting  the  N.  of  the  Peninsula,  and  mentioned  Ez.  2720'-, 
with  Dedan  and  Kedar,  as  engaged  in  commerce  with  Tyre.  Kedar  was  a 
wealthy  pastoral  tribe,  60',  Jer.  49^.  Tema  lay  some  250  miles  S.-E.  of 
Edom.  Sargon's  troops  were  engaged  in  war  with  the  Philistines  in  both 
720  and  711  :  and  it  may  be  conjectured  that  these  two  prophecies  were 
delivered  in  view  of  an  expected  campaign  of  the  Assyrians  in  the  neigh- 
bouring regions  in  one  of  these  years. 

22I-1*.  A  rebuke,  addressed  by  Isaiah  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  capital,  on  account  of  the  undignified  temper  displayed  by 
them  when  their  city  was  threatened  with  an  assault  by  the  foe. 
V.i  describes  the  demeanour  of  the  people ;  v.^-^  the  events 
which  had  preceded ;  v.^*^  the  grief  and  shame  overwhelming 
the  prophet  in  consequence  ;  v.^-^^  the  hasty  measures  of  defence 
which  had  been  taken  by  the  people,  and  the  inappropriate 
temper  manifested  by  them  at  the  time  and  subsequently ;  v.^* 
is  the  prophet's  rebuke. 

The  prophecy  belongs  probably  to  either  711  or  701  B.C.  In  711  B.C. 
Sargon's  troops  were  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Judah  (engaged  upon  the  siege 
of  Ashdod)  ;  and  as  Judah  is  mentioned  at  the  same  time  {Isaiah,  p.  45  ; 
Schrader,  op.  cit.  ii.  64 f.)  as  "speaking  treason"  against  him,  it  is  possible 
that  some  collision  may  have  taken  place  with  Sargon's  soldiers,  resulting  in  a 
panic  and  defeat,  such  as  Isaiah  describes.*     The  objection  to  referring  it  to 

*  But  Sayce's  hypothesis  that  Sargon  gained  a  series  of  successes,  and 
even  ended  by  capturing  Jerusalem#lacks  adequate  historical  foundation,  and 


21 8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

701,  the  year  of  Sennacherib's  invasion,  is  its  minatory  tone  ;  for  in  the  other 
prophecies  belonging  undoubtedly  to  this  period,  Isaiah  makes  it  his  aim  to 
encourage  and  sustain  [207]  his  people  :  but  this  difficulty  may  be  overcome 
by  referring  it  to  an  episode  in  this  invasion — by  supposing  it  to  allude,  for 
instance,  to  a  panic  occasioned  by  the  first  conflict  with  the  Assyrians  (W.  R. 
Smith,  Proph.  p.  346  ;  Dillm.),  or  else  to  have  been  spoken  by  the  prophet 
immediately  after  Sennacherib's  retreat,  in  condemnation  of  the  temper  shown 
by  the  people  while  the  invasion  was  in  progress  (Guthe,  Sorensen,  Kuenen, 
§43.  19-21,  Cheyne,  Introd.  p.  135  f.). 

2215-25^  On  Shebna.  Shebna,  a  minister  holding  in  Jerusalem 
the  influential  office  of  Governor  or  Comptroller  of  the  Palace, 
is  threatened  by  Isaiah  with  disgrace  and  banishment ;  and  Elia- 
kim,  a  man  of  approved  views,  is  nominated  as  his  successor. 

It  is  evident  that  Shebna  represented  a  policy  obnoxious  to  Isaiah — 
probably  he  was  one  of  the  friends  of  Egypt.  The  prophecy  must  date  from 
before  701  ;  for  in  that  year  (36^  37^)  Eliakim  is  mentioned  as  holding  the 
office  here  promised  him  by  Isaiah,  and  Shebna  occupies  the  subordinate 
position  of  "  Scribe,"  or  secretary. 

C.  23.  On  Tyre.  In  picturesque  and  effective  imagery,  the 
approaching  fall  of  Tyre,  the  great  commercial  and  colonizing 
city  of  antiquity,  is  described,  v.^-^*.  After  seventy  years  of 
enforced  quiescence,  however,  Tyre  will  revive,  and  resume  her 
former  occupation;  but  her  gains,  instead  of  being  applied  to 
her  own  profit  or  adornment,  will  be  consecrated  to  the  service 
of  Jehovah,  v.^^"^^. 

Isaiah  expresses  here,  in  a  form  consonant  with  the  special 
character  of  Tyre — as  before,  in  the  case  of  Ethopia,  18'',  and 
Egypt,  19^^^- — the  thought  of  its  future  acknowledgment  of  the 
true  God  :  the  commercial  spirit,  by  which  it  is  actuated,  will 
not  be  discarded,  but  it  will  be  elevated  and  ennobled. 

The  date  of  the  prophecy  depends  partly  upon  v.^^  This  verse  is  difficult 
and  uncertain  :  but  if  the  rendering  of  RV.  be  correct,  the  prophet  points,  as 
a  warning  to  Tyre,  to  the  punishment  recently  inflicted  upon  Chaldaea  by  the 
Assyrians — probably  in  710-709  or  703  (p.  216)  ;  and  the  prophecy  will  have 
been  written  shortly  before  Sennacherib's  invasion  of  Phoenicia  in  701  *  (Smith, 
Proph.  p.  333  ;  cf.  Isaiah,  p.  106).  But  the  terms  of  v.^^  appear  to  describe 
a  graver  disaster  than  that  which  befell  Babylon  in  either  710  or  703  (see 
Schrader,   Keilinschr.  Bibliothek,   ii.  69-73,   83-85  IKAT."^  346  f.])  ;    the 

must  be  rejected  (see  W.  R.  Smith,  Proph.  p.  295  ff.  ;  Isaiah,  p.  loi  f.  ; 
Schrader,  KAT."^  p.  407  f.;  Kuen.  §  41.  4^  ;  Dillm.  pp.  3,  103,  197). 

*  Though  Tyre  is  not  mentioned  among  the  cities  then  attacked  by  him- 


ISAIAH  219 

"Chaldseans"  are  introduced  abruptly,  and  Ewald's  emendation,  D'jyja 
Canaanites  for  O'ib-d  (adopted  by  Schrader,  KAT.^  p.  409  f.,  and  Orelli, 
and  viewed  favourably  by  Delitzsch),  is  an  attractive  one  ;  the  verse  will 
then  refer  simply  to  the  fate  impending  on  Phoenicia  itself,  and  the  prophecy 
may  be  assigned  plausibly,  with  Ew.  Schrad.  Kuen.  (§  42.  23),  Dillm.  Orelli, 
Cheyne  {I.e.  p.  143  f.),  to  the  period  of  Shalmaneser's  siege  of  Tyre  (between 
727  and  723  B.C.),  related  by  Josephus  {Arch.  ix.  14.  2). 

III.  C.  24-27.  These  chapters  are  intimately  connected 
[208]  together,  and  form  a  single  prophecy.  They  present  a 
vivid  picture  of  a  great  world-judgment,  and  of  the  happy  escape 
from  it  of  God's  faithful  people.  In  particular,  they  declare  the 
overthrow  of  some  proud,  tyrannical  city  (the  name  of  which  is 
not  stated),  and  depict  the  felicity,  and  spiritual  blessedness, 
which  Israel  will  afterwards  enjoy. 

24^*^^  announces  a  great  convulsion  about  to  overwhelm  a 
large  portion  of  the  earth,  obliterating  every  distinction  of  class, 
and  spreading  desolation  far  and  wide.  For  a  moment,  how- 
ever, the  vision  of  ruin  is  interrupted;  and  the  praises  of  the 
redeemed  Israelites  are  heard,  borne  from  afar  over  the  Western 
waters,  v.^*^-:  but  such  rejoicings,  the  prophet  declares,  are 
premature ;  another  and  more  terrible  scene  in  the  drama  of 
judgment  has  still  to  be  enacted,  v. ^6-2*.  In  c.  25  the  deliver- 
ance is  supposed  to  have  been  effected,  and  the  hostile  city 
overthrown :  and  the  prophet  puts  into  the  mouth  of  the 
redeemed  community  two  hymns  of  thanksgiving,  2ii-^-^;  25^-^ 
he  pictures  the  blessedness  of  which  Zion  will  then  be  the  centre 
for  all  nations;  while  haughty  Moab,  2510-12^  will  be  ignomini- 
ously  humbled.  2(i^'^^  Vs>  a  third  hymn  of  thanksgiving;  2(P--^^ 
is  a  retrospect  (supposed  likewise  to  be  spoken  after  the  deliver- 
ance) :  the  nation  looks  back  to  the  period  of  distress  preceding 
its  deliverance,  and  confesses  that  this  had  been  accomplished, 
not  by  any  power  of  its  own,  but  by  Divine  aid.  2620-21  the 
prophet  returns  to  his  own  present,  and  addresses  words  of 
comfort  to  his  contemporaries  in  view  of  the  approaching 
"indignation"  {i.e.  24^^-).  C.  27  contains  further  descriptions 
of  the  fall  of  the  hostile  power,  with  a  fourth  hymn  (v.^-s)^  and  of 
the  restoration  of  God's  own  people. 

Modern  critics  agree  generally  in  the  opinion  that  this 
prophecy  is  not  Isaiah's  :  and  (chiefly)  for  the  following  reasons : 
— I.  It  lacks  a  suitable  occasion  in  Isaiah's  age.  It  cannot  be 
plausibly  assigned  to  the  period  of  the  Assyrian  crisis  of  701  ; 


220  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

for  we  possess  a  long  series  of  discourses  belonging  to  the  years 
702-70T  :  in  all  Isaiah  views  similarly  the  coming  overthrow  of 
Assyria ;  but  in  the  present  prophecy  both  the  structure  and  the 
point  of  view  are  throughout  different  (contrast  e.g.  c.  29-32 
with  these  chapters).  Thus  Isaiah  never  connects  either  the 
aggressions  or  the  ruin  of  the  Assyrian  power  with  movements 
of  the  dimensions  here  contemplated :  the  Assyrian  forces  are 
broken  "upon  [209]  the  mountains"  of  Judah  (14^^);  but  the 
earth  generally  is  untouched  (contrast  24^-^2. 17-20^^  Isaiah  always 
speaks  of  the  army^  or  king  of  Assyria :  here  the  oppressing 
power  is  some  great  city  (252-3  26^).  In  Isaiah,  again,  the 
"remnant"  which  escapes  is  saved  in  Judah  or  Jerusalem  (4^ 
37^2) :  here  the  voices  of  the  redeemed  are  first  heard  from 
distant  quarters  of  the  earth  {2^^^-'^^). 

2.  The  literary  treatment  (in  spite  of  certain  phraseological 
points  of  contact  with  Isaiah)  is  in  many  respects  unlike  Isaiah's. 

3.  There  are  features  in  the  representation  and  contents  of 
the  prophecy  which  seem  to  spring  out  of  a  different  (and  later) 
vein  of  thought  from  Isaiah's. 

Thus  *  the  style  is  more  artificial  than  that  of  Isaiah,  as  appears,  for  in- 
stance, in  the  frequent  combination  of  nearly  synonymous  clauses,  often  d,<Tvv- 
dircos  (24^^-),  the  repetition  of  a  word  (24^^  25^^  26^-  ^-  ^^  27^),  the  numerous 
alliterations  and  word-plays  (241-  3-  4.  6. 16.  iv.  is.  19  256.  lOb  268  27'),  the  tend- 
ency to  rhyme  {24^-  8- 16  25!-  6-  7  262- 13-  20.  21  278.  6),_all  features,  which, 
though  they  may  be  found  occasionally  in  Isaiah,  are  never  aggregated  in  his 
writings  as  they  are  here.  There  are,  moreover,  many  unusual  expressions, 
the  combination  of  which  points  similarly  to  an  author  other  than  Isaiah. 
Traits  connected  with  the  representation,  not  in  the  manner  of  Isaiah,  are 
e.g.  241^-  21-22  256  26^8'-  (the  resurrection),  27^  (the  animal  symbolism),  the  re- 
flexions 2(P^'.  The  principal  points  of  contact  with  Isaiah  are  24*  (ly'D), 
v.iob  (23!)^  V.18  (176),  v.isb  (2i2  33!),  V.20  (18  naiVo),  252(171  nS^D),  v."*  (H^'^d^'^t 
D'jV3Ni),  v.''  (322  }vj£),  27^ (9I'  n'syi  TDK'),  v."^  {icp^  in3D),  v.^  (178  d'jdh),  v.  11''  (17"- 
22!^^),  v.^'  (ijii  the  wide  dispersion) ;  but,  in  the  light  of  the  general  differ- 
ence, these  are  not  sufficient  to  establish  Isaiah's  authorship :  they  do  not 
show  more  than  that  the  author  was  familiar  with  Isaiah's  writings,  and 
sometimes  borrowed  expressions  from  them.  His  prophecy  contains  similarly 
reminiscences  from  other  prophets,  as  24I  (Nah.  2II) ;  242-4  27^  (Hos.  4^*3 
H^ff-) ;  2417-18*  (Jer.  4843-44a)  .  2420b  (Am.  52) ;  26I  (Isa.  60I8) ;  2621  (Micah 
18).  It  is  true,  the  author  follows  Isaiah  more  than  other  prophets  ;  but  it  is 
difficult  not  to  feel  the  justice  of  Delitzsch's  remark  {Isaiah,  ed.  4,  p.  286), 
"that  the  prophecy,  in  order  to  find  a  place  in  the  history  of  the  OT. 
knowledge  of  salvation,  must  be  referred  to  an  age  subsequent  to  Isaiah's." 

*  See  more  fully  Cheyne,  Introd.  p.  147  ff. 


ISAIAH  221 

But  if  it  be  not  Isaiah's,  to  what  period  is  the  prophecy  to  be 
assigned?  The  absence  of  distinct  historical  allusions  makes 
this  question  a  difficult  one  to  answer.  27^  alludes  (as  it  seems) 
to  Assyria,  Babylon,  and  Egypt ;  hence  it  will  not  be  earlier  than 
the  time  when  Babylon  became  formidable  to  the  Jews,  [210] 
and  there  are  features  in  which  it  is  in  advance  not  merely  of 
Isaiah,  but  even  of  Deutero-Isaiah.  It  may  be  referred  most 
plausibly  to  the  early  post-exilic  period."* 

The  unnamed  city  is,  most  probably,  Babylon,  which,  though 
conquered  by  Cyrus,  was  not  destroyed  by  him,  and  remained  an 
important  city  till  the  close  of  the  Persian  empire  (b.c.  332).  It 
is  doubtful,  however,  whether  the  literal  Babylon  is  intended  by 
the  author.  The  lineaments  of  the  city  which  he  depicts  are  so 
indistinct  and  unsubstantial  that  the  picture  seems  rather  to 
be  an  ideal  one:  Babylon  becomes  a  type  of  the  powers  of 
heathenism,  which  the  prophet  imagines  as  entrenched  behind 
the  walls  of  a  great  city,  strongly  fortified  indeed,  but  destined 
in  God's  good  time  to  be  overthrown.  Israel  is  in  a  depressed 
condition,  tyrannized  over  by  this  unfriendly  power;  and  he 
depicts,  with  great  imaginative  power,  the  feelings  with  which 
the  people  of  God  will  watch  the  course  of  its  overthrow,  and 
the  sacred  joy  and  gratitude  which  its  fall  will  evoke  in  their 
hearts.  In  doing  this,  he  reaffirms  older,  but  as  yet  unfulfilled 
prophecies :  he "  employs  largely  the  materials  supplied  to  him  by 
the  writings  of  earlier  prophets ;  but  these  are  generalized  and 
idealized  by  him,  as  he  recombines  them  into  a  new  picture, 
designed  upon  a  grander  scale.  The  representation  partakes  in 
fact  of  an  apocalyptic,  or  eschatological,  character :  the  ideal,  or 
symbolic,  element  is  much  larger  than  in  the  pre-exilic  pro- 
phecies generally;  and  the  closest  parallels  are  Ez.  38-39,  Joel 
3^"2i,  Zech.  12-14.  The  aim  of  the  prophecy  will  have  been  to 
revive  and  invigorate  Israel's  hope  in  the  age  of  depression 
which  followed  the  restoration  to  Palestine,  when  even  faithful 
souls,  contrasting  the  meagre  reality  with  the  brilliant  visions  of 
Is.  40-66,  must  have  found  it  hard  to  resist  the  temptation  to 
despair. 

*  So  Ewald,  Delitzsch  {Mess.  Weiss.  §44),  Dillm.,  Kirkpatrick,  The 
Doctrine  of  the  Prophets  (1892),  p.  475  ff.  Smend  {ZATW.  1884,  p.  161  ff.) 
and  Kuenen  (§46.  20)  place  it  later,  in  the  4th  cent.  B.C.,  but  upon  grounds 
of  doubtful  cogency. 


222  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

The  precise  circumstances  under  which  the  prophecy  was  written  must, 
however,  remain  matter  of  conjecture.  From  Neh.  i^  it  may  be  inferred  (cf. 
Bertheau,  ad  loc.)  that  some  calamity,  on  which  the  historical  books  are 
otherwise  silent,  had  befallen  the  restored  community ;  and  perhaps  this 
prophecy  was  designed  for  the  encouragement  [21 1]  of  the  people  at  the 
time  when  that  disaster  was  imminent,  the  author  (in  some  cases)  basing  his 
representations  upon  those  of  Isaiah,  and  developing  lines  of  thought  suggested 
by  him.  Possibly,  indeed,  it  may  owe  its  place  in  the  Book  of  Isaiah  to  the 
fact  that  it  was  from  the  first  intended  as  a  supplement  to  Isaiah's  prophecies 
against  foreign  nations,  applying  some  of  the  truths  and  principles  on  which 
Isaiah  insisted  to  the  circumstances  of  the  age  in  which  the  author  wrote 
(comp.  Dillm.  p.  222). 

Cheyne  {Introd.  pp.  xxvii,  155-160;  cf.  358-363)  seeks  to  fix  the  date 
more  closely.  It  is  stated  (i)  by  Diodorus  Siculus  (xvi.  40-52)  that  under 
Artaxerxes  (iii.)  Ochus  (B.C.  359-339),  there  was  a  great  revolt  of  Phoenicia, 
Cyprus,  and  Egypt,  against  Persia,  which  was  suppressed  by  Ochus  in 
348-344  with  much  cruelty  and  bloodshed,  and  the  capture,  under  tragic 
circumstances,  of  Sidon ;  (2)  by  Eusebius,  Chron.  ii.  112  Schone  (  =  Sync.  i. 
486;  similarly  Orosius,  iii.  7)  that  Ochus  e^s  Mr/virrov  (rrpaTeOuv  fiepiKrjv 
atx/Aa^wo-Iaf  elXep  'lovdalofv,  S)v  roiii  jxkv  iv  'TpKavig,  KaT(pKi<r€  irpbs  ry 
KaaTriq,  daXdaay,  rods  S^  iv  Ba^vXQvi,  ot  Kal  /jl^xP'-  ^^^  ^^""^  a^rbdi,  ws  ttoXXoi 
Twv  "EtXKijvwv  laropovai ;  (3)  by  Josephus  {Arch.  xi.  7.  i  :  cf.  Ewald,  Hist. 
V.  205  f.),  that  Bagoses — no  doubt  the  same  as  Bagoas,  who  quelled  for 
Ochus  (Diod.  xvi.  47  ff, )  the  revolt  in  Egypt — the  general  rod  SiKkov  'Apra- 
^^p^ov,  on  account  of  a  murder  committed  by  the  high  priest  John  (Neh.  12^) 
in  the  Temple,  forced  his  way  into  the  sanctuary,  and  laid  a  tax  for  7  years 
of  50  drachms  upon  every  lamb  offered  in  the  daily  sacrifice  ;  (4)  by  Solinus, 
xxxv.  4  (in  a  brief  description  of  the  country) :  Judaeae  caput  fuit  Hierosolyma, 
sed  excisa  est.     Successit  Hierichus  ;  et  haec  desivit  Artaxerxis  bello  subacta. 

Cheyne,  combining  *  the  events  thus  recorded,  and  observing  (cf.  W.  R. 
Smith,  077c. 2  p.  438  f.;  Wellhausen,  Isr.  u.  jud.  Gesch.^  p.  146,  2  p.  181  f.) 
that  a  captivity  implies  a  revolt,  argues  that  the  Jews  at  this  time  must  have 
passed  through  a  severe  national  and  religious  crisis,  in  the  course  of  which 
he  conjectures  that  Jerusalem  was  even  taken  by  the  Persians,  and  the 
Temple  burnt:  the  memory  of  these  events,  he  thinks,  explains  the  language 
not  only  of  the  present  prophecy,  but  also  (see  below)  of  63'-c.  64,  and  of 
several  Psalms.  The  original  prophecy,  promising  the  downfall  of  the  powers 
hostile  to  Israel,  and  describing  in  glowing  colours  the  glories  to  follow,  con- 
sisted of  c.  24,  25^"^  26^*-  271- ^2*-,  and  dated  from  c.  B.C.  334:  it  was  sup- 
plemented, shortly  after  Alexander's  victory  at  Issus  (B.C.  333),  by  27'"^!, 
declaring  that,  terribly  as  the  capital  had  been  punished  (v.^''^*)  by  Ochus, 

*  The  exact  chronology  is  uncertain  :  see  for  particulars  Judeich,  Klein- 
asiatische  Studien,  p.  170  flf.  Ochus  invaded  Egypt  more  than  once  :  Judeich, 
(pp.  170 «.,  I76«.)  connects  the  destruction  of  Jericho  and  deportation  of 
Jewish  captives  with  his  expedition  of  354-353,  and  places  the  interposition 
of  Bagoses  (Bagoas)  in  Jerusalem  during  his  suppression  of  the  revolt  men- 
tioned above,  c,  346. 


ISAIAH  223 

Israel  nevertheless  had  not  been  smitten  by  him  as  severely  as  the  Persians 
had  been  smitten  now  (v.'^)  at  Issus :  the  lyrical  passages  were  inserted  yet 
later,  and  are  not  written  from  an  ideal  standpoint  in  the  future,  but  depict 
the  actual  feelings  of  the  nation  ;  26^"^^  is  the  expression  of  Israel's  gratitude 
for  its  delivery  from  Persian  tyranny ;  25^*^*  ^'^^  27^-5  testify  to  the  satisfaction 
with  which  the  pious  Jews  saw  the  fulfilment  of  ancient  prophecies  (25^^)  in 
Alexander's  capture  of  Tyre  (B.C.  332),  and  watched  the  humiliation  of  their 
heathen  foes  (comp.  Skinner,  p.  203  f. ).  This  explanation  of  the  prophecy 
is  clever  and  suggestive  :  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  it  rests  upon 
a  hypothetical  basis  ;  however  accurately  such  an  event  would  harmonize 
with  the  terms  of  27^"*-  64^"*-,  no  destruction,  or  even  capture  of  Jerusalem  at 
the  time  is  related  by  the  ancients,  although,  had  the  disaster  been  of  the 
magnitude  which  the  passages  quoted  (if  referred  to  it)  imply,  it  is  difficult 
not  to  think  that  some  independent  notice  of  it  would  have  survived. 

Of  course  the  ascription  of  the  prophecy  to  this  age  in  no 
degree  impairs  its  religious  value.  On  the  contrary,  "c.  24-27 
stand  in  the  front  rank  of  Evangelical  prophecy.  In  their  ex- 
perience of  religion,  their  characterizations  of  God's  people, 
their  expressions  of  faith,  their  missionary  hopes,  and  hopes  of 
immortality,  they  are  very  rich  and  edifying."  * 

The  prophecy  in  some  respects  stands  alone  in  the  OT.  It 
is  remarkable  on  account  of  the  width  of  area  which  the  pro- 
phet's imagination  traverses,  the  novelty  and  variety  of  the 
imagery  which  he  employs,  the  music  of  language  and  rhythm 
which  impressed  Delitzsch's  ear  so  forcibly,  and  the  beautiful 
lyric  hymns  in  which  the  redeemed  community  declares  its 
gratitude. 

IV.  C.  28-33.  A  group  of  discourses,  dealing  (all  but  entirely) 
with  the  relation  of  Judah  to  Assyria, — the  earlier  insisting  on 
the  shortsightedness  of  revolting  from  Assyria,  and  trusting  to 
Egypt  for  effectual  help;  the  later  foretelling  the  trouble  in 
which,  through  the  neglect  of  Isaiah's  warnings,  Judah  and 
Jerusalem  would  be  involved,  and  their  subsequent  deliverance. 

C.  28.  V.i-*5  the  prophet  begins  by  declaring  the  approaching 
fall  of  the  proud  capital  of  Samaria.  He  then  turns  aside,  v.'',  to 
address  Jerusalem.  Here  also  there  is  the  same  self-indulgence 
and  reluctance  to  listen  to  better  counsels ;  the  political  leaders 
of  the  nation  scorn  the  prophet's  message,  and  trust  to  Egyptian 
help  to  free  themselves  from  the  yoke  of  Assyria ;  but  the  day 
will  come  when  they  will  find  how  terribly  their  calculations  are 
at  fault,  v.7-22.  V. 23-29  are  words  of  consolation  addressed  to 
*  G.  A.  Smiffi,  Isaiah^  i.  431  f. 


224  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Isaiah's  own  disciples  and  followers,  teaching  by  a  parable  God's 
purposes  in  His  discipline  of  His  people. 

It  is  evident  that  v.'"'  was  written  shortly  before  722,  the  year  of  the  fall 
of  Samaria.  The  historical  situation  presupposed  in  v.'^-^^,  however, — e.g. 
the  scheme  of  a  revolt  from  Assyria,  upon  the  strength  of  an  alliance  with 
Egypt, — resembles  so  closely  that  implied  in  c.  29-32,  that  it  is  doubtful 
whether  an  interval  of  20  years  should  be  assumed  between  them :  in  all 
probability  v.'^"^^  was  written  originally  not  long  before  702,  and  adjusted 
afterwards  by  Isaiah  (or  an  editor)  so  as  to  follow  v.^"'. 

C.  29-32.  A  series  of  prophecies  belonging  (if  29^  be  [212] 
rightly  interpreted)  to  the  year  before  Sennacherib's  invasion  of 
Judah,  i.e.  to  702  B.C. 

C.  29.  Within  a  year  Jerusalem  will  be  besieged,  and  reduced 
to  extremities  by  her  foes ;  but  in  a  moment  the  hostile  throng 
pressing  around  her  will  be  dispersed,  and  vanish  like  a  dream, 
v}-^.  To  the  people,  however,  all  seems  secure :  the  prospect 
opened  by  Isaiah  appears  to  them  incredible :  they  view  his 
words  with  astonishment,  v.^*.  He  reproaches  them  with  their 
want  of  discernment,  declaring  that  ere  long  the  event  will  prove 
the  truth  of  what  he  has  said,  and  the  wisdom  of  their  counsellors 
will  stand  abashed,  v.^^"^^.  He  closes  with  a  picture  of  the  ideal 
future  that  will  follow  the  downfall  of  the  Assyrian  (v.^^*),  and  of 
the  altered  character  and  temper  which  will  then  manifest  itself 
in  the  nation,  v.^^"^*. 

C.  30.  The  negotiations  with  Egypt  have  here  reached  a 
further  stage.  An  embassy,  despatched  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
cluding a  treaty,  is  already  on  its  way  thither.  Isaiah  predicts 
the  disappointment  in  which  the  project  will  assuredly  end,  and 
in  a  brief  but  pithy  motto  sums  up  the  character  of  Egypt, — 
boastful  in  the  offer  of  promises,  procrastinating  and  inefficient 
in  the  performance  of  them,  v.^-*^.  He  paints  the  terrible  results 
in  which  the  political  shortsightedness  of  the  people's  leaders 
will  ultimately  land  them,  v.^-^'';  though  afterwards  his  tone 
changes  into  one  of  reassurance,  and  he  draws  a  picture  (similar 
to  that  in  in  2917^-)  of  the  ideal  future  that  isio  follow,  of  the 
glorification  of  external  nature,  corresponding  to  the  nation's 
transformed  character,  which  is  to  accompany  it,  v.^^'^g^  ^nd  of 
the  triumphant  overthrow  of  the  Assyrian  invader,  by  which  it 
will  be  inaugurated,  v.  27-33. 

C.   31-328  reiterates,  under  fresh  figures,  substantially  the 


ISAIAH  225 

same  thoughts :  the  disappointment  to  be  expected  from  Egypt, 
31^-3 ;  Jehovah's  deliverance  of  His  city,  v.*^-;  the  people's  altered 
character  afterwards,  v.^^- ;  the  fall  of  the  Assyrian,  v.^^- :  32I-8 
the  prophet  delineates  once  more  the  ideal  commonwealth  of 
the  future,  dwelling  in  particular  on  the  regeneration  of  society, 
and  the  recovery  of  a  clear  and  firm  moral  judgment,  which  are 
to  signalize  its  advent. 

32^-20  is  addressed  specially  to  the  women,  whose  indifference 
and  unconcern  had  attracted  the  notice  of  the  prophet.  Their 
careless  assurance,  Isaiah  tells  them,  is  misplaced :  trouble  [213] 
is  impending  over  the  land;  it  is  about  to  be  ravaged  by  the 
foe ;  and  next  year's  harvest  will  be  looked  for  in  vain,  v.^^'^^. 
And  the  state  of  desolation  will  continue,  until  a  vivifying  spirit 
is  poured  upon  it  from  on  high,  altering  the  face  of  external 
nature,  and  transforming,  morally  and  religiously,  the  character 
of  the  inhabitants,  v.^^-^o. 

C.  33.  The  end  of  the  Assyrian  is  at  length  approaching : 
the  country  is  indeed  a  picture  of  desolation  and  misery  (vJ-^) ; 
but  the  moment  has  arrived  for  Jehovah  to  arise  and  defend  His 
city:  and  already  the  prophet  sees  the  hosts  of  the  Assyrians 
dispersed,  and  the  Jews  seizing  the  spoil  (v.^^-),  vM^.  Ere  long 
the  present  distress  will  be  "  mused  on  "  only  as  a  thing  that  is 
past :  Zion,  safe  in  the  protection  of  her  Divine  Lord,  will  be  at 
peace;  and  no  sickness,  or  sin,  will  disturb  the  felicity  which 
thenceforth  her  citizens  will  enjoy,  v.^^"^*. 

The  date  of  this  prophecy  is  a  year  later  than  c.  29-32,  i.e.  B.C.  701, 
apparently  shortly  after  the  incidents  related  in  2  Ki.  18'^^"^*.  Sennacherib 
had  taken  many  fenced  cities  of  Judah,  and  laid  a  fine  upon  Hezekiah ; 
but  had  afterwards,  upon  whatever  pretext,  made  a  fresh  demand  for  the 
surrender  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  the  messengers  who  had  been  sent  to  Lachish  to 
purchase  peace  of  him  had  returned  without  accomplishing  their  purpose 
(v.'^-).  Isaiah,  abandoning  the  tone  of  alarm  which  he  had  adopted  a  year 
previously,  when  the  foe  was  still  in  the  distance  {e.^.  29^"^),  sets  himself  here 
to  calm  and  reassure  his  people  (comp.  37^^'^^). 

V.  C.  34-35.  The  contrasted  future  of  Edom  and  of  Israel. 
The  prophet  declares  a  judgment  to  be  approaching,  which  will 
embrace  all  nations :  specially  in  Edom  is  "  a  great  sacrifice " 
prepared,  which  will  strip  the  country  of  its  inhabitants,  and 
leave  it  a  desolation,  the  haunt  of  desert  animals,  for  ever 
(c.  34).  Far  different  will  be  the  future  of  the  ransomed 
Israelites.     For  them  the  desert  soil  will  bring  forth  abundantly ; 


226  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

human  infirmities  will  cease  to  vex,  human  needs  will  be  relieved ; 
secure  from  molestation  the  exiles  will  return  to  Zion,  and  obtain 
there  never-ending  joys  (c.  35). 

The  most  prominent  characteristic  of  this  prophecy  is  the  glow  of  passion 
which  prevades  c.  34,  recalling  that  which  animates  the  prophecies  against 
Babylon  in  13-^'  and  Jer.  50-51.  The  author,  or  the  people  whom  he 
represents,  must  have  been  smarting  from  some  severe  provocation,  as,  indeed, 
is  intimated  unambiguously  in  34^  "For  unto  Jehovah  belongeth  a  day  of 
vengeance,  and  a  year  of  recompense  ^r />^^  quarrel  of  Zion.''^  The  hostile 
feeling  which  prevailed  generally  between  Israel  and  Edom  broke  out  most 
strongly  at  the  time  when  Jerusalem  was  captured  by  the  Chaldseans  in  586  ; 
[214]  then  the  Edomites  manifested  an  open  and  malicious  exultation  at  the 
fall  of  their  rival,  which,  as  contemporary  (Ob.^°"^^;  Ez.  2.^^^-.,  c.  35  ;  Lam. 
421'-)  and  even  later  (Ps.  137',  cf.  Mai.  i^*-)  writers  show,  was  bitterly 
resented  by  the  Jews.  It  is  extremely  probable  that  c.  34  was  written  while 
this  resentment  was  still  keenly  felt :  the  ground  of  Zion's  "quarrel"  may  be 
illustrated  from  Ez.  35^**'^^.  The  literary  style  of  the  prophecy  is  also  not 
Isaiah's ;  and  both  in  tone  and  in  representation  it  presents  affinities  with 
prophecies  (13^*^',  c.  40  fF.)  which,  upon  independent  grounds,  must  be  referred 
to  the  closing  years  of  the  exile  (cf.  Dillm.  p.  301  f.). 

VI.  C.  36-39.  An  historical  section,  differing  (except  by  the 
addition  of  the  Song  of  Hezekiah,  38^-20)  only  verbally  from 
2  Ki.  18^3  i8^'^-2o^^,  and  narrating  certain  important  events  in 
which  Isaiah  was  concerned,  viz. :  (i)  the  double  demand 
(36^^-;  37'^^')  made  by  Sennacherib  for  the  surrender  of  Jeru- 
salem; Isaiah's  final  predictions  of  its  deliverance,  and  their 
fulfilment,  c.  36-37  ;  (2)  Hezekiah's  sickness ;  his  cure,  and  the 
promise  made  to  him  by  Isaiah,  followed  by  his  Song  of  thanks- 
giving, c.  38 ;  (3)  the  embassy  sent  by  Merodach-Baladan,  king 
of  Babylon,  to  Hezekiah ;  Isaiah's  reproof  of  Hezekiah  for  having 
displayed  to  them  his  treasures,  and  his  prediction  of  future 
spoliation  by  the  Babylonians,  c.  39. 

The  original  place  of  these  narratives  was  not  the  Book  of 
Isaiah,  but  the  Book  of  Kings,  whence  they  were  excerpted 
(with  slight  abridgments)  by  the  compiler  of  the  Book  of  Isaiah 
(as  Jer.  52  was  excerpted  from  2  Ki.  2^'^'  by  the  compiler  of 
the  Book  of  Jeremiah),  on  account,  no  doubt,  of  the  particulars 
contained  in  them  respecting  Isaiah's  prophetical  work,  and  the 
fulfilment  of  some  of  his  most  remarkable  prophecies,''^  the  Song 
of  Hezekiah  being  added  by  him  from  an  independent  source. 

*  With  373«'-  comp.  not  only  377.22.29^  but  also  lo^^-  \^^  if^^-  i8«-  29«- 


ISAIAH  227 

This  is  apparent — (i)  from  a  comparison  of  the  two  texts.     Thus  (minor 
verbal  differences  being  disregarded)  * — 
2  Ki.  18^3  =Is.  36I. 

jgl4-16         _*  *  * 

1 8"- 1 937  =  362-3738. 

2o^-6        =38^-6  (v. 4-6  abridged). 

2o'-8        =  3821-22  (out  of  place). 

209-11       =387-8  (abridged). 

*  *  *   =388-20  (Hezekiah's  Song). 

2012-19  _(,_  39  (Merodach-Baladan's  embassy). 
If  the  places  in  which  the  two  texts  differ  be  compared,  it  will  be  seen 
that  [215]  that  of  Kings  has  the  fuller  details,  that  of  Isaiah  being  evidently 
abridged  from  it :  notice  especially  Is.  38^-  '-^  by  the  side  of  2  Ki.  20'^- ^'^^  (Is. 
362-3^-  i7-i8a  are  related  similarly  to  2  Ki.  i8i7-i8a.  32) .  jg  3321-22  (where  it  is 
to  be  observed  that  the  only  legitimate  version  of  the  Hebrew  "i.t^b"  nax^i  is 
'*  And  Isaiah  said"  [not  "^a<f  said"]  is  also  clearly  in  its  proper  position  in 
the  text  of  Kings.  Further  (2)  the  narrative,  as  it  stands  in  Isaiah,  shows 
manifest  traces  of  having  passed  through  the  hand  of  the  compiler  of  Kings, 
especially  in  the  form  in  which  Hezekiah's  prayer  is  cast  (Is.  371^-20=2  Ki. 
1915-19),  in  37^^^  where  the  reference  to  David  is  a  motive  without  parallel 
in  Isaiah,  but  of  great  frequency  in  Kings  (p.  201,  No.  22),  and  in  c.  38-39 
{e.g.  38I  In  those  days,  p.  202,  No.  44 ;  38^,  cf.  i  Ki.  2^  and  p.  200,  No.  7  ; 
39I  At  that  time,  p.  202,  No.  45).  From  what  source  the  prophetical 
narrative,  c.  36-37,  was  derived  by  the  compiler  of  Kings,  we  have  no  means 
of  determining.  The  prophecy,  3722-32^  bears,  indeed,  unmistakable  marks  of 
Isaiah's  hand ;  but  the  surrounding  narrative  (which  shows  no  literary  traits 
pointing  to  him  as  its  author)  seems  to  be  the  work  of  a  writer  belonging  to 
the  subsequent  generation :  for  a  contemporary  of  the  events  related  would 
hardly  have  attributed  the  successes  against  Hamath,  Arpad,  and  Samaria 
(36I8),  which  were,  in  fact,  achieved  by  Tiglath-Pileser  or  Sargon,  to 
Sennacherib,  or  have  expressed  himself  (37^)  without  any  indication — and 
apparently  without  any  consciousness — that  Sennacherib's  assassination  (b.c. 
681)  was  separated  from  his  invasion  of  Judah  (b.c.  701)  by  an  interval  of 
20  years.  The  absence  in  37^  of  all  particulars  as  to  time  and  place  points  to 
the  same  conclusion.  On  39** ',  cf.  Skinner.  The  Song  38^-2°,  to  judge 
from  the  title  (cf.  the  titles  of  Ps.  3.  51.  52.  54,  &c.),  was  taken  from  a  collec- 
tion of  sacred  psalmody,  designed  (v.20)  for  liturgical  use,  in  which  it  was 
already  ascribed  to  Hezekiah.  Hezekiah's  authorship  is  questioned  by  Kuen. 
(§  45-  6),  Cheyne  {Introd.  pp.  224-226),  and  others :  it  is  defended  by 
Dillmann  (p.  335). 

Isaiah's  f  poetical  genius  is  superb.     His  characteristics  are 

*  See  an  exhaustive  tabular  comparison  of  the  two  texts  in  Kuenen,  §  45.  3. 

t  For  an  estimate  of  Isaiah's  position  as  a  prophet,  and  an  exposition  of 
the  leading  principles  of  his  teaching,  the  writer  must  refer  either  to  what  he 
has  himself  said  on  these  subjects  elsewhere  {Isaiah,  p.  107  ff.),  or  to  what  has 
been  said  on  them,  ably  and  fully,  by  other  writers, — for  example,  by  Dillm. 
pp.  ix-xix  (esp.  xv-xix).  * 


228  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

grandeur  and  beauty  of  conception,  wealth  of  imagination,  vivid- 
ness of  illustration,  compressed  energy  and  splendour  of  diction. 
These  characteristics,  as  is  natural,  frequently  accompany  each 
other;  and  passages  which  exemplify  one  will  be  found  to 
exemplify  another.  Examples  of  picturesque  and  impressive 
imagery  are  indeed  so  abundant  that  selection  is  difficult.  These 
may  be  instanced,  however:  the  banner  raised  aloft  upon  the 
mountains  (5^6  ii^o  18^  30^'', — in  different  connexions);  the 
restless  roar  of  the  sea  (5^^) ;  the  waters  rising  with  irresistible 
might  (S''^-) ;  the  forest  consumed  rapidly  in  the  circling  flames, 
or  stripped  of  its  foliage  by  an  unseen  hand  (lo^^^-^sf.^ .  ^he 
raised  way  (11^'^  19^^);  the  rushing  of  many  waters  (17^^^*);  the 
storm  driving  or  beating  down  all  before  it  (28^  29^  ^o^''^- ^o^-) ; 
the  monster  funeral  pyre  (30^^) ;  [216]  Jehovah's  hand  "  stretched 
out,"  or  "swung,"  over  the  earth,  and  bearing  consternation 
with  it  (525  i426f.  23I1  31^;  iii5  19I6  3o32).  Especially  grand 
are  the  figures  under  which  he  conceives  Jehovah  as  "rising 
up,"  being  "  exalted,"  or  otherwise  asserting  His  majesty  against 
those  who  would  treat  it  with  disregard  or  disdain  (2^2-21  ^13  ^le 
ioi6f.26  19I  2821  312  333. 10).  The  blissful  future  which  he  fore- 
sees, when  the  troubles  of  the  present  are  past,  he  delineates  in 
colours  of  surpassing  purity  and  beauty:  with  mingled  wonder 
and  delight  we  read,  and  read  again,  those  marvellous  pictures 
of  serenity  and  peace,  which  are  the  creations  of  his  inspired 
imagination  (22-4  42-6  9I-7  ni-io  i64b-5  29i8ff.  3021-26  32I-8. 15-18 
33*^^-20ff-).  The  brilliancy  and  power  of  Isaiah's  genius  appear 
further  in  the  sudden  contrasts,  and  pointed  antitheses  and 
retorts,  in  which  he  delights;  as  822-9I  1714  29^  3i''^*;  i^'-^° 
(Jerusalem  apostrophized  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah),  ji^^-  220^- 
(the  idols  and  Jehovah),  32*  58^- 1*  (the  pomp  of  the  busy  city 
sinking  into  Sheol),  52^  loi^f-  (the  wonderful  image  of  the  help- 
lessness of  the  entire  earth  before  Sennacherib,  followed  by  the 
taunting  comparison  of  the  tyrant  to  an  inanimate  implement), 
1713  239  2814^-  29I6  3i3  3310-12  3729. 

Isaiah's  literary  style  shows  similar  characteristics.  It  is 
chaste  and  dignified :  the  language  is  choice,  but  devoid  of  all 
artificiality  or  stiffness ;  every  sentence  is  compact  and  forcible ; 
the  rhythm  is  stately ;  the  periods  are  finely  rounded  {e.g.  212^- ; 
52<5ff-;  1 1 1-9).  Isaiah  indulges  occasionally — in  the  manner  of 
his  people — in  tone-painting  (1712^-  28''^- 1^  29^),  and  sometimes 


ISAIAH  229 

enforces  his  meaning  by  an  effective  assonance  (s'^  lo^s  lyi.  2 
2  25  292.9  30I6  S^"^'^^),  but  never  to  excess,  or  as  a  meretricious 
ornament.  His  style  is  never  diffuse :  even  his  longest  dis- 
courses are  not  monotonous  or  prolix ;  he  knows  how  to  treat 
his  subject  fruitfully,  and,  as  he  moves  along,  to  bring  before 
his  reader  new  and  varied  aspects  of  it :  thus  he  seizes  a  number 
of  salient  points,  and  presents  each  singly  in  a  vivid  picture 
(S^^'j  7^^^-;  9^^-;  191^^-).  Isaiah  has  the  true  classical  sense 
of  Trepas;  his  prophecies  always  form  artistic  wholes,  adequate 
to  the  effect  intended,  and  having  no  feature  overdrawn.  He, 
moreover,  possesses  a  rare  power  of  adapting  his  language  to 
the  occasion,  and  of  bringing  home  to  his  hearers  [217]  what 
he  would  have  them  understand :  thus,  with  a  few  sentences, 
he  can  shatter  the  fairest  idols,  or  dissipate  the  fondest  illusions 

(l2.3.4.     26ff.;    3l4f.  •    jSff.  .    ^^IS.  .    ^^im.  .    ^^^m,  .    ^^VlS.  .    318  &c.), 

or  win  his  hearer's  attention  by  the  delicate  irony  of  a  parable 
(5^^")>  o^  t)y  the  stimulus  of  a  significant  name  (8^  19^^  30''), 
or  enable  them  to  gaze  with  him  upon  the  majesty  of  the 
Divine  Glory  (6i^-),  or  to  wander  in  imagination  (ii^^-,  and  else- 
where) over  the  transformed  earth  of  the  Messianic  future. 
And  he  can  always  point  the  truth  which  he  desires  to  impress 
by  some  apt  figure  or  illustration :  for  instance,  the  scene  of 
desperation  in  3^^-,  or  S^if-,  the  proverb  in  9^0,  the  child  in  lo^^ 
(cf.  11^),  the  suggestive  similes  in  ly^*^,  the  uneasy  couch  28^0, 
the  disappointing  dream  29^,  the  subtle  flaw,  spreading  in- 
sidiously through  a  wall,  30^3^-  No  prophet  has  Isaiah's  power 
either  of  conception  or  of  expression ;  none  has  the  same  com- 
mand of  noble  thoughts,  or  can  present  them  in  the  same  noble 
and  attractive  language. 

Among  recent  critics,  the  opinion  has  gained  ground  that  the  writings  of 
the  prophets  have  in  many  cases  not  been  handed  down  to  us  in  their 
original  form,  but  that  they  were  expanded,  supplemented,  and  otherwise 
adjusted  to  the  needs  of  a  later  age,  by  the  scribes  or  editors  through  whose 
hands  they  passed  in  the  centuries  after  the  exile.  Differences  in  the  circum- 
stances presupposed,  in  the  beliefs  and  ideas,  and  in  the  style  and  phraseology 
are  pointed  to  as  establishing  this  position.  It  has,  of  course,  been  long 
recognized  that  certain  prophecies,  now  forming  part  of  the  Book  of  Isaiah 
(13^-1423;  2i^'^°;  c.  24-27;  c.  34-36;  c.  40-66),  are  not  by  Isaiah's  hand; 
but  considerable  portions  of  the  prophecies  hitherto  commonly  accepted  as 
Isaiah's  are  attributed  by  the  critics  in  question  to  literary  activity  of  the  kind 
indicated.     "The  fragmentary  "remains  of  the  old  prophet  Isaiah,"  writes 


230  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Cheyne  {Introd.  to  Is.  p.  xix),  * '  had  to  be  filled  up  when  they  were  imperfect, 
and  completed  by  the  insertion  of  fresh  passages,  inspired  by  the  *  holy  spirit ' 
of  prophecy, "  the  aim  of  which  was  chiefly  either  to  mitigate  Isaiah's  threaten- 
ings  by  promise,  or  to  enrich  his  pictures  of  the  approaching  ideal  future  with 
traits  more  closely  expressive  of  the  hopes  and  aspirations  of  the  post-exilic 
age.  Even  Ewald  ascribed  c.  33  to  a  disciple  of  Isaiah:  Stade  {ZATW. 
1884,  p.  256 ff.;  G.  i.  586 ff.  in  the  notes:  cf.  ii.  205-212)  treated  2^-^  45-6 
^15-16  78-9a.  16. 17-25  gi-7  ii5_i26^  and  c.  32-33,  as  additions  made  in  the  post- 
exilic  period  from  the  motives  that  have  been  described.  Kuenen  (in  1889) 
abandoned  Isaiah's  authorship  of  ii^^-12^  2^^^-'^^,  and  c.  32-33.  The  two 
most  recent  commentators,  Duhm  and  Cheyne,  go  much  further  in  the 
ascription  of  passages  to  later  hands.  According  to  Duhm,  the  genuine 
prophecies  of  Isaiah  are  limited  to  12-26.29-31.  22-4.6-19.21.  3I.9. 12.  is.^i . 
gi-14. 17-29  .  61-13  (to  remaineth) ;  y^-sa.  9-i4.  le.  18-20  .  gi-is.  21-22  .  ^2-7  .  98-14.  i7_ 

I04.  io5-9.  13-14.  iil-S.  j424-26a.  26-27  .  jyl-B.  9-14  .  jgl-6  .  ^O^- ^'^  ',  21^^-^'^  \ 
2_2}--^'  llb-14.  16a.  16-18  .     28^"**  '"^  ;     29^*'**-  ^''^'  ^'^^-  ^^'^^  ;     30^"'*'  8"^'^-  ^7-33  .     oil-4 

(to  of  them)  ^  (from  so)  ^'  ^^  ;  Zt}-'^-  ^-'^^-  ^f*.  Cheyne  limits  the  genuine  pro- 
phecies to  i^'2^'  ^'^^  •  a^"^***  ^^"^^*  ^^""  3^*  ■*""•  ^"^"  ^-'^'''  •^^"'^'*  ^  4^  •  ^'^'^'  ^'■22'  23.* 
24.  25b  .  61-13  (to  remaineth)  ;  f-'^-  ^'i^-  ^^-  i^'^o  S^-is-  20b-22  .  98-13.  i6_io4  526-29 
(the  conclusion  to  qS-io*)  ;    io»-9-  i^-w.  27-32  .    1424-25*.  26-27  .   29-32  .    1614  (from 

within);  17I-6.9-I4;  18I-6;  201-3-8;  2ll6-17  ;  22l-9»- "t.-14.  18a.  16-18  .  231-2.374. 
6-12.14.    28I-4.  7-19- 21-22  .    291-4*.  6- 9*10. 13-15  .    3ol-7a.  8-17  .    311-6*   (to   birds) '.\  all 

that  remains  consists  either  of  editorial  additions  (as  i^'^*  ^'^  310-11. 18-23  &c.), 
marginal  glosses  (as  2^  5^^'^^  7^**  &c. ),  or  post-exilic  insertions  or  appendices 

(.2-6  613b  10I6-23  ijlO-16  J2I-6  i87^    c.    19.    23^^"^^   28^"^-22'29   29^- 18-24   30I8-26.  27-33 

3i6»>-9,  c.  32-33.  3722-32  ;  zxA perhaps  9I-'  [Heb.  823-96]  i  ji-S).  it  is  impossible 
to  condense  into  a  note  the  grounds  upon  which  these  conclusions  rest :  they 
will  be  found  stated  with  marked  ability  and  acuteness,  and  with  exhaustive 
references  to  all  previous  critics  (including  Duhm  and  Hackmann),  in  Cheyne's 
Introduction  to  the  Book  of  Isaiah, 

VII.  C.  40-66.  These  chapters  form  a  continuous  prophecy, 
dealing  throughout  with  a  common  theme,  viz.  Israel's  restoration 
from  exile  in  Babylon.  There  is  no  thought  in  this  prophecy  ot 
the  troubles  or  dangers  to  which  Judah  was  exposed  at  the  hands 
of  Sargon  or  Sennacherib  ;  the  empire  of  Assyria  has  been  suc- 
ceeded (B.C.  607)  by  that  of  Babylon ;  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple 
have  been  for  long  in  ruins  (58^2 .  5i4  h^^q  qJ^j  waste  places  "  ; 
6410) ;  Israel  is  in  exile  (4^  48^0  &c.).  And  the  power  of  the 
Chaldseans  is  to  all  appearance  as  secure  as  ever:  the  Jewish 
exiles  are  in  despair  or  indifferent ;  they  think  that  God  has 
forgotten  them,  and  have  ceased  to  expect,  or  desire,  their 
release  (40^^  49^^-  ^^).  This  is-  the  situation  to  which  the  present 
prophecy  is  addressed  :  its  aim  is  to  arouse  the  indifferent,  to 

*  Probably  introduced  from  another  context. 

^  32-8.  6-7  721-25  10I6-19  297.  n-ia  may  have  an  Isaianic  basis. 


ISAIAH  231 

reassure  the  wavering,  to  expostulate  with  the  doubting,  to 
announce  with  triumphant  confidence  the  certainty  of  the 
approaching  restoration. 

The  Jews  went  into  exile  in  two  detachments  :  the  flower  of 
the  nation  with  Jehoiachin  in  B.C.  597  ;  the  rest,  after  the  revolt 
of  Zedekiah,  in  586,  when  the  city  was  taken  and  the  Temple 
burnt.  Cyrus,  who  was  to  prove  the  instrument  of  their  restora- 
tion, first  appears  shortly  before  550  ;  uniting  and  organizing 
the  different  tribes  of  Persian  origin,  he  overthrows  the  Median 
empire  of  Astyages  in  549  ;  and,  at  the  head  of  the  combined 
[218]  armies  of  both  nations,  advances  to  further  conquests. 
Having  captured  Sardis,  the  capital  of  Croesus,  king  of  Lydia, 
and  left  his  general  Harpagus  to  complete  the  subjugation  of 
Asia  Minor,  he  next  (Herod,  i.  177)  reduces  one  after  another 
the  tribes  of  Upper  (or  Inner)  Asia,  and  ultimately  prepares  to 
attack  Babylon.  His  own  inscription  "^  narrates  his  success 
(b.c.  538)  :  in  the  following  year  the  exiled  Jews  receive  per- 
mission from  him  to  return  to  Palestine  (Ezr.  i^-^). 

The  prophecy  opens  at  some  date  between  549  and  538 : 
for  the  conquest  of  Babylon  is  still  future  ;  but  the  union  of  the 
Medes  with  the  Persians  appears  to  have  already  taken  place,  f 
It  introduces  us  therefore  to  the  time  while  Cyrus  is  pursuing  his 
career  of  conquest  in  N.W.  and  Central  Asia.  The  prophet's  eye 
marks  him  in  the  distance  as  the  coming  deliverer  of  his  nation : 
he  stimulates  the  flagging  courage  of  the  people  by  pointing  to 
his  successes  (41^''^),  and  declares  that  he  is  God's  appointed 
agent,  both  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Babylonian  empire  and  for 
the  restoration   of  the  chosen   people  to  Palestine  (412^  4428 

The  following  is  an  outline  of  the  argument  of  this  great 
prophecy.  It  may  be  divided  into  three  parts :  (i)  c.  40-48 ; 
(2)  c.  49-59  ;  (3)  c.  60-66. 

(i.)  Here  the  prophet's  aim  is  to  demonstrate  to  the  people 
fke  certainty  of  the  coming  release^  and  to  convince  them  that  no 
obstacles,  real  or  imagined,  will  avail  to  hinder  their  deliverance. 
For  this  purpose  he  uses  different  arguments,  designed  to  estab- 
lish the  power  of  Jehovah,  and  His  ability  to  fulfil  His  promises. 

*  Isaiah^    p.    136  f.;    Sayce,    Monuments,    p.    504  ff.  ;   more   exactly   in 
Delitzsch  and  Haupt's  Beitrdge  ztcr  Assyriologte,  ii.  part  i  (1891),  p.  209  fF. 
^  ^j25  li  from  the  east"  i.e.  PerUa  ;  *'  from  the  north,"  i.e.  Media. 


232  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLt)  TESTAMENT 

C.  40,  after  the  exordium  v.^^-,  stating  the  general  theme  of  the 
entire  prophecy,  the  prophet  bids  a  way  be  prepared  through  the 
wilderness  for  the  triumphal  progress  of  Israel's  king,  who  is  figured 
as  a  Conqueror  about  to  return  to  Zion,  leading  before  Him  His 
prize  of  war,  the  recovered  nation  itself.  V.12-26  ^-j^g  prophet 
demonstrates  at  length,  chiefly  from  the  works  of  nature,  the 
omnipotence  of  Israel's  Divine  Deliverer  :  no  finite  spirit  can 
compare  with  Him  (v.^-^^^) ;  no  human  conception  can  express 
Him  (v.^^"-^).  41^"'''  he  dramatically  imagines  a  judgment  scene. 
The  nations  are  invited  to  come  forward  and  plead  their  case 
with  Jehovah.  The  question  is,  [219]  Who  has  stirred  up  the 
great  conqueror^  Cyrus  ?  who  has  led  him  upon  his  career  of  victory  ? 
(v.2f-).  Only  one  answer  is  possible :  not  the  heathen  gods,  but 
Jehovah,  the  Creator  of  history.  A  digression  follows,  v.^-^o, 
designed  for  the  encouragement  of  Israel,  which  has  been  chosen 
by  Jehovah  as  His  "  servant,"  and  cannot  therefore  be  discarded 
by  Him.  The  judgment  scene,  interrupted  after  v.^,  is  now 
resumed;  and  the  second  proof  of  Jehovah's  Godhead  is 
adduced :  He  alone  knows  the  future  (v.^^"^^).  42^"^  Jehovah's 
"  servant "  appears  under  a  new  aspect,  and  with  new  functions, 
— no  longer  the  historic  nation  of  Israel  (as  41^^-),  but  an  ideal 
figure,  reproducing  in  their  perfection  the  best  and  truest  charac- 
teristics of  the  actual  nation,  and  invested  by  the  prophet  with  a 
far-reaching  prophetic  mission.  Here  his  mission  is  described  as 
twofold:  (i)  to  teach  the  world  true  religion)  (2)  to  be  the 
medium  of  Israels  restoration  (to  be  a  "  covenant  of  the 
people  "),  v.^.  The  prospect  of  the  speedy  realization  of  his 
present  announcement  (v.^)  evokes  from  the  prophet  a  short 
lyric  ode  of  thanksgiving,  \}^-'^'^ ;  after  which  he  depicts,  in 
splendid  anthropomorphic  imagery,  Jehovah's  approaching  mani- 
festation for  the  deliverance  of  His  people,  and  the  discomfiture 
of  the  Babylonian  idolaters,  v.^^^^^.  But  some  of  those  who 
listen  to  him  are  Wind  and  deaf :  Jehovah's  "  servant "  (Israel, 
as  41^)  has  fallen  short  of  the  ideal  which  the  titles  bestowed 
upon  it  implied :  it  has  not  responded  to  Jehovah's  gracious 
purpose  ;  hence  the  troubles  which  have  fallen  upon  it,  and  the 
bondage  in  which  it  is  at  present  enthralled,  v.^^-^^.  But  now, 
Israel  need  fear  no  longer ;  Egypt,  Ethiopia,  and  Seba  shall  take 
its  place  as  Cyrus'  vassals  ;  from  all  quarters  the  exiles  shall 
return,  43^'^. 


ISAIAH 


233 


Another  judgment  scene,  between  Israel  and  the  heathen,  is 
here  imagined.  The  question  is  the  same  as  before  :  which  of 
the  two  can  point  to  predictions  in  proof  of  the  divinity  of  their 
God  ?  But  Israel  is  Jehovah's  witness,  43^"^^ ;  and  Israel  shall 
now  speedily  be  redeemed,  though  of  God's  free  pardon,  and  not 
for  any  merit  on  its  part :  a  glorious  and  blessed  future  awaits  it, 
a  future  in  which  the  nations  will  press  forward  to  dedicate 
themselves  to  Jehovah,  and  to  claim  the  honour  of  membership 
in  His  people,  431^-445.  446-4525  the  prophet  again  brings 
forward  the  evidence  of  Jehovah's  Godhead ;  and  the  promises 
of  deliverance  given  already  are  made  [220]  more  definite.  In 
particular,  as  the  prophet  shows  by  a  satirical  description  of  the 
manner  in  which  they  were  manufactured  in  his  day,  44^*20, 
Jehovah  is  immeasurably  superior  to  all  idols,  who  are  impotent 
to  thwart  His  purpose,  or  impede  His  people's  freedom  :  by  His 
free  grace  He  has  blotted  out  Israel's  sin,  and  nominated  Cyrus 
as  the  conqueror  of  Babylon  and  the  agent  of  His  people's 
restoration,  4421-4517:  His  promises  have  been  given  openly, 
and  will  assuredly  be  fulfilled,  451^^-.  C.  46-47  the  prophet 
dwells  upon  the  near  prospect  of  the  fall  of  the  oppressing  city, 
— in  c.  46  drawing  an  ironical  picture  of  its  humiliated  idols ;  in 
c.  47  contemplating  the  city  itself,  which  he  personifies  as  a  lady 
of  queenly  rank,  obliged  to  relinquish  the  position  which  she  has 
long  proudly  held,  and  powerless  to  avert  the  fate  which  threatens 
her.  C.  48  consists  mainly  of  a  repetition  and  reinforcement  of 
the  arguments  insisted  on  in  the  previous  parts  of  the  prophecy : 
it  ends  with  a  jubilant  cry  addressed  to  the  exiles,  bidding  them 
depart  from  Babylon,  and  proclaim  to  the  utmost  quarters  of  the 
earth  the  wondrous  story  of  their  return. 

(2.)  In  this  division  of  the  prophecy  a  further  stage  is  reached 
in  the  development  of  the  author's  theme.  The  controversial 
tone,  the  repeated  comparisons  between  Jehovah  and  the  idols, 
with  the  arguments  founded  upon  them,  disappear :  the  prophet 
feels  that,  as  regards  these  points,  he  has  made  his  position 
sufficiently  secure.  For  the  same  reason,  allusions  to  Cyrus 
and  his  conquest  of  Babylon  cease  also  :  that,  likewise,  is  now 
taken  for  granted.  He  exhorts  the  people  to  fit  themselves 
morally  to  take  part  in  the  return,  and  to  share  the  blessings 
which  will  accompany  it,  or  which  it  will  inaugurate ;  he  con- 
templates more  exclusively  th^future  in  store  for  Israel,  if  it  will 


234  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

respond  to  Jehovah's  call;  and  he  adds  fresh  features  to  the 
portrait  of  Jehovah's  ideal  Servant.  C.  49  introduces  Jehovah's 
ideal  Servant,  describing  dramatically  his  person  and  experi- 
ences, and  announcing  more  distinctly  than  before  (42^)  the 
twofold  nature  of  his  mission,  v.^^^^  :  v.^^'^^  the  prophet  meets 
objections  arising  out  of  Israel's  want  of  faith.  50^-^  the  ideal 
Servant  is  again  introduced,  recounting  in  a  soliloquy  the  manner 
in  which  he  discharges  his  prophetic  mission,  and  the  trials 
which  attend  it ;  v.^^^'  is  the  prophet's  own  exhortation  to  his 
fellow-countrymen.  51^-52^2  j-j^e  [22l]  prospect  of  the  approach- 
ing return  is  that  which  chiefly  occupies  the  prophet's  thoughts ; 
and  his  confidence  finds  exultant  expression  in  the  thrice- 
repeated  jubilant  apostrophe,  51^-  ^^  52^ :  52^^-  he  sees  in  imagina- 
tion the  messengers  bearing  tidings  of  Israel's  deliverance  arrive 
upon  the  mountains  of  Judah,  and  hears  the  watchmen,  whom 
he  pictures  as  looking  out  eagerly  from  the  city  walls,  announcing 
with  gladness  the  joyous  news  :  52'^'^^-  he  repeats  (cf.  48^0)  the 
cry,  "  Depart." 

52^^-53^^  deals  again  with  the  figure  of  Jehovah's  ideal 
Servant,  and  develops  under  a  new  aspect  his  character  and 
work.  It  represents,  namely,  his  great  and  surprising  exaltation, 
after  an  antecedent  period  of  humiliation,  suffering,  and  death, 
in  which,  it  is  repeatedly  stated,  he  suffered,  not  (as  those  who 
saw  him  mistakenly  imagined)  for  his  own  sins,  but  for  the  sins 
of  others.  54^-56^  fresh  promises  of  restoration  are  addressed  to 
the  exiles  :  c.  54  Zion,  now  distressed  and  afflicted,  will  ere  long 
be  at  peace,  with  her  children,  the  "  disciples  of  Jehovah,"  about 
her;  c  55  let  all  prepare  themselves  to  receive  the  prophet's 
invitation  and  share  the  approaching  redemption ;  56^^-  the 
moral  conditions  which  they  must  satisfy  are  once  again  em- 
phasized; 563-^  all  merely  technical  disqualifications  will  hence- 
forth be  aboHshed.  56^-c.  57  the  strain  alters:  the  prophet 
turns  aside  from  the  glorious  future,  which  is  elsewhere  upper- 
most in  his  thoughts,  to  attack  the  faults  and  shortcomings 
which  Israel  had  shown  itself  only  too  reluctant  to  abandon,  and 
which  would  necessitate  in  the  end  a  divine  interposition  for 
their  removal.  5 6^-5 7^  he  denounces  the  unworthy  rulers  of  the 
nation,  who,  like  careless  shepherds  (cf,  Jer.  2^  231*"-,  Ez.  34), 
had  neglected  their  people,  and  left  them  to  perish.  57^*^^*  he 
reproaches  Israel  with  its  idolatry,  drawing  a  picture  of  strange 


ISAIAH  235 

heathen  rites,  such  as  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  show  to  have  pre- 
vailed in  Judah  till  the  very  eve  of  the  exile,  and  the  tendency 
to  which  no  doubt  was  still  far  from  extirpated  among  the 
people  at  large  (cf.  653-5-  n) :  5*^iib-2i  Israel's  sole  hope  is  peni- 
tence and  trust  in  God — "he  that  taketh  refuge  in  me  shall 
inherit  the  land,  and  take  my  holy  mountain  into  possession." 
C.  58  the  prophet  repeats  that  the  moral  impediments  which 
disqualify  Israel  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  promised  blessings 
must  be  removed :  especially  he  finds  fault  with  the  hollow  Un- 
reality with  which  fasts  [222]  were  observed,  and  draws  a  con- 
trasted picture  of  the  true  fast  in  which  Jehovah  delights,  viz. 
deeds  of  philanthropy,  unselfishness,  liberality,  and  mercy :  if 
Israel  will  devote  itself  to  these  works,  and  at  the  same  time 
show  a  cheerful  reverence  towards  its  God  (v.^^),  then  Jehovah 
will  shower  down  His  blessings  upon  it,  and  it  will  triumphantly 
resume  possession  of  its  ancient  home.  C.  59  the  prophet 
represents  the  people  as  confessing  the  chief  sins  of  which  they 
have  been  guilty  :  unable  to  rescue  themselves,  Jehovah  will  now 
interpose  on  their  behalf,  and  manifest  Himself  as  a  redeemer  in 
Zion,  not  indeed  to  all  without  distinction,  but  to  those  who 
satisfy  the  needful  moral  conditions,  and  have  "turned  from 
rebellion  in  Jacob." 

(3.)  Here  the  prophet  depicts,  in  still  brighter  hues,  the 
felicity  of  the  ideal  Zion  of  the  future.  As  before,  a  progress 
may  be  observed  in  the  development  of  his  thought.  In  c. 
40-48,  when  Israel's  release  was  foremost  in  his  thoughts,  the 
judgment  was  conceived  as  falling  solely  upon  Israel's  foes :  in 
c.  57-59,  however,  he  evinces  a  more  vivid  consciousness  of 
Israel's  sinfulness,  and  of  the  obstacle  which  that  presents  to  the 
restoration  of  the  enfi're  nation ;  and  in  the  chapters  which  now 
follow,  he  announces  a  judgment  to  be  enacted  in  Israel  itself, 
distinguishing  Jehovah's  faithful  "  servants  "  (65 s-  ^- 1^.  14.  i5)  ixom 
those  disloyal  to  him,  and  excluding  the  latter  from  the  promised 
blessings.  C.  60  the  longed  for  "light"  (5 9^)  bursts  upon  the 
prophet's  eye :  the  dark  cloud  of  night  that  shrouds  the  rest  of 
the  world  has  been  lifted  over  the  Holy  City ;  and  he  gathers 
the  features  belonging  to  Zion  restored  into  a  single  dazzling 
vision.  61^-3  Jehovah's  ideal  Servant  is  once  more  introduced, 
describing  the  gracious  mission  entrusted  to  him,  to  "bring 
good  tidings  to  the  afflicted,**'  and  to  "proclaim  liberty  to  the 


236  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

captives  "  (cf.  423*  '^  49^),  which  is  followed,  as  before  (49^-12),  by 
the  promise  of  Jerusalem's  restoration  (61^):  in  the  rest  of  c. 
61-62  the  prophet  dwells  upon  the  new  and  signal  marks  of 
Jehovah's  favour,  resting  visibly  upon  the  restored  nation,  and 
its  own  grateful  appreciation  (6iiof-)  of  the  blessedness  thus  be- 
stowed upon  it.  63^"^  is  a  dramatic  dialogue  between  Jehovah, 
depicted  as  a  victor  returning  from  Edom,  and  the  prophet, 
in  which,  under  the  form  of  an  ideal  humiliation  of  nations, 
marshalled  upon  the  territory  of  Israel's  inveterate  foe,  is  ex- 
pressed the  thought  of  Israel's  triumph  over  its  enemies.  [223] 
The  dialogue  ended,  the  prophet's  tone  changes ;  and  63''-64i2^ 
in  the  assurance  that  the  redemption  guaranteed  by  Jehovah's 
triumph  will  be  wrought  out,  he  supplies  faithful  Israel  with  a 
hymn  of  thanksgiving,  supplication,  and  confession,  expressive  of 
the  frame  of  mind  worthy  to  receive  it,  and  couched  in  a  strain 
of  surpassing  pathos  and  beauty.  C.  65  appears  to  be  intended 
as  an  answer  to  the  supplication  of  c.  64, — an  answer,  however, 
in  which  the  distinction,  alluded  to  above,  is  drawn  between  the 
worthy  and  unworthy  Israelites.  God  has  ever,  he  says,  been 
accessible  to  His  people,  and  ready  to  renew  intercourse  with 
them ;  it  was  they  who  would  not  respond,  but  provoked  Him 
with  their  idolatries.  Israel,  however,  is  not  to  be  rejected  on 
account  of  the  presence  within  it  of  unworthy  members ;  a  seed 
of  "  chosen  ones  "  will  be  brought  out  of  Jacob,  who  shall  again 
inherit  the  mountains  of  Palestine.  A  new  order  of  things  (v.-^^ ; 
cf.  51^^)  is  about  to  be  created,  in  which  Jerusalem  and  her 
people  will  be  to  Jehovah  a  source  of  unalloyed  delight,  and  in 
which  care  and  disappointment  will  cease  to  vex.  66i-5  the 
prophet,  in  view  probably  of  the  anticipated  restoration  of  the 
Temple,  reminds  the  Jews  that  no  earthly  habitation  is  really 
adequate  to  Jehovah's  majesty,  and  that  His  regard  is  to  be  won, 
neither  by  the  magnificence  of  a  material  temple,  nor  by  un- 
spiritual  service,  but  by  humility  and  the  devotion  of  the  heart. 
He  concludes,  v. ^-2*,  by  two  contrasted  pictures  of  the  glorious 
blessedness  in  store  for  Jerusalem,  and  the  terrible  judgment 
impending  over  her  foes. 

Authorship  of  c.  40-66.  Three  independent  lines  of  argument 
converge  to  show  that  this  prophecy  is  not  the  work  of  Isaiah, 
but,  Uke  132-1423^  has  for  its  author  a  prophet  writing  towards 
the  close  of  the  Babylonian  captivity,     (i)  The  internal  evidence 


ISAIAH  237 

supplied  by  the  prophecy  itself  points  to  this  period  as  that  at 
which  it  was  written.  It  alludes  repeatedly  to  Jerusalem  as 
ruined  and  deserted  {e.g.  4426^*  5812  61^  6^^^  6410^.);  to  the  suffer- 
ings which  the  Jews  have  experienced,  or  are  experiencing,  at 
the  hands  of  the  Chaldaeans  (4222.  25  4328  [rv.  marg.\  476  52^) ; 
to  the  prospect  of  return,  which,  as  the  prophet  speaks,  is  im- 
minent (402  46^3  4820  &c.).  Those  whom  the  prophet  addresses, 
and,  moreover,  addresses  in  person — arguing  with  them,  appeal- 
ing to  them,  striving  to  win  their  assent  by  his  warm  and 
impassioned  rhetoric  (4021-  26. 28  43I0  [224]  488  so^of.  516.  i2f.  ^2>^s. 
&c.) — are  not  the  men  of  Jerusalem,  contemporaries  of  Ahaz 
and  Hezekiah,  or  even  of  Manasseh;  they  are  the  exiles  in 
Babylonia.  Judged  by  the  analogy  of  prophecy^  this  constitutes 
the  strongest  possible  presumption  that  the  author  actually  lived 
in  the  period  which  he  thus  describes,  and  is  not  merely  (as  has 
been  supposed)  Isaiah  immersed  in  spirit  in  the  future,  and 
holding  converse,  as  it  were,  with  the  generations  yet  unborn. 
Such  an  immersion  in  the  future  would  be  not  only  without 
parallel  in  the  OT.,  it  would  be  contrary  to  the  nature  of  pro- 
phecy. The  prophet  speaks  always,  in  the  first  instance,  to  his 
own  contemporaries :  the  message  which  he  brings  is  intimately 
related  with  the  circumstances  of  his  time :  his  promises  and 
predictions,  however  far  they  reach  into  the  future,  nevertheless 
rest  upon  the  basis  of  the  history  of  his  own  age,  and  correspond 
to  the  needs  which  are  then  felt.  The  prophet  never  abandons 
his  own  nistorical  position,  but  speaks  from  it.  So  Jeremiah 
and  Ezekiel,  for  instance,  predict  first  the  exile,  then  the  res- 
toration; both  are  contemplated  by  them  as  still  future;  both 
are  viewed  from  the  period  in  which  they  themselves  live.  In 
the  present  prophecy  there  is  no  prediction  of  exile  :  the  exile  is 
not  announced  as  something  still  future ;  it  is  presupposed,  and 
only  the  release  from  it  is  predicted.  By  analogy,  therefore,  the 
author  will  have  lived  in  the  situation  which  he  thus  presupposes, 
and  to  which  he  continually  alludes. 

It  is  true,  passages  occur  in  which  the  prophets  throw  themselves  forward 
to  an  ideal  standpoint,  and  describe  from  it  events  future  to  themselves,  as 
though  they  were  past  {e.g.  5^^'^'  9^'^  23^*  ^*) ;  but  these  are  not  really  parallel : 
the  transference  to  the  future,  which  they  imply,  is  but  transient  \  in  the 
immediate  context,  the  prophet  uses  future  tenses,  and  speaks  from  his  own 
standpoint  (alluding,  for  instance,  olainly  to  the  events  or  circumstances  of 
his  own  age) ;  the  expressions,  moreover,  are  general,  and  the  language  is 


238  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

figurative.  The  writings  of  the  prophets  supply  no  analogy  for  such  a  sus- 
tained transference  to  the  future  as  would  be  implied  if  these  chapers  were  by 
Isaiah,  or  for  the  detailed  and  definite  description  of  the  circumstances  of  a 
distant  age. 

(2)  The  argument  derived  from  the  historic  function  of  pro- 
phecy is  confirmed  by  the  literary  style  of  c.  40-66,  which  is 
very  different  from  that  of  Isaiah.  Isaiah  shows  strongly  marked 
individualities  of  style :  he  is  fond  of  particular  images  and 
phrases,  many  of  which  are  used  by  no  other  writer  of  the  OT. 
Now,  in  the  chapters  which  contain  evident  allusions  to  the  [225] 
age  of  Isaiah  himself,  these  expressions  occur  repeatedly;  in 
the  chapters  which  are  without  such  allusions,  and  which  thus 
2L[it\iOxiLQ  prima  fade  the  inference  that  they  belong  to  a  different 
age,  they  are  absent^  and  new  images  and  phrases  appear  instead. 
This  coincidence  cannot  be  accidental.  The  subject  of  c.  40- 
66  is  not  so  different  from  that  of  Isaiah's  prophecies  {e.g^  against 
the  Assyrians,  as  to  necessitate  a  new  phraseology  and  rhetorical 
form :  the  differences  can  only  be  reasonably  explained  by  the 
supposition  of  a  change  of  author.  Isaiah  in  his  earliest,  as  in 
his  latest  prophecies  (c.  29-33;  3 7 ^^'^^  written  when  he  must 
have  been  at  least  sixty  years  of  age),  uses  the  same  style,  and 
shows  a  preference  for  the  same  figures;  and  the  change  of 
subject  in  c.  40-66  is  not  sufiliciently  great  to  account  for  the 
marked  differences  which  here  show  themselves,  and  which  indeed 
often  relate  to  points,  such  as  the  form  and  construction  of 
sentences,  which  stand  in  no  appreciable  relation  to  the  subject 
treated. 

The  following  are  examples  of  words,  or  forms  of  expression,  used  re- 
peatedly in  c.  40-66  (sometimes  also  in  c.  I3f.  and  c.  34  f.),  but  never  in  the 
prophecies  which  contain  independent  evidence  of  belonging  to  Isaiah's  own 
age:— 

1.  To  choose,  of  God's  choice  of  Israel :  418-  ^  43^"  44^-  ^  (cf.  42^  49'^,  of 

the  ideal,   individualized  nation) ;   my  chosen,  43^°  45^  65^-  ^"^  '^. 
So  14^ 

2.  Praise  (subst.  and  verb  :  T\Sr\r\,  S\t()  :  428-  "•  12  4321  488  6o«- 1^  6i3-  " 

627-  9  63'  64I0. 

3.  To  shoot  or  spring  forth  {vxyi) :  44^  55^*'  61^^*  ;  esp.  metaphorically — 

{a)  of  a  moral  state,  45®  58^  61^^^ ;  (<5)  of  an  event  manifesting  itself 
in  history  (not  so  elsewhere),  42^  43^^ 

4.  To  break  out  (nss)  into  singing-.  44^  49^^  52^  54^  55^2^     Also   14'^. 

Only  Ps.  98^  besides. 

5.  Pleasure  (fsn) :  (a)  of  Jehovah's  purpose,  442^  46^"  48^^  53^'' ;  {Jb)  of 

human  purpose  or  business,  58'- 1^.     More  generally,  54^2  534^ 


ISAIAH  239 

6.  Goodwill,  acceptance  (God's)  pj<T :  49^  56'  58°  60'  ^o  6i3. 

7.  l^hy  sons — the  pronoun  being  feminine  and  referring  to  Zion :  49"- 

22.  25  ^i2o  ^413  6o4.  9  628  ;  cf.  668.  jgaiah,  when  he  uses  the  same 
word,  always  says  sons  absohitely,  the  impHcit  reference  being  to 
God  (Dt.  14I) :  so  i^-  4  301-  ». 

8.  To  rejoice  {v^w) :  6110  62^*  64^  6518-  ^^  66io-  ".     Also  35I. 

9.  The  phrases,  /  am  Jehovah,  and  there  is  none  else  (or  besides) :  45'^* 

6. 18.  21. 22  .  /  am  the  first,  and  I  am  the  last :  44^  48^2  .  cf.  41*  ;  / 

am  thy  God,  thy  Saviour,  &c.:  4110-13433  ^gm  [-226]  618;  /  am 

He,  i.e.  He  who  is,  opp.  to  the  unreal  gods  of  the  heathen  (from 

Dt.  3288) :  4i4b  43iot)- 13  46^  4812.     No  such  phrases  are  ever  used  by 

Isaiah. 

10.  The  combination  of  the  Divine  name  with  a  participial  epithet  (in  the 

English  version  often  represented  by  a  relative  clause) :  e.g.  Creator 

(or  stretcher  out)  of  the  heavens  or  the  earth  :  40^8  42^^  44^^*'  45'*  I8 

5li3;   creator  ox  former  of  Israel  \   431-"   442-24   4^11   495.    fj^y 

Saviour :  492^  6oi^  ;  thy  {your,  Israel's)  redeemer :  43!^  4424a  4gi7a 

497  548;   comp.  4o22^  43i6f.  4425-28  46101.  ^jis  558  63i2f..     isaiah 

never  casts  his  thought  into  this  form. 

The  following  words,  though  found  once  or  twice  each  in  Isaiah  (cf.  p. 

132,  n.),  are  destitute  there  of  any  special  force  or  significance,  whereas  in 

c.  40-66  they  occur  frequently,  sometimes  with  a  particular  nuance,  or  shade 

of  meaning,  which  is  foreign  to  the  usage  of  Isaiah  : — 

1.  Isles  or  coasts  (0""n),  used  representatively  of  distant  regions  of  the 

earth  :  40I5  411-  ^  424-  lo- 12.  w  49!  518  59I8  6o9  66i9.  In  Isaiah,  1 1" 
(also  24I8),  where  it  is  used  in  its  primary  sense  (Gen.  lo^)  of  the 
isles  and  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  The  application  in 
c.  40-66  is  a  marked  extension  of  the  usage  of  Isaiah. 

2.  Nought  (dsn  :  not  the  ordinary  word) :  40"  c^i^'  "^  45^- "  46^  478. 10 

524  54I5.  Also  3412.  In  Isaiah,  58  only  (where,  however,  the 
original  signification  of  the  word  is  still  perceptible). 

3.  To  create:    4o2«- 28  4120   435   43I.  7.  is   4^7. 8. 12.  is    ^416    5719  65"- w. 

In  Isaiah,  only  4°  in  a  limited  application.  The  prominence 
given  to  the  idea  of  creation  in  c.  40-66  is  very  noticeable  (cf. 
p.  242). 

4.  Offspring  [n'^ii^H^i) :  428443481961^6523.     In  Isaiah,  2224.     ^Iso  34I. 

Rather  a  peculiar  word.  The  usage  in  c.  40-66  is  wider  and  more 
general  than  that  in  2224,  and  agrees  with  the  usage  of  the  Book  of 
Job,  528  218  2714  318.     The  word  does  not  occur  elsewhere. 

5.  Justice  emphasized  as  a  principle  guiding  and  determining  God's 

action  :  412-  "b  4321  4513. 19  ^jO  .  cf.  582b.  The  peculiar  stress  laid 
upon  this  principle  is  almost  confined  to  these  chapters ;  comp. 
however,  Hos.  2i9  [Heb.2i]. 

6.  The  arm  of  Jehovah :  518b.  9  ^210  53I  5916b  (cf.  40IO),  628  638- 12.    Hence 

Ps.  981  (see  59I8  5210).  In  Isaiah,  3o30.  guj.  observe  the  greater 
independence  of  the  figure  as  applied  in  c.  40-66. 

7.  To  deck  (nKS),  or  (in  the  reflexive  conjugation)  to  deck  oneself  i.e.  to 

glory,  especially  of  JAovah,  either  glorifying  Israel,  or  glorying 


240  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Himself  in  Israel :  44^  49^  55°  6o'-  ^-  «•  21  6i3.  In  Isaiah,  only 
10^"  of  the  saw  vatmting  zVj^^  against  its  user. 

8.  The  future  gracious  relation  of  Jehovah  to  Israel  represented  as  a 

covenant :  42^  (=49^)  54^°  55^  59^^  618.  In  28^^-  ^^  33^  the  word  is 
used  merely  in  the  sense  of  a  treaty  or  compact.  Isaiah,  often  as 
he  speaks  of  a  future  state  of  grace,  to  be  [227]  enjoyed  by  his 
people,  never  represents  it  under  the  form  of  a  covenant. 

9.  Yea  (in),  used  with  strong  rhetorical  force  25  times  from  40^^  to  48^^ 

In  Isaiah,  only  33^.     Elsewhere  in  the  book,  26^-  ^-  ^^  35^. 

There  are  in  addition  several  words  and  idioms  occurring  in  c.  40-66 
which  point  to  a  later  period  of  the  language  than  Isaiah's  age,  for  which  it 
must  suffice  to  refer  to  Cheyne,  Isaiah^  ii.  257  f.  (more  fully  Introd.  pp.  255- 
270),  or  Dillm.  p.  353.  A  remarkable  instance  is  afforded  by  65-*,  which  is 
a  condensed  quotation  from  ii^'^,  and  where  nn*,  the  common  Hebrew  word 
for  together^  is  replaced  by  infO,  an  expression  modelled  upon  the  Aram. 
KinD,  and  occurring  besides  only  in  the  latest  books  of  the  OT.  2  Ch.  5^^ 
Ezr.  2«4  (=Neh.  ^^)  3^  620,  Eccl.  ii«t). 

As  features  of  style  may  be  noticed — 

1.  The  duplication  of  words,  significant  of  the  impassioned  ardour  of  the 

preacher:  40^  43"- 25  48ii- is  519.12.17  ^^x.w  576.14.19  (,^\^bis  g^i. 
Very  characteristic  of  this  prophecy  ;  in  Isaiah  the  only  examples — 
and  those  but  partly  parallel — are  8^^  [21^]  29I. 

2.  A  habit  of  repeating  the  same  word  or  words  in  adjacent  clauses  or 

verses;  thus  4012^"  (regulated);  v.i^"'''  and  v.i^""'  (taught  him); 
v.i^  (instructed  him)  ;  40^1  and  41I  (renew  strength) ;  v.^**  (courage, 
encourage) ;  v.^*'  (have  chosen  thee) ;  v.i^*-  (I  have  holpen  thee) ; 
45^-  (hast  not  known  me) ;  v. 5*'  (and  none  else)  ;  50"^  and  *  (will 
help  me) ;  53^  (despised) ;  v.^**  (esteemed  him) ;  v.'^  (opened  not 
his  mouth) ;  581^  (thine  own  pleasure) ;  59^  (peace) ;  61'  (double). 
The  attentive  reader  of  the  Hebrew  will  notice  further  instances. 
Very  rare  indeed  in  Isaiah;  cf.  i'  (desolate);  17^  (ears);  321''* 
(peace). 

3.  Differences  in  the  structure  of  sentences,   e.g.   the  relative  particle 

omitted  with  much  greater  frequency  than  by  Isaiah.  * 

There  are  also  literary  features  of  a  more  general  character, 
which  differentiate  the  author  of  c.  40-66  from  Isaiah.  Isaiah's 
style  is  terse  and  compact :  the  movement  of  his  periods  is  stately 
and  measured :  his  rhetoric  is  grave  and  restrained.  In  these 
chapters  a  subject  is  often  developed  at  considerable  length: 

*  For  examples  of  expressions  used,  on  the  other  hand,  repeatedly  by 
Isaiah,  but  never  found  in  c.  40-66,  see  Isaiah,  pp.  194-196.  Especially 
noticeable  is  the  all  but  entire  absence  from  c.  40-66  of  the  two  expressions. 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  and  In  that  day,  by  which  Isaiah  loves  to  introduce 
scenes  or  traits  in  his  descriptions  of  the  future  {e.g.  4'  71"^-  21.  23  321  jq2o.  27 
liio-ii&c;  3I8  4I.  2  7I8.  20.  21.  23  igi6-24  ^^c. ),  but  which  occur  here  only  652^ 
66^^  ;  52^  (somewhat  peculiarly). 


ISAIAH  241 

the  style  is  much  more  flowing :  the  rhetoric  is  warm  and  impas- 
sioned; and  the  prophet  often  bursts  out  into  a  lyric  strain 
(42^^^-  44^^  45^  49^^))  ill  ^  manner  to  which  even  Is.  12  affords 
no  parallel.  Force  is  the  predominant  feature  of  Isaiah's  oratory  : 
persuasion  sits  upon  the  lips  of  the  prophet  who  here  [228] 
speaks;  the  music  of  his  eloquence,  as  it  rolls  magnificently 
along,  thrills  and  captivates  the  soul  of  its  hearer.  So,  again,  if 
the  most  conspicuous  characteristic  of  Isaiah's  imagination  be 
grandeur^  that  of  the  prophet  to  whom  we  are  here  listening  is 
pathos.  The  storms,  the  inundations,  the  sudden  catastrophes, 
which  Isaiah  loves  to  depict,  are  scarcely  to  be  found  in  this 
prophecy.  The  author's  imagery  is  drawn  by  preference  from 
a  different  region  of  nature  altogether,  viz.  from  the  animate 
world,  in  particular  from  the  sphere  of  human  emotion.  It  is 
largely  the  figures  drawn  from  the  latter  which  impart  to  his 
prophecy  its  peculiar  pathos  and  warmth  (see  49^5.  is  gjiob  52^ 
66^2).*  His  fondness  for  such  figures  is,  however,  most  evident 
in  the  numerous  examples  of  personification  which  his  prophecy 
contains.  Since  Amos  (5 2)  it  became  habitual  with  the  prophets 
to  personify  a  city  or  community  as  a  maiden^  especially  where 
it  was  desired  to  represent  it  as  vividly  conscious  of  some  keen 
emotion.!  This  figure  is  applied  in  these  chapters  with  remark- 
able independence  and  originality.  Zion  is  represented  as  a 
bride,  a  mother,  a  widow,  i.e.  under  just  those  relations  of  life 
in  which  the  deepest  feelings  of  humanity  come  into  play ;  and 
the  personification  is  continued  sometimes  through  a  long  series 
of  verses.  J  Nor  is  this  all.  The  prophet  personifies  nature:  he 
bids  heaven  and  earth  shout  at  the  restoration  of  God's  people 
(44234913-  cf.  52^  55^^);  he  hears  in  imagination  the  voices  ot 
invisible  beings  sounding  across  the  desert  (4o3-6  57I*);  he 
peoples  Jerusalem  with  ideal  watchmen  (52^)  and  guardians 
(62*5).§    Akin  to  these  personifications  is  the  dramatic  character 

*  The  prophecy  abounds  also  with  other  passages  of  exquisite  softness  and 
beauty,  as  c.  51.  c.  54-55.  di^^  63^-64^2  &c. 

t  Is.  i^  23^  (Sidon  lamenting  her  bereavement),  29I"*  {fan.  pronouns  in 
the  Hebrew),  37^"^  (Zion  disdainfully  mocking  the  retreating  invader),  Zeph. 
3^''  and  Zech.  9^  (Zion  exultant),  Jer.  /^^  (P-^  4611-  ^^'  ^4  ^^^i  ^jss^  ^ic.  48-  '^^•'^  al. 

X  See  49 ^^"23  5117-23  (Zion  prostrate  and  dazed  by  trouble,  but  now  bidden 
to  lift  herself  up),  ^7>^-  54^-6  601-"  62^  ;  47^-^5  (Babylon). 

§  Add  the  personification  of  Jehovah's  arm,  51^'-.  Isaiah,  unlike  the 
author  of  c.  40-66,  evinces  no  exceptional  preference  for  personification. 


242  LITERATURE  OP  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

of  the  representation,  which  also  prevails  to  a  remarkable  extent 
in  the  prophecy:  see  40^^-  49^*^-  So'"^  53^^'  S^'^  6iiof-  63I-6. 

(3)  The  theological  ideas  of  c.  40-66  (in  so  far  as  they  are 
[229]  not  of  that  fundamental  kind  common  to  the  prophets 
generally)  differ  remarkably  from  those  which  appear,  from  c. 
1-39,  to  be  distinctive  of  Isaiah.  Thus,  on  the  nature  of  God 
generally,  the  ideas  expressed  are  much  larger  and  fuller.  Isaiah, 
for  instance,  depicts  the  majesty  of  Jehovah :  in  c.  40-66  the 
prophet  emphasizes  His  infifiitude -,  He  is  the  Creator,  the 
Sustainer  of  the  universe,  the  Life-Giver,  the  Author  of  history 
(4 1 4),  the  First  and  the  Last,  the  Incomparable  One.  This  is 
a  real  difference.  And  yet  it  cannot  be  argued  that  opportunities 
for  such  assertions  of  Jehovah's  power  and  Godhead  would  not 
have  presented  themselves  naturally  to  Isaiah  whilst  he  was 
engaged  in  defying  the  armies  of  Assyria.  But,  in  truth,  c.  40- 
66  show  an  advance  upon  Isaiah,  not  only  in  the  substance  of 
their  theology,  but  also  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  presented; 
truths  which  are  merely  affirmed  in  Isaiah  being  here  made  the 
subject  of  reflexion  and  argument.  Again,  the  doctrine  of  the 
preservation  from  judgment  of  a  faithful  remnant  is  characteristic 
of  Isaiah.  It  appears  both  in  his  first  prophecy  and  in  his 
last  (6^^ ;  37^^^*) :  in  c.  40-66,  if  it  is  present  once  or  twice  by 
implication  (59^^  65^^-),  it  is  no  distinctive  element  in  the  author's 
teaching;  it  is  not  expressed  in  Isaiah's  terminology,*  and  it 
is  not  more  prominent  than  in  the  writings  of  many  other  pro- 
phets. The  relation  of  Israel  to  Jehovah — its  choice  by  Him, 
its  destiny,  the  purpose  of  its  call — is  developed  in  different 
terms  and  under  different  conceptions  f  from  those  used  by 
Isaiah:  the  figure  of  the  Messianic  king  (Is.  9^*''  ii^^-)  is 
absent;  the  prophet  associates  his  view  of  the  future  with  a 
figure  of  very  different  character,  Jehovah's  righteous  Servant,  | 
which  is  closely  connected  with  his  own  distinctive  view  of 
Israel's  destiny.§    The  Divine  purpose  in  relation  to  the  nations, 

*  nxE'  (1020-22  ijii.  16  i64  173  2117  285;  cf.  78). 

t  Israel  is  Jehovah's  "  servant,"  entrusted  by  Him  with  the  discharge  of 
a  sacred  mission,  and  hence  cannot  now  be  disowned  by  its   Divine  Lord 


§  To  say  that  the  figure  of  the  ideal  Servant  of  c.  40-66  is  an  advance 
upon  that  of  the  Messianic  king  of  Isaiah  is  not  correct :  it  starts  from  a 
different  origin  altogether  ;  it  is  parallel  to  it,  not  a  continuation  of  it.     Both 


ISAIAH  243 

especially  in  connexion  with  the  prophetic  mission  of  [230] 
Israel,  is  more  comprehensively  developed.  "'^  The  prophet,  in  a 
word,  in  whatever  elements  of  his  teaching  are  distinctive,  moves 
in  a  different  region  of  thought  from  Isaiah ;  he  apprehends  and 
emphasizes  different  aspects  of  Divine  truth. 

C.  40-66  thus  displays,  in  conception  not  less  than  in  literary 
style,  a  combiiiation  of  features,  which  confirm  the  conclusion 
based  on  the  subject-matter  of  the  prophecy,  that  it  is  the  work 
of  an  author  writing  towards  the  close  of  the  exile,  and  predict- 
ing the  approaching  conquest  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus,  and  the 
restoration  of  the  Jews,  just  as  Isaiah  predicted  the  failure  of 
Rezin  and  Pekah,  or  the  deliverance  of  Jerusalem  from  Sen- 
nacherib. It  need  only  be  added  (for  the  purpose  of  precluding 
misconception)  that  this  view  of  its  date  and  authorship  in  no 
way  impairs  the  theological  value  of  the  prophecy,  or  reduces  it 
to  a  vaticinium  ex  eventu :  on  the  one  hand,  the  whole  tone  of 
the  prophecy  shows  that  it  is  written  prior  to  the  events  which 
it  declares  to  be  approaching ;  on  the  other,  it  nowhere  claims 
either  to  be  written  by  Isaiah,  or  to  have  originated  in  his  age. 
Nor  upon  the  same  view  of  it  is  any  claim  made  by  its  author 
to  prevision  of  the  future  disallowed  or  weakened.! 

The  attempt  is  sometimes  made  to  meet  the  force  of  the  argument  derived 
from  differences  of  phraseology  and  style  by  pointing  to  the  examples  of 
similarities  observable  between  c.  40-66  and  the  acknowledged  prophecies 
of  Isaiah.  No  doubt  a  certain  number  of  such  similarities  exist ;  but  they 
are  very  far  from  being  numerous  or  decisive  enough  to  establish  the  conclu- 
sion for  which  they  are  alleged.  It  is  the  difference  between  authors  which 
are  characteristic,  and  form  consequently  a  test  of  authorship :  similarities, 
unless  they  are  exceedingly  numerous  and  minute,  may  be  due  to  other  causes 

representations  meet,  and  are  fulfilled,  in  the  person  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
but  in  the  Old  Testament  they  are  distinct  {Isaiah*,  pp.  175-180). 

*  Israel  in  its  ideal  character  is  to  be  the  medium  of  religious  instruction 
to  the  world  (42i^-  4-  e  496b) .  comp.  4522'-  si^b.  6b  567b, 

t  There  is  no  ground  for  supposing  that  the  fulfilled  predictions  frequently 
alluded  to  {\\.^  42^  43^'-^°  48^"^)  are  those  constituting  the  prophecy  itself; 
on  the  contrary,  42^  shows  that  they  are,  in  fact,  prior  prophecies,  on  the 
strength  of  the  fulfilment  of  which  the  prophet  claims  to  be  heard  in  the  new 
announcements  now  made  by  him  {Isaiah,  p.  i88f.).  And  in  44^^  45^^-  the 
prophet  does  not  claim  foreknowledge  of  Cyrus,  but  only  of  what  he  will 
accomplish  :  he  is  already  "stirred  up,"  and  " come  "  (412-  25*  a,"^^)^  and  the 
prophet  promises  that  he  will  prosper  in  his  further  undertakings  (412"*' 

4^1-3.  13b)_  • 


244  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

than  identity  of  authorship.  They  may  be  due,  for  instance,  to  community 
of  subject-matter,  to  the  independent  adoption  by  different  writers  of  a 
current  terminology,  to  an  affinity  of  genius  or  mental  habit  prompting  an  [231] 
author  to  borrow  the  ideas  or  phraseology  of  a  predecessor,  to  involuntary 
reminiscence.  But  the  differences  between  c.  40-66  and  the  acknowledged 
prophecies  of  Isaiah  are  both  more  numerous  and  of  a  more  fundamental 
character  than  the  similarities.  A  large  number  of  the  latter  that  have  been 
alleged  will  indeed  be  found,  when  examined,  to  be  not  distinctive,  i.e.  they 
are  not  the  peculiar  possession  of  the  Book  of  Isaiah,  but  occur  in  other 
writers  as  well.  And  there  are  none  which  may  not  be  naturally  and  reason- 
ably accounted  for  upon  one  or  other  of  the  four  principles  that  have  just 
been  mentioned.  The  fallaciousness  of  arguing  from  similarities  alone  ought 
to  have  been  apparent  from  the  case  of  Jeremiah  and  Dt.,  in  which  the 
resemblances  are  much  more  abundant  and  remarkable  than  those  between 
the  two  parts  of  the  Book  of  Isaiah,  and  yet  are  admitted — on  all  hands — 
not  to  establish  identity  of  authorship  (p.  87  «.).* 

It  will  be  found  that  the  chief  objections  to  the  critical  date 
of  c.  40-66  have  their  root  in  an  imperfect  apprehension  of  the 
historical  situation  to  which  criticism  assigns  it,  and  which  is 
required  (in  parts)  by  the  argument  of  the  prophecy :  see  in 
particular,  on  the  latter  point,  G.  A.  Smith,  ii.  pp.  9-12,  who 
shows  that  the  prophet's  reasoning  in  c.  41-48  implies  that  the 
early  successes  of  Cyrus  must  have  been  already  historical  facts. 

The  literary  unity  of  Is.  40-66  is  undoubtedly  imperfect,  especially  in 
its  later  chapters  :  naturally  the  whole  will  not  have  been  delivered  by  the 
prophet  continuously,  but  some  alteration,  and  advance,  in  the  historical 
situation  may  be  presupposed  for  its  later  parts.  Thus  Dillm.  (p.  363  f.) 
supposes  c.  40-48  to  have  been  written  in  the  midst  of  Cyrus'  successes, 
c.  545  B.C.,  0.  46-62  between  545  and  539-538;  while  c.  63-66  are,  he 
considers,  of  the  nature  of  an  appendix,  dealing  with  questions  which  arose 
when  the  return  to  Palestine  was  imminent,  and  added  therefore  nearly  at  the 
time  of  the  edict  of  Cyrus  ; — c.  66  may  in  parts  (esp.  in  v.^^"^)  have  been 
expanded  by  a  subsequent  hand  (p.  534).  But  other  critics  are  of  opinion 
that  this  view  does  not  do  justice  to  the  difference  of  tone  which  marks 
certain  parts  of  the  prophecy,  and  which,  they  consider,  points  to  a  greater 
change  both  in  the  historical  standpoint  of  the  writer  and  in  the  circumstances 
of  those  addressed.  As  regards  two  passages,  56^-57"*  and  59^"^^  which 
(esp.  the  former)  recall  strongly  descriptions  in  Jer.  and  Ez.  of  the  condition 
of  Judah  under  the  later  kings,  it  is  generally  allowed  (cf.  the  writer's  Isaiah, 
p.  187  f.)  that  they  were  written  originally  in  the  age  of  Jer.,  and  that  the 

*  See  more  fully,  both  on  the  characteristic  teaching  of  c.  40-66  and  on 
the  authorship,  the  papers  of  Prof.  Davidson,  cited  above,  p.  204 ;  the  writer's 
Isaiah,  pp.  168-212;  Dillm.  pp.  347-362,  469-474;  Kirkpatrick,  Doctrine 
of  the  Prophets,  pp.  349-406;  also,  on  the  figure  of  Jehovah's  ideal  servant, 
Riehm,  Alttest.  Theol.  (1890),  §  84. 


ISAIAH  245 

author  of  c.  40-66,  finding  that  they  taught  a  lesson  appropriate  to  his  con- 
temporaries, incorporated  them,  with  or  without  some  slight  modifications  of 
form,  in  his  own  work,  accommodating  them  at  the  same  time  (see  sy"**-  ^^  ; 
^gi6-2ij  j-Q  j-j^g  situation  of  the  exiles.  Ewald  held  that  the  whole  of  c.  58-59 
(as  well  as  56^-57^^'')  was  borrowed  by  II  Isaiah  from  a  contemporary  of 
Ez. :  he  considered  further  (as  did  also  Bleek)  that  63'-c.  66  was  added  by 
the  author  after  the  return.  Kuenen  (§  49.  5-7,  11-15)  limited  (in  1889)  the 
prophecy  of  the  restoration  to  c.  40-49,  52i"^2^  g^j^^  perhaps  52^^-53^2  .  ^^ 
rest,  he  argued,  upon  internal  grounds,  presupposed  an  author  (or  authors) 
living  after  the  return  in  Palestine  ;  and  hence  he  concluded  that  these  parts 
were  added,  after  B.C.  536,  either  by  II  Isaiah  himself,  or  (mostly)  by  subsequent 
writers  belonging  to  the  same  school ;  64^°*-  he  thought,  in  particular,  alluded 
"  either  to  the  facts  described  in  Neh.  i'  [above,  p.  222],  or  to  still  later 
occurrences  of  a  similar  kind  "  (cf.  below).  Cornill  (§  20  [^  §  24].  19,  20),  and 
Wildeboer  (§  17.  5),  also  agree  that  the  greater  part  of  c.  49-62  presupposes 
a  writer  living  in  Palestine  ;  but  they  do  not  suppose  this  writer  to  have  been 
different  from  the  author  of  c.  40-48,  and  they  find  the  marks  of  a  later  hand 
only  in  parts  of  c.  63-66. 

Duhm  and  Cheyne,  by  a  closer  study  of  the  historical  circumstances  pre- 
supposed, the  ideas,  and  the  phraseology,  seek  to  fix  the  authorship  and  age 
of  the  prophecy  more  precisely.  Duhm  thus  limits  the  original  work  of 
II  Isaiah  to  401-^-  8-"-  ^-^-  ^^-i^  416-7  ^cp-2,-\s.  41I-4. 8-29  ^^^-w.  13. 14.  25  ^^-^.  22-28 

44I-8.  21-28a  4^1-9.  ll-13a.  14-25  ^(^i-i.  9-13  47I-2.  8b-14a.  15  ^gla  (^q  Jacob)  ^'  ^'  «-'»•  ^' 
ll-16a   (to   ff^j.^   am   I)  20-21  497-26  50I-3  5ll-W-  12-14.  17.  19-23  ^21-2.7-12   ^^1-14.  16-17a 

551-2- 3b-6.  8-13,  Duhm  refers  the  "  servant  "-passages  (42I-4  49I-6  50^-9  52"- 
5312)  to  a  distinct  writer,  living  B.C.  500-450  :  c.  56-66  he  assigns  to  another 
writer  ("Tritojesaia"),  living  a  little  later,  at  the  beginning  of  the  age  of 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  who  stood  in  greater  sympathy  than  II  Isaiah  had  done 
with  the  legal  school  founded  by  Ezek.,  and  promoted  by  Haggai  and 
Malachi,  and  who  attached  greater  importance  to  ritual  observances  :  thus 
561-^,  in  the  interest  with  which  it  views  the  duty  of  Sabbath-keeping  and  the 
question  of  the  separation  of  Israel  from  the  heathen,  places  us  in  the  age  of 
Ezr.  9^*'  c.  10,  Neh.  92  lo^*-  131-8.23-30  .  j-he  author  is  only  less  exclusive  than 
Ezr.  and  Neh. ,  in  that  he  is  willing  to  admit  such  foreigners  and  others,  who 
conform  (v.*-  6)  to  the  necessary  moral  and  spiritual  conditions :  56^-571**  is 
not  pre-exilic,  but  alludes  to  the  persecutions  and  idolatries  practised  by 
Samaritans,  and  disloyal  Jews,  in  the  same  age  ;  65^'-  "  66°- "  &c. ,  refer 
likewise  to  the  same  persistent  adversaries  of  the  faithful  "servants"  of 
Jehovah,  whose  future  fate,  here  (65^^-  ^"-  66^- 1^^-)  and  elsewhere  (as  59^^-2"), 
the  prophet  declares.  C.  58-59  portray  the  besetting  moral  and  religious 
faults  of  the  same  period.  Cheyne  agrees  largely  with  Duhm.  In  his 
analysis  of  c.  40-55  he  differs  only  in  assigning  the  "servant "-passages,  and 
4o3ib  4212  4^10. 13b  473a  ^ii8  ^4i7b  ^^3a^  ^o  II  Isaiah,  and  by  excluding  422^*' 
4421b.  22b  4^25  4g3b.  16a,  Q,  56-66  he  treats  as  a  group  of  prophecies  belonging 
similarly  (except  63^-0.  64)  to  the  age  of  Ezr.  and  Neh.,  the  religious 
characteristics  of  which  (esp.  the  opposition  of  the  Samaritans  and  false 
Jews)  he  considers  that  they  accurately  reflect ;  he  assigns  these,  however, 
not  to  an  individual,  but  to  a  sckool  of  writers,  who  fell  under  the  literary 


246  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

spell  of  II  Isaiah,  and  loved  to  perpetuate  his  teaching,  and  develop  his  ideas. 
C.  60-62  he  regards  as  an  appendix  to  the  original  prophecy  of  II  Isaiah, 
giving  expression  to  the  high  hopes  raised  in  B.C.  432  by  the  arrival  Oi  Ezra 
and  his  fellow-exiles  with  rich  gifts  for  the  temple  from  Babylonia.  63'-c.  64 
is  of  later  origin  :  it  reflects  the  conflicting  emotions  aroused  in  the  breasts  of 
pious  Israelites,  by  the  destruction  of  the  temple  (64^°^- )>  and  other  calamities, 
conjectured  (above,  p.  222)  to  have  taken  place  under  Artaxerxes  Ochus 
{c.  B,C.  347)' 


CHAPTER   IV. 

JEREMIAH, 

Literature. — H.  Ewald  in  his  Prophets  of  the  OT.  1840-41,  2  1867-68 
(in  the  translation,  vols.  3  and  [c.  50-51]  5,  p.  i  ff.) ;  F.  Hitzig  (in  the  Kgf. 
Exeg.  Handb.),  2  1866 ;  K.  H.  Graf,  Der  Proph.  Jer.  erkldrt,  1862  ;  C.  \V. 
E.  Nagelsbach  in  Lange's  Bibelwerk,  1868  ;  C.  F.  Keil  in  the  BibL  Cofn- 
tuentar,  1872  ;  Payne  Smith  in  the  Speaker  s  Com??ientary,  1875  '■>  T.  K. 
Cheyne  in  the  Pulpit  Commentary  (exposition  of  the  text),  1883-85  ; 
Jeremiah^  his  life  and  times  (in  the  "Men  of  the  Bible"  series),  1888; 
C.  von  Orelli  in  Strack  and  Zockler's  Kgf,  Kommentar,  1887  ;  C.  J.  Ball 
(vol.  i.)  and  W.  H.  Bennett  (vol.  ii.)  in  the  "  Expositor's  Bible,"  1890,  1895  ; 
Stade,  ZATW.  1885,  p.  175  ff.  (on  32"-i4),  1892,  p.  276 ff.  (on  c.  21.  24-29)  ; 
Giesebrecht  (in  Nowack's  "  Handkommentar "),  1894;  C.  H.  Cornill  (in 
Haupt's  SBOT.).  On  c.  25.  46-49,  Schwally,  ZATW.  1888,  p.  177  ff.; 
Smend,  A  T.  Pel.  -gesch.  p.  238  ;  L.  H.  K.  Bleeker,  Jer.  'j  Profetiem  tegen  de 
Volkeren,  Groningen,  1894  (with  many  text.-crit.  and  exeg.  notes) ;  and  on  c. 
50-51,  C.  Budde  in  (hejahrb.  f.  deutsche  Theol.  1878,  pp.  428-470,  529-562. 

B.C.  Chronological  Table, 

639.  JOSIAH. 
626.  Call  of  Jeremiah. 

621.   Discovery  of  Deuteronomy  ;  Josiah's  reformation. 
609.  Jehoahaz. 
608.  Jehoiakim. 

604.  Victory  of  Nebuchadnezzar  over  Pharaoh  Necho  at  Carchemish. 
597.  Jehoiachin. 

597.  First  siege  of  Jerusalem,  and  deportation  of  Jewish  exiles. 
596.  Zedekiah. 

586.  Destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldseans,  and  second  deportation 
of  Jewish  exiles. 

The  prophet  Jeremiah  was  of  priestly  descent.  He  was 
sprung  (i^)  from  a  Uttle  community  of  priests  settled  at  Anathoth 
(cf.  I  Ki.  22<5,  Josh.  21IS),  a  town  not  far  north  of  Jerusalem,  in 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  with  which  he  continued  to  maintain  a 
connexion  (cf.  11^^  37^"")>  though  the  main  scene  of  his  prophetic 
ministry  was  Jerusalem.  His  first  public  appearance  as  a  prophet 
was  in  the  13th  year  of  king  J^siah  (i^  25^),  i.e.  626  B.C.,  5  years 

2J7 


248  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

before  the  memorable  year  in  which  the  "  Book  of  the  Law " 
was  found  by  Hilkiah  in  the  Temple.  Of  his  life  during  the 
reign  of  Josiah  no  further  particulars  are  known :  but  [233]  his 
book  contains  abundant  notices  of  the  part  played  by  him  in  the 
anxious  times  which  began  soon  after  the  accession  of  Jehoiakim, 
and  did  not  cease  till  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Chaldaeans  in  586.  Politically,  the  4th  year  of  Jehoiakim,  in 
which  Nebuchadnezzar  won  his  great  victory  over  Pharaoh 
Necho  at  Carchemish  on  the  Euphrates,  was  the  turning-point 
of  the  age.  Jeremiah  at  once  grasped  the  situation :  he  saw 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  was  destined  to  achieve  further  successes ; 
he  greeted  him  with  the  ode  of  triumph  in  c.  46,  and  declared 
that  the  whole  of  W.  Asia  would  fall  under  his  sway  (c.  25), 
implying  thereby  what  he  afterwards  taught  explicitly,  that  the 
safety  of  Judah  lay  in  yielding  to  the  inevitable,  and  accepting 
the  condition  of  dependence  upon  Babylon.  In  the  end,  how- 
ever, Jehoiakim  revolted;  and  under  his  son  and  successor 
Jehoiachin  the  penalty  for  his  imprudence  fell  severely  upon 
the  nation:  Jerusalem  was  besieged;  and  after  100  days' reign, 
the  king  "  went  out "  (2  Ki.  24^^),  i.e.  surrendered  at  discretion, 
to  the  enemy :  he  himself,  the  queen  mother  Nehushta,  the 
principal  members  of  the  court,  and  the  elite  of  Jerusalem 
generally,  were  condemned  to  exile  in  Babylonia.  Zedekiah, 
having  sworn  (Ez.  17^1-1^)  a  solemn  oath  of  allegiance  to 
Nebuchadnezzar,  was  nominated  king  over  those  who  remained 
in  Jerusalem.  After  a  few  years,  however,  Zedekiah  compro- 
mised himself  by  treasonable  negotiations  with  Pharaoh  Hophra ; 
and  in  his  9th  year  the  second  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Chaldaeans  began.  Jeremiah  now  (21^"^^:  cf.  38^'''^')  declares 
unambiguously  that  the  besiegers  will  prevail,  adding,  as  a  piece 
of  practical  advice  to  the  people  generally,  that  desertion  to 
them  was  the  sole  guarantee  of  personal  safety.  This  counsel 
did  not  proceed  from  any  unpatriotic  motive,  though  it  is  easy 
to  see  that  it  might  be  so  interpreted  :  Zedekiah,  in  revolting  at 
all,  had  been  guilty  of  a  gross  breach  of  faith  (see  Ez.  17),  and 
the  position  taken  now  by  Jeremiah  was  but  the  corollary  of  that 
adopted  by  him  in  604  (c.  25).  Jeremiah's  experiences  during 
the  siege — how  he  was  arrested  in  the  north  gate  of  the  city  on 
a  charge  of  deserting  to  the  Chaldaeans,  and  thrown  into  the 
common  dungeon ;  how  he  was  released  thence  in  consequence 


JEREMIAH  249 

of  the  king's  anxiety  to  learn  from  him  the  final  issue  of  the 
siege ;  how  Zedekiah  was  compelled  to  relinquish  him  into  the 
hands  of  his  courtiers;  and  how  he  was  only  rescued  from 
death  by  starvation  through  the  [234]  intercession  of  a  friendly 
foreigner,  an  Ethiopian,  Ebed-melech — are  related  in  vivid  detail 
in  c.  37-38.  After  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  Jeremiah  was 
treated  with  consideration  by  the  Chaldaeans,  and  allowed  to 
remain  where  he  pleased  :  he  was  carried  against  his  will  by 
some  of  the  Jews  who  had  been  left  in  Palestine  into  Egypt 

(c.  42-44). 

Respecting  the  composition  of  the  Rook  of  Jeremiah,  we 
have,  at  least  as  regards  its  oldest  portions,  information  con- 
siderably more  specific  than  is  usual  in  the  case  of  the  writings 
of  the  prophets.  His  prophecies,  we  learn  from  c.  36,  were  first 
committed  to  writing  in  the  4th  year  of  Jehoiakim,  when  Jere- 
miah received  the  command  to  take  a  roll,  and  write  therein 
"  all  the  words  "  which  Jehovah  had  spoken  to  him  "  against 
Israel,  and  against  Judah,  and  against  all  the  nations  "  from  the 
days  of  Josiah  onwards.  Accordingly,  we  read,  Jeremiah  dictated 
them  to  his  scribe  Baruch,  who  wrote  them  "from  his  mouth" 
(v.'*-  '^- 1''-  ^^-  2^)  in  a  roll.  In  the  following  year,  in  the  9th  month 
(369^-),  Baruch  read  the  contents  of  the  roll  publicly  before  the 
people  at  the  gate  leading  into  the  upper  court  of  the  Temple. 
Jehoiakim,  being  informed  by  his  princes  of  what  Baruch  was 
doing,  ordered  the  roll  to  be  brought  to  him,  and  read  before 
him.  After  three  or  four  leaves  had  been  read,  the  king,  in  a 
passion,  seized  the  roll,  rent  it  with  his  penknife,  and  cast  it  into 
the  fire.  After  the  roll  had  been  thus  destroyed,  Jeremiah  was 
directed  to  rewrite  its  contents  in  a  second  roll  (v.^s),  which  was 
done  in  the  same  manner  as  before,  Baruch  writing  at  the 
prophet's  dictation ;  and,  it  is  stated,  not  merely  were  the  con- 
tents of  the  first  roll  repeated,  but  "  f^ere  were  added  besides  unto 
them  many  like  words  "  (v.^^).  Whether,  even  in  the  first  roll, 
Jeremiah's  discourses  were  reproduced  verbatim  as  they  were 
delivered,  or  merely  in  general  substance,  coloured,  perhaps,  in 
parts  by  the  course  of  subsequent  events,  it  is  impossible  to  say ; 
but  in  the  second  roll,  which  evidently  must  form  the  basis  of 
the  prophecies  as  we  have  them,  they  were  reproduced  with 
additions.  Thus,  as  regards  the  prophecies  belonging  to  the 
first  twenty-three  years  of  Jererrfiah's  ministry,  there  must  always 


2SO  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

be  some  uncertainty  as  to  what  portions  strictly  reproduce  the 
original  discourses,  and  what  portions  belong  to  the  additions 
made  by  the  prophet  in  the  fifth  year  of  Jehoiakim.  It  is, 
however,  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  among  these  [235] 
additions  are  included  some  of  the  more  definite  and  distinct 
denunciations  of  the  nation's  sin  and  of  the  coming  judgment. 

The  earlier  prophecies  of  Jeremiah's  book,  unlike  the  later  ones,  are 
usually  without  specific  dates  (comp.  3^  the  indeterminate  expression,  **In 
the  days  of  Josiah  "),  and  often,  also,  somewhat  general  in  their  contents,  so 
that  probably  they  are  not  so  much  the  actual  text  of  particular  discourses,  as 
a  reproduction  of  their  substance,  made  by  the  prophet  on  the  basis  of  notes 
and  recollections  of  his  teaching  at  the  time. 

C.  I.  The  vision  of  the  prophet's  call,  in  the  13th  year  of 
Josiah,  B.C.  626.  Jeremiah,  while  still  a  youth  (v.^'),  is  con- 
secrated to  be  a  prophet :  it  is  to  be  his  mission  to  announce 
the  weal  or  woe  (v.^^),  not  of  Judah  only,  but  of  other  nations 
as  well ;  in  particular,  however,  he  is  to  bear  the  tidings  of  woe 
to  his  own  people  (v.^^^^^) ;  he  must  expect,  in  the  discharge 
of  his  mission,  to  encounter  great  opposition,  but  is  divinely 
strengthened  for  the  purpose  of  overcoming  it  (v.^'^'^^). 

C.  2-6  form  presumably  Jeremiah's  first  prophetical  dis- 
course, as  it  was  reproduced  in  a  written  form  in  the  5  th  year 
of  Jehoiakim.  The  discourse  consists  of  four  parts,  in  each  of 
which  the  general  theme,  viz.  the  nation's  sin,  is  treated  under 
a  distinct  aspect,  viz.  (i)  c.  2  ;  (2)  31-^  (continued  by  3^^-42) ; 
(3)  36-18  .  (4)  43-6^0^  C.  2  the  dominant  subject  is  Judah's 
idolatry.  The  prophecy  opens  with  a  touching  picture  of  the 
nation's  innocency  in  the  ideal  period  of  its  youth,  2^-3 ;  v.^-^^ 
describes  its  ingratitude  and  defection  from  Jehovah,  and  v.^^'^'' 
the  punishment  which  ensued  :  next  the  people  -are  reproached 
with  leaning  for  help  alternately  upon  Egypt  and  Assyria,  and 
with  their  devotion  to  gods  which,  in  the  time  of  need,  will  be 
powerless  to  aid  them,  v.^^-^s ;  and  finally,  v.^^^^^,  with  their  self- 
complacency  (v. 35),  and  persistent  refusal  to  Hsten  to  wiser 
counsels.  (2)  3^-^  3^^-4^  the  subject  is  still  Judah's  idolatry,  but 
there  is  held  out  the  prospect  of  a  better  future ;  Judah  has  been 
like  a  faithless  wife,  7,^-^,  whose  promises  of  amendment,  v.*^-, 
are  but  as  empty  words.  Yet  Jehovah  had  thought  to  honour 
her,  expecting  love  and  faithfulness  in  return,  but  His  purpose 
had  been  frustrated,  31^^-.     This,  however,  will  not  continue  for 


JEREMIAH  251 

ever :  the  offer  of  pardon  is  freely  made :  and  the  prophecy 
closes  with  a  picture  of  the  penitent  nation  confessing  its  sin 
(321-  22b-25^^  and  of  the  benefits  accruing  from  the  spectacle  of  its 
loyalty  to  the  nations  of  the  earth  [236]  (4^'^).  (3)  3^'^^.  Judah 
contrasted  unfavourably  with  Israel.  Judah  has  witnessed  the 
fate  which  overtook  her  sister,  the  N.  kingdom,  in  her  sin,  but 
has  derived  no  warning  from  it :  hence,  relatively,  Israel  is  more 
righteous  than  Judah,  v.^^ ;  and  the  offer  of  pardon  and  promise 
of  restoration  are  addressed  in  the  first  instance  to  it,  v.12-14  ^ 
only  when  the  ideal  Zion  of  the  future  has  been  established  by 
the  restoration  of  Israel^  so  that  even  heathen  nations  flock 
towards  it  (v.^^*^^),  will  Judah  abandon  its  sin  and  return  from 
banishment  (which  the  prophet  here  presupposes)  to  dwell  with 
Israel  upon  its  own  land,  v.^^. 

It  is  almost  certain  that  this  section  is  misplaced,  (i)  It  interrupts  the 
connexion,  for  the  words  in  3^^,  "  Bu^  I  saad,"  are  not  antithetical  to  anything 
in  v.^^,  while  they  are  obviously  so  to  the  thought  of  2^  :  3^"^  depicts  Judah's 
faithlessness  and  empty  promises  of  amendment,  to  which  the  declaration, 
v.^^  of  Jehovah's  purpose,  which  had  been  frustrated,  forms  a  natural 
contrast.  (2)  The  contrasted  view  of  the  behaviour  of  the  two  kingdoms 
is  peculiar  to  this  section,  and  is  foreign  to  both  3^"^  and  3^^-4^  :  notice,  also, 
that  whereas  in  2^-3^  and  3-^^-4^  "  Israel "  designates  Judah,  in  -^'^^  it 
denotes  the  N.  kingdom  as  opposed  to  Judah.  (3)  The  section  is  complete  in 
itself:  for  v.*  evidently  marks  a  genuine  beginning ;  and  the  promises,  v.^^"^^, 
form  a  natural  close,  and  one  thoroughly  in  harmony  with  the  analogy  of 
prophecy.  Thus,  though  the  prophecy  belongs  no  doubt  to  the  same  period 
as  the  rest  of  c.  2-6  (for  it  has  many  figures  and  thoughts  in  common,  e.g. 
v.  6- 13  and  220i>;  the  figure  in  v.  8  and  2^  3!^-;  3^  and  220-27  31b.  2  .  ^14  ^nd 
v. 22),  it  has  probably,  through  some  accident  of  transmission,  been  displaced 
from  its  original  position  (Cornill  places  it  after  c,  6J.  See  further  Stade, 
ZATW.  1884,  pp.  151-154;  Kuen.  §  52.  10.  Giesebr.  leaves  v.^-^^  where 
it  is,  but  treats  v.^^"^^  as  a  later  addition  (v.^'^'i^  being  taken  from  another 
context  in  Jer.  himself,  probably  c.  31) :  v.2i-25j  however,  reads  far  more  like 
a  confession  placed  in  the  mouth  oi  Judah  in  its  own  home  (and  therefore 
the  continuation  of  3^"^),  than  like  one  supposed  to  be  spoken  by  Israel  in 
the  land  of  exile. 

(4)  4^-630.  Here  the  coming  judgment  is  depicted  more  dis- 
tinctly :  it  is  to  be  inflicted  by  a  Joe  Jrom  the  north.  The 
prophet  begins  by  exhorting  earnestly  to  penitence,  if  perchance 
the  future  which  he  foresees  can  be  averted,  y.^^- ;  afterwards,  he 
bids  the  people  betake  themselves  for  safety  into  the  fenced 
cities,  for  the  destroyer  is  approaching  from  the  north  ;  soon  he 
sees  him  close  at  hand,  and  the  Capital  itself  invested  by  the  foe, 


252  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

v.^"^^  Speaking  in  the  name  of  his  people,  he  gives  expression 
to  the  sense  of  terror  which  thrills  through  him  as  the  alarm  of 
war  draws  nearer  :  the  vision  of  desolation  embraces  the  whole 
land  :  in  vain  does  Zion  seek  the  favour  of  her  "  lovers,"  they 
are  turned  against  her,  v.^^'^^  Does  this  severe  judgment  seem 
unmerited  ?  Gladly  would  Jehovah  have  pardoned,  had  the 
nation  shown  itself  worthy  of  forgiveness ;  but  all,  high  and  low 
alike  (5^^-)>  ^^^  corrupt,  5^-^.  Let  the  appointed  [237]  ministers 
of  judgment,  then,  complete  their  task :  the  only  restriction  is 
this,  that  Israel  must  not  be  exterminated  (v.^^-  ^^  :  cf.  4^7) ;  and 
a  picture  follows  of  the  terrible  and  cruel  invader,  who  will 
desolate  the  land,  slay  the  inhabitants,  and  carry  the  survivors 
into  exile,  v.^^-i^.  V.  20-29  revert  to  the  thought  of  v.^-^,  dwelling 
afresh  upon  the  moral  cause  of  the  coming  disaster :  prophets 
and  priests  unite  in  the  furtherance  of  evil.  In  c.  6  the  danger 
is  depicted  as  still  nearer :  the  capital  itself  must  now  be 
abandoned  (contrast  4^) :  for  the  enemy  is  preparing  to  storm 
it  (v.^).  Jehovah's  offer,  even  now,  to  spare  Zion  is  made  in 
vain  :  worldliness  and  the  illusion  of  security  engross  the  people's 
thoughts ;  and  the  judgment  must  therefore  take  its  course, 
v.^"2i.  Still  another  description  follows  of  the  approach  of  the 
invader ;  and  the  section  closes  with  a  significant  figure  of  the 
reprobate  condition  of  the  nation,  v. 22-30, 

The  foe  from  the  north  constitutes  a  feature  in  which  4^-6^  advances 
beyond  2^-4^ :  so  that  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  4^-6^"  belongs  to  a 
somewhat  later  date.  The  invader  is  mentioned,  or  alluded  to,  4®-'-  ^^'  i^-"- 
21.  29  ^6. 15-17  51-6. 12.  22-25  .  3,3  no  name  is  specified,  it  is  disputed  who  is  meant. 
Herodotus  (i.  103  ff.)  speaks  of  a  great  irruption  into  Asia  at  this  time  of 
Scythians^  a  wild  and  fierce  people,  whose  home  was  north  of  the  Crimea, 
but  who,  like  the  Huns  and  Bulgarians  of  a  later  day,  were  apt  to  make 
predatory  incursions  into  the  more  favoured  regions  of  the  south.  On  the 
present  occasion  their  invasion  is  thus  described  (Rawlinson,  Anc.  Monarchies ^ 
Bk.  II.  ch.  ix.;  ed.  1879,  vol.  ii.  p.  225  f.): — "Pouring  through  the  passes 
of  the  Caucasus,  horde  after  horde  of  Scythians  blackened  the  rich  plains  of 
the  south.  On  they  came  like  a  flight  of  locusts,  countless,  irresistible,  .  .  . 
finding  the  land  before  them  a  garden,  and  leaving  it  behind  them  a  howling 
wilderness.  Neither  age  nor  sex  would  be  spared.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
open  country  and  of  the  villages,  if  they  did  not  make  their  escape  to  high 
mountain  tops  or  other  strongholds,  would  be  ruthlessly  massacred  by  the 
invaders,  or,  at  best,  forced  to  become  their  slaves.  The  crops  would  be 
consumed,  the  herds  swept  off"  or  destroyed,  the  villages  and  homesteads 
burnt,  the  whole  country  made  a  scene  of  desolation.  .  .  .  The  tide  then 
swept   on.      Wandering   from   district   to   district,    plundering    everywhere, 


JEREMIAH  253 

settling  nowhere,  the  clouds  of  horse  passed  over  Mesopotamia,  the  force 
of  the  invasion  becoming  weaker  as  it  spread  itself,  until  in  Syria  it  reached 
its  term  by  the  policy  of  the  Egyptian  king  Psammetichus,"  who,  hearing 
that  the  Scythian  hordes  had  advanced  as  far  as  Ashkelon,  and  were 
threatening  to  invade  Egypt,  prevailed  upon  them  by  rich  gifts  to  abstain 
from  their  enterprise.  Herodotus,  who  states  that  they  were  masters  of 
Western  Asia  from  the  Caucasus  to  the  border  of  Egypt  for  28  years  (B.C. 
635-607),  may  have  exaggerated  the  extent  and  nature  of  their  apxn,  but  the 
fact  of  such  an  irruption  having  taken  place  cannot  be  doubted.  It  is 
probable  that  the  present  prophecy,  in  its  original  intention,  alluded  to 
these  [238]  Scythian  hordes,  whom  some  of  the  descriptions  remarkably  suit 
(517  622*-),  and  who  may  well  have  ended  by  including  Judah  in  their  ravages  ; 
though  afterwards,  when  it  was  committed  to  writing,  and,  as  it  were,  re-edited 
in  the  5th  year  of  Jehoiakim,  it  was  accommodated  by  the  prophet  to  the 
Chaldseans,  who  in  the  interval  had  become  Judah's  most  formidable  foe,  the 
phraseology  being  possibly  modified  in  parts  so  as  to  describe  them  more 
appropriately  {.e.g.  4'  the  "lion"  and  "destroyer  of  nations"  are  terms  better 
suited  to  an  individual  as  Nebuchadnezzar  than  to  a  horde ;  comp.  the 
"lion,"  49I8  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  50**  of  Cyrus:  (P  "from  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth,"  and  "from  the  north  "  would  be  appropriate  either  to  the 
Scythians  or  to  the  Chaldseans,  cf.  2532-.  1022  1320  25^  472).  Comp.  Ew. 
Hist.  iv.  226-231;  Prophets y  iii.  70;  Hitzig,  Jerem.  p.  31  f.;  Graf,  pp. 
16-19 ;  Wellhausen  in  Bleek's  Einleittmg,  1878,  p.  335  j  Kuenen,  §  52.  12. 

C.  7-10  (excluding  lo^-^^)  form  a  second  group  of  prophecies. 
The  scene  described  in  c.  7  is  a  striking  one.  The  prophet  is 
commanded  to  station  himself  at  the  gate  leading  to  the  upper 
court  immediately  surrounding  the  Temple,  and  there  to  address 
the  people  entering  in  to  worship.  V.^  states  the  theme  of  his 
discourse  :  Amend  your  ways  and  your  doings^  and  I  will  cause 
you  to  dwell  in  this  place.  The  people  of  Jeremiah's  day, 
appropriating,  in  a  one-sided  sense,  Isaiah's  teaching  of  the 
inviolability  of  Zion,  pointed  to  the  Temple,  standing  in  their 
midst,  as  the  palladium  of  their  security.  The  prophet  indig- 
nantly retorts  that  they  mistake  the  conditions  of  security  (v.^^^i). 
So  long  as  the  people  follow  dishonesty,  immorality,  and  idolatry, 
Jehovah  will  as  little  spare  Zion  as  he  spared  Shiloh  of  old :  the 
fate  of  Ephraim  will  be  also  the  fate  of  Judah,  7I-20.  721-322  the 
subjects  are  substantially  the  same  :  the  people's  refusal  to  listen 
to  the  warnings  of  their  prophets,  their  persistency  in  idolatry, 
the  ruin  imminent,  the  foe  already  in  the  midst  of  the  land,  the 
vain  cry  for  help  raised  by  the  people  in  their  distress,  and  the 
prophet's  wail  of  sympathy.  In  c.  9  the  plaintive  strain  of  S^^^^^ 
is  continued :  the  prophet  bewafls  the  corruption  of  the  people, 


254  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

which  is  rendering  this  judgment  necessary,  g^-^  (the  refrain,  9^ 
as  5^-  29)  :  he  dwells  anew,  and  with  livelier  sympathy,  upon  the 
troubles  about  to  fall  upon  the  people,  910-26  j  he  bids  (lo^'^-^s)  the 
inhabitants  of  the  capital,  which  he  already  in  spirit  sees  invested 
by  the  foe,  prepare  to  depart  into  exile,  only  at  the  end  (lo-^*"-) 
supplicating  in  the  name  of  his  people  for  a  mitigation  of  the 
coming  disaster. 

[239]  The  date  of  this  prophecy  is  disputed.  Some,  arguing  from  its  position 
and  the  general  similarity  of  tone  with  4^-c.  6,  assign  it  to  the  same  period, 
before  Josiah's  i8th  year  (Hitz.,  Bleek,  £m/.  ed.  4,  p.  360,  Keil) ;  others,  on 
account  of  the  great  resemblance  with  26^"^,  regard  the  occasion  as  the  same, 
and  assign  it  to  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  (Ew.  Graf,  Nag. 
Kuen.  §  53.  6,  7,  Payne  Smith,  Cheyne,  p.  115,  Wellh.  op.  Bleek,  /.^., 
Delitzsch,  op.  Workman  [see  p.  269,  noU],  p.  xix. 

iqI'^^.  Against  idolatry.  The  "house  of  Israel"  are  warned 
against  standing  in  awe  of  the  idols  of  the  heathen,  which, 
however  splendid  and  imposing  in  appearance,  are  powerless  to 
defend  their  worshippers  (v.^**-) :  on  the  other  hand,  Jehovah, 
who  is  Jacob's  portion,  is  the  true  and  living  God. 

This  section  is  misplaced,  even  if  Jeremiah  be  the  author,  (i)  It  is  foreign 
to  the  context :  the  context  on  both  sides  deals  with  the  judgment  impending 
upon  Jerusalem,  and  the  people  arc  represented  as  already  abandoned  to 
idolatry,  in  particular,  to  the  worship  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven  and  Baal 
^^18. 31J .  iqI-is  deals  entirely  with  the  contrast  between  Jehovah  and  idols, 
and  warns  the  nation  against  learning  idolatry  (v. 2),  (2)  Jeremiah's  argu- 
ment is  "  Expect  no  help  from  vain  gods  ;  they  cannot  save  you"  (2^  ii^^j . 
here  the  argument  is  **  Do  not  fear  them,  they  cannot  harm  you."  And  yet, 
according  to  Jeremiah's  teaching,  at  the  very  time  to  which  from  its  position 
this  section  would  be  referred,  Jeremiah  was  prophesying  that  Judah  would 
shortly  be  ruined  by  a  nation  of  idolaters.  The  descriptions  in  v.^'^-  ^  imply 
that  the  "  house  of  Israel  "  addressed  is  in  the  presence  of  an  elaborate  idol- 
worship  carried  on — not  by  themselves,  but — by  the  heathen,  which,  they  are 
emphatically  taught,  deserves  no  consideration  at  their  hands.  The  situation 
is  that  of  the  exiles  in  Babylonia.  Either  (Bleek)  the  prophecy  belongs  to 
the  latter  part  of  Jeremiah's  career,  and  was  addressed  by  him  (cf.  the  letter 
in  c.  29)  to  those  of  his  fellow-countrymen  who  went  into  exile  in  597 ;  or 
(Movers,  Hitz.,  Graf,  Kuen.  §  53.  8,  9,  Ball,  p.  215  ff.)  it  is  the  work  of  a 
later  prophet,  writing  towards  the  close  of  the  exile,  when  (as  we  know  from 
II  Isaiah)  the  magnificence  of  the  Babylonian  idols  severely  tried  the  faith 
of  the  exiles:  both  the  descriptions  of  idolatry  and  the  argument  (*'Do  not 
stand  in  awe  of  the  idols  around  you ;  they  are  a  thing  of  nought ;  it  is 
Jehovah  who  made  heaven  and  earth")  are  in  II  Isaiah  (Is.  40^^*^-  41'- ^9 
44^'-"  46^''  &c.)  strikingly  similar.  In  the  phraseology  the  only  noticeable 
point  of  contact  with  Jeremiah's  style  is  in  v.^^,  omps  nyn  (p.  275,  No.  14), 


JEREMIAH  255 

V.^^  is  in  Aramaic,  with  certain  peculiarities  showing  that  its  author  must 
have  spoken  a  particular  Aramaic  dialect :  *  from  the  fact  that  it  interrupts 
the  connexion  between  v.^*^  and  v.^^  (for  v.^^  in  the  Hebrew  [240]  begins  with 
a  participle,  connecting  immediately  with  v.^"),  it  is  probable  that  it  was 
originally  a  note  written  upon  the  margin  of  v.^^^  as  a  comment — perhaps 
taken  from  some  independent  writing — on  the  argument  of  the  text.  Those 
who  attribute  it  to  Jeremiah,  generally  view  it  as  a  reply  with  which  he  pro- 
vides the  exiles,  to  be  used  by  them  when  invited  to  take  part  in  idol-worship  : 
Aramaic  was  understood,  and  used  both  commercially  and  officially,  by 
Assyrians,  Babylonians,  and  Persians  (the  inscriptions  referred  to  in  the  note, 
however,  have  regularly  M,  not  as  here  n,  for  the  relative  particle). 

C.  II-I2.  {a)  ii^-s.  This,  with  evident  allusion  to  the  law- 
book discovered  in  Josiah's  i8th  year  (v.^  "Hear  ye  the  words 
of  this  covenant":  v.^^  almost  verbatim  =  Dt.  27^6* :  with  v.^^ 
cf.  lb.  v.2<5b)j  relates,  no  doubt,  what  took  place  shortly  after  that 
event.  Jeremiah  was  instructed  to  go  and  "  proclaim "  (or 
"  recite  ")  "  in  the  cities  ofjudah  and  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  " 
(v.^')  the  words  of  the  covenant,  i.e.  probably  to  undertake  an 
itinerating  mission  in  Judah  for  the  purpose  of  setting  forth 
the  principles  of  Dt.,  and  exhorting  men  to  live  accordingly. 
{b)  ii^-i''  appears  to  describe  what  happened  some  time  sub- 
sequently— possibly  as  late  as  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim — when 
the  amendment  of  the  people  had  been  shown  to  be  superficial 
(v.i<^  "they  have  returned  to  the  former  iniquities  of  their 
fathers"),  and  when  the  prophet  accordingly  reaffirms  the 
sentence  of  judgment,  which  neither  his  own  intercession  (v.^*) 
nor  the  people's  hypocritical  repentance  (v.^^  R.V.  marg.)  will 
be  able  to  avert,  {c)  \-0^-\2^.  In  11I8--3  Jer.  relates  how  he  had 
been  apprised  of  a  plot  formed  against  his  life  by  the  men  of 

*  The  form  Npn«  occurs  in  the  Aramaic  inscriptions  on  weights  from 
Nineveh  of  the  8th  cent.  B.C.  {Corp.  Inscr.  Sent.  II.  i.  Nos.  i,  2,  3,  &c.), 
in  Mandaic  (Noldeke,  Mand.  Gr.  p.  73),  and  in  the  recently  discovered 
Inscriptions  from  Zinjirli  (near  Aleppo),  of  the  8th  cent.  B.C.  (together  with 

KpiD  =  »<!JiD,  cf.  ]i»-»,  Uc.  \.Heb.  Tenses,^  §  178]  ;  and  *pn  =  nsn  =  '(li5=  <*i  .)  : 
see  D.  H.  Miiller,  Die  Altsem.  hischr.  von  Sendsckirli  (1893),  pp.  41,  54; 
and  cf.  Noldeke,  ZDMG.  1893,  p.  96  ff.;  \kvt  jussive  without  f  (nnN')  in  the 
Aram,  of  Tema  {C.I.S.  ib.  No.  113a,  1.  14),  Egypt  {ib.  137  B^),  Nerab  near 
Aleppo  {Rev.  Sim.  1896,  p.  280 ff.),  and  Dan.  ^^  (cf.  the  same  form  in  the 
indie,  Ezra  4^^^  and  Miiller,  I.e.  p.  50) ;  nSx  (for  \h^)  iii  the  Nabataean 
Inscriptions  (Euting,  Nab.  Inschriften,  1887,  p.  77).  In  Din^  (with  m)  Jer. 
10^^  agrees  with  the  Aram,  of  Ezra  (which  has  m,  as  well  as  «,  while  that  of 
Dan.  has  n  only),  as  with  that  of  Egypt  {C.I.S.  II.  i.  145),  of  the  Nabataean 
Inscriptions  (Euting,  p.  77),  and  of  Zinjirli  (Miiller,  pp.  44,  50). 


256  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

his  native  place,  Anathoth,  and  the  judgment  which  he  had  pro- 
nounced upon  them  in  consequence:  12^-^  he  expostulates  with 
Jehovah  on  account  of  the  impunity  which  the  conspirators 
nevertheless  for  the  time  enjoyed,  and  demands  upon  them 
summary  vengeance :  in  reply  he  is  rebuked  for  his  impatience, 
and  reminded  that  his  faith  may  have  in  the  future  yet  greater 
trials  to  endure.  {d)  12^"^''  deals  with  a  different  subject, 
and  dates  probably  from  a  later  time,  when  Judah,  viz.  after 
Jehoiakim's  revolt  from  Nebuchadnezzar,  was  overrun  by  bands 
of  Syrians,  Moabites,  and  Ammonites  (2  Ki.  241^-),  alluded  to 
here  in  the  expression  "my  evil  neighbours,"  v.^*.  They,  as 
well  as  Judah,  are  threatened  with  exile ;  but  a  gracious  prospect 
of  restoration  afterwards  is  held  out  to  them  (v.^^^-),  if  they  adopt 
from  the  heart  the  religion  of  Israel. 

C.  13  contains — {a)  the  description  of  a  symbolical  act  per- 
formed [241]  by  the  prophet  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the 
corrupt  condition  of  the  people  and  its  consequences,  v.^"^^ ;  {b) 
a  parable,  declaring  significantly  the  disaster  about  to  come  upon 
them,  v.^2-14^  ^^^  a  renewed  exhortation  to  amendment,  v.'^^'^'^, 
followed  v.is-^'',  by  the  prophet's  lamentation,  as  the  dark  reality 
forces  itself  upon  him,  that  the  exhortation  will  only  be  dis- 
regarded. 

From  v.^8  "  Say  ye  to  the  king,  and  to  the  queen-mother.  Sit  ye  down 
lowly,"  it  is  generally  inferred  by  commentators  (Graf  and  Keil  being  nearly 
the  only  dissentients)  that  this  prophecy  belongs  to  the  reign  of  Jehoiachin, 
whose  mother,  Nehushta  (2  Ki.  24^),  is  also  specially  mentioned  in  another 
prophecy  of  Jeremiah's  22^^,  as  well  as  in  the  narrative  of  the  exile  of 
Jehoiachin  (29^ ;  2  Ki.  24^2. 15^^  gQ  ^^X  she  probably  exercised  some  unusual 
influence  at  the  time. 

14^-1718.  {a)  c.  14-15.  The  immediate  occasion  of  c.  14 
was  a  drought  (v.^-^),  which  was  viewed  by  the  prophet  as  a 
token  of  Jehovah's  anger,  and  elicited  from  him  accordingly  the 
supplication  following,  v.''-^ :  Jehovah's  answer  follows ;  and  the 
dialogue  is  continued  to  the  end  of  c.  15.  Jer.'s  intercession 
is  refused,  \/^^-^'^  (with  v."  comp.  7I6  ni*  •  with  v.12%  620b  ijiib); 
he  seeks  to  excuse  the  people  on  the  ground  that  they  have 
been  deluded  by  their  prophets,  v.^^  (cf.  5^^  514)  ^  ^^t  the  excuse 
is  not  accepted ;  prophets  and  people  must  perish  alike,  v.^"*"^^. 
In  more  beseeching  tones,  Jeremiah  renews  his  intercession, 
y  19-22  ^  \yyy^  jg  answcrcd  even  more  decisively  than  before :  Even 


JEREMIAH  257 

Moses  and  Samuel  would  not  avail  to  avert  the  coming  doom, 
or  undo  the  evil  which  Manasseh  wrought  for  Judah,  i^^-^  (with 
v.^  cf.  2  Ki.  2iii-i^  24^^-).  Hereupon  the  prophet  vents  his  grief 
and  despair  at  the  fate  which  (through  the  message  which  he 
bears)  obliges  him  to  encounter  the  hatred  and  ill-will  of  all  men, 
v.i^ ;  v.  11^-  Jehovah  reassures  him  :  the  time  will  come  when  his 
opponents  will  be  glad  to  implore  his  help,  crushed  by  the 
irresistible  might  of  the  "  iron  from  the  north "  (the  "  northern 
colossus,"  the  Chaldaeans) ;  *  once  again,  v.^^'^^,  he  bewails  the 
hard  fate  imposed  upon  him  of  having  to  predict  the  ruin  of 
[242]  his  country :  v.^^^^i  he  is  finally  taught  that  his  success  and 
happiness  depend  upon  his  abandoning  the  false  path  of  mistrust 
and  despair.  (^)  161-171^.  In  16^-17^  the  coming  disaster,  with 
its  cause,  the  people's  sin,  is  set  forth  in  still  plainer  terms 
than  in  c.  14  f.:  in  17^"^^  the  prophet  points  to  Jehovah  as  the 
sole  source  of  strength  in  the  hour  of  trouble ;  and  concludes, 
v.14-18^  with  a  prayer  that  he  himself  may  experience  Jehovah's 
salvation,  and  be  delivered  from  the  enemies  who  taunt  and 
persecute  him. 

The  intensity  of  feeling  which  Jeremiah  displays  throughout  14^-17^^, 
the  persistency  and  earnestness  with  which  he  steps  forward  again  and  again 
to  intercede  on  behalf  of  his  nation,  the  emphasis  with  which  the  doom  is 
declared  to  be  irrevocable,  authorise  the  inference  that  the  prophecy  belongs 
to  the  time  when  the  crisis  was  approaching,  z.e.  to  the  latter  part  of  the 
reign  of  Jehoiakim,  when  the  prophet  felt  moved  to  make  every  effort  to 
avert,  if  it  were  possible,  the  inevitable.  17"  has  even  been  thought  to  contain 
an  allusion  to  Jehoiakim's  unjust  and  avaricious  treatment  of  his  subjects, 
described  more  directly  in  22^^^* " ;  but  this  is  uncertain. 

C.  171^"'^''.  An  exhortation  on  the  Sabbath^  to  the  strict 
observance  of  which  a  promise  of  prosperity  and  the  continued 
existence  of  the  monarchy  (v.^^  :  cf.  22^)  is  attached. 

*  Such  is  the  most  probable  sense  of  the  difficult  v.^^  (Ewald,  Keil). 
V.^^-^^  [to  be  read  as  RV.  second  marg.\  as  they  stand,  must  carry  on  the 
same  line  of  thought :  Jeremiah's  enemies  will  be  taken  into  exile,  so  as  no 
longer  to  be  able  to  trouble  him.  But  the  thought  would  be  very  obscurely 
and  indirectly  expressed :  for  just  before  (v.")  the  pron.  of  the  2  ps.  denotes 
Jeremiah,  here  it  would  denote  the  nation,  to  the  exclusion  of  Jeremiah  ! 
There  is  high  probability  in  Ewald's  view,  that  v. ^2- 14  jg  accidentally  mis- 
placed, and  ought  properly  to  follow  v.^,  where  the  passage  is  in  harmony  with 
the  context,  and  where  the  change  of  person  would  be  far  less  abrupt  (comp. 
the  second  person  of  the  nation  in  -%% 


258  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

This  prophecy  is  unconnected  with  what  precedes  :  and  from  the  difference 
in  tone — for  the  doom  which  in  14^-17^^  is  declared  to  be  irrevocable,  is 
here  conceived  as  capable  of  being  averted,  upon  one  condition  being 
observed — it  may  be  inferred  that  it  belongs  to  a  different  and  earlier  period, 
perhaps  (Orelli)  to  the  time  of  Josiah's  reformation  (cf.  1 1^^-).  The  importance 
attached  in  it  to  the  Sabbath,  and  the  appreciation  expressed  in  v.^^  for 
sacrifice,  are  not  in  the  usual  spirit  of  Jer. ;  and  hence  several  recent  critics 
(including  Kuenen,  §  52.  16;  cf.  Cheyne,  Introd.  to  Is.  pp.  311  f.,  324) 
attribute  it  to  a  later  prophet,  belonging  to  the  age  of  Nehemiah  (cf.  Neh. 
jqSi  J215-22J  'pj^g  style  is,  however,  thoroughly  that  of  Jer.  ;  and  although 
no  doubt  Jer.  speaks  disparagingly  of  sacrifice  offered  by  impure  hands 
^5i9f.  ^9f.  21-26  1410-12^^  jt  jjj^y  ]3g  questioned  whether  he  would  have  rejected  it, 
when  (as  is  the  case  implicitly  in  17^^)  it  is  conceived  as  the  expression  of  a 
right  heart  (cf.  33" ;  also  Dt.  12",  Is.  56'  60'). 

C.  18-20.  Lessons  from  the  potter.  In  c.  18  Jeremiah  is 
made  to  teach,  by  observation  of  the  method  followed  by  the 
potter,  the  great  principle  of  the  conditional  nature  of  pro- 
phecy. The  doom  pronounced  against  a  nation  may,  if  the 
nation  alters  its  course,  be  modified  or  reversed :  God's  pur- 
pose, as  declared,  is  not  of  necessity  absolute  and  uncondi- 
tional, v.^"^^.  The  practical  application  follows :  the  Jews  are 
invited  to  amend  their  ways,  in  order  that  the  threatened  evil 
may  be  averted;  they  are  represented  as  declining;  and  the 
judgment  originally  pronounced  is  reafifirmed,  v.^^'^"^.  The 
people,  proud  in  the  possession  of  inviolable  privileges  [243] 
(v.  18),  resent  this  unwelcome  conclusion  of  the  prophet's,  and 
proceed  to  form  plots  against  his  life  (cf.  2610^-),  with  a  vehement 
prayer  for  the  frustration  of  which  the  chapter  closes,  vP-'^, 
This  prophecy,  in  which  the  fate  of  Judah  is  represented  as  still 
undecided,  and  as  depending  on  the  people's  choice,  would  seem 
to  be  earlier  than  14^-1 7^^,  where  it  is  treated  as  irrevocably 
fixed.  C.  19,  by  a  symbolical  act,  the  breaking  of  the  potter's 
finished  work,  the  earthen  bottle,  in  the  valley  of  the  son  of 
Hinnom,  the  conclusion  expressed  in  c.  18  is  repeated  and  re- 
inforced :  the  nation  has  reached  a  point  at  which  amendment 
is  no  longer  possible :  and  the  disaster,  when  it  comes,  will  be 
final  and  irretrievable,  v.^^^^  y.^^-i^  Jeremiah  repeats  in  the 
Temple  Court  the  substance  of  what  he  had  said,  the  con- 
sequence of  which  was  that  Pashhur,  son  of  Immer,  the  super- 
intendent of  the  Temple,  had  the  prophet  thrown  into  the  stocks 
till  the  following  day  :  after  his  release,  he  pronounces  upon  the 
entire  nation  formal  sentence  of  exile  to  Babylon,  20^-®.     The 


JEREMIAH  259 

incident  is  followed,  v.''"^^,  by  an  outburst  of  deep  emotion  on 
the  part  of  Jeremiah  (comp.  1510-15-18  iyi5-i8).  ^-^e  impulse  to  be 
a  prophet  had  been  an  irresistible  one  (cf.  Am,  3^) ;  but  he  had 
been  rewarded  by  nothing  but  hostility  and  detraction ;  and 
though  he  is  sensible  that  Jehovah  is  with  him  (cf.  i^^),  and  will 
in  the  end  grant  him  justice  against  his  persecutors,  he  still  can- 
not repress  the  passionate  wish  that  he  had  never  seen  the  light. 

C.  2ii-i<^  places  us  in  Zedekiah's  reign,  during  the  period 
(v.2)  when  Nebuchadnezzar's  troops  were  investing  the  city,  at 
the  end  of  Zedekiah's  ninth  year.  The  passage  contains  the 
answer  given  by  Jeremiah  to  the  message  of  inquiry  addressed  to 
him  by  Zedekiah  respecting  the  issue  of  the  siege. 

2 1 11-2  38.  An  important  group  of  prophecies,  containing 
Jeremiah's  judgments  on  the  successive  rulers  who  occupied  in 
his  day  the  throne  of  David.  21^^*1*  is  introductory;  22^-^  is  an 
admonition  impressing  upon  the  king  the  paramount  importance 
of  justice.  There  follow  the  special  judgments  on  the  kings — 
on  Shallum  (Jehoahaz),  v.i^"^^^  whose  exile  is  pathetically  fore- 
told; on  Jehoiakim,  whose  exactions  are  pointedly  contrasted 
with  the  fair  and  honourable  dealings  of  his  father  Josiah,  and 
for  whom  an  ignominious  end  is  predicted,  v.^^-^^;  and  on 
Jehoiachin,  whose  banishment  to  a  foreign  [244]  land  is  em- 
phatically announced,  v.^^"^^.  The  climax  of  the  entire  prophecy 
is  2^^-^.  V.^'2  is  a  denunciation  of  the  unworthy  shepherds — 
i.e.  rulers,  comp.  2^  lo^i — generally,  who  have  neglected  and 
ruined  the  flock  entrusted  to  them :  v.^^^  the  prophecy  closes 
with  a  promise  of  ultimate  restoration,  and  a  picture  of  the  rule 
of  the  ideal  Prince  of  Jesse's  line,  which  in  every  respect  forms 
a  contrast  with  that  exercised  by  the  imperfect  rulers  of  Jere- 
miah's own  day  (v.^^  the  opposite  of  22i3-  i7j  y.^*  the  opposite  of 
23^"^;  with  v.*  comp.  315). 

21 12  223'-  (implying  that  the  fate  of  Judah  is  not  yet  irrevocably  fixed) 
appear  to  belong  to  the  earlier  part  of  Jeremiah's  career  (cf.  17^5) ;  the 
judgments  which  follow  (as  the  terms  of  v.^^*- 1^-  ^^-  show)  must  have  been 
originally  pronounced  during  the  reigns  of  the  kings  to  whom  they  severally 
relate ;  the  whole  being  arranged  tc^ether  subsequently,  on  account  of  the 
community  of  subject. 

239-40  is  directed  against  the  prophets,  who  were  influential 
in  Jerusalem*  in  Zedekiah's  reign  (see  2714^-  281^'-),  and  who 
*  And  also  among  those  carried  into  exile  with  Jehoiachin,  29"-  ^^' 


26o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

represented  a  policy  the  reverse  of  that  counselled  by  Jeremiah, 
and  misled  the  people  by  false  promises  of  security.  Jeremiah 
denounces  them  with  much  vehemence,  charging  them  even  with 
immorality  and  profaneness  (comp.  29^3),  and  declaring  that 
their  unauthorized  prophesyings  will  avail  neither  the  people  nor 
themselves. 

C.  24  was  written  shortly  after  the  exile  of  Jehoiachin.  As 
has  been  said  (p.  248),  the  companions  of  Jehoiachin  included 
the  flower  of  the  nation :  among  those  who  were  left  in  Jeru- 
salem must  have  been  many  who  hitherto  had  occupied  a 
humble  station  in  life,  but  who  now  found  themselves  suddenly 
called  to  fill  state  offices :  these  in  many  cases  were  elated  by 
their  new  dignities  ;  and  proud  of  the  confidence  placed  in  them 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  they  treated  their  brethren  in  exile  with  no 
small  contempt,  declaring  loudly  that  "the  land  was  given  to 
them''^  (see  Ez.  ii^^  33^*)-  In  this  chapter  Jeremiah  passes  a 
comparative  estimate  upon  the  two  divisions  of  the  nation : 
und^r  the  significant  figure  of  the  good  and  bad  figs,  he  ex- 
presses emphatically  the  different  character  of  each,  and  the 
different  future  in  store  for  them. 

C.  25  belongs  to  the  critical  year  of  the  battle  of  Carchemish, 
the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  (b.c.  604).  In  it  Jeremiah  first 
[245]  declares,  v.^"^*,  that  Judah  and  the  neighbouring  nations 
must  fall  under  the  sway  of  the  king  of  Babylon  for  seventy 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  his  empire  will  come  to  an  end ; 
afterwards,  v.^^^^^,  extending  the  range  of  his  survey,  he  views 
his  empire  as  destined  to  embrace  practically  the  then  known 
world. 

It  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  v.^^""-  ^^  are  genuine  ;  nearly  all  modern 
critics  are  of  opinion  that  the  original  prophecy  has  here  been  expanded  by 
a  writer,  who  had  the  entire  book  (including  c.  50-51,  to  which  v.^^  alludes) 
before  him,  for  the  purpose  of  emphasizing  the  judgment  destined  to  fall  upon 
Babylon  ultimately :  cf.  pp.  270,  273. 

C.  26  is  assigned  to  "the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Jehoia- 
kim " :  no  doubt,  therefore,  it  dates  from  an  earlier  period  than 
c.  25.  It  recounts  Jeremiah's  attempt  to  lead  his  people  to 
better  counsels,  by  warning  them  that,  unless  they  amend  their 
ways,  Jerusalem  will  share  the  fate  which  overtook  Shiloh  of  old 
(cf.  c.  7) ;  and  describes  the  prophet's  narrow  escape  from  death 
in  consequence  of  the  indignation  aroused  by  his  words. 


JEREMIAH  261 

C.  27-29  belong  to  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah. 
C.  27  relates  how  Jeremiah  frustrated  the  attempt  made  by  the 
five  neighbouring  nations — Edom,  Moab,  Ammon,  Tyre,  and 
Zidon — to  induce  Zedekiah  to  join  them  in  a  league  for  the 
purpose  of  revolting  from  the  Chaldaeans :  it  was  the  design  of 
Providence  that  the  entire  known  earth  should  fall  under  the  rule 
of  the  king  of  Babylon ;  and  the  prophets  who  promised  the  speedy 
restoration  of  the  sacred  vessels,  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had 
carried  away,  simply  deluded  the  people  with  vain  hopes.  C.  28 
narrates  how  he  opposed  Hananiah,  who  was  one  of  the  prophets 
alluded  to  in  c.  27,  and  who  promised  the  return,  within  two  years, 
of  the  sacred  vessels  (the  loss  of  which  was  evidently  keenly  felt 
in  Jerusalem),  as  well  as  the  restoration  of  Jehoiachin  and  the 
other  exiles.  C.  29  contains  the  letter  sent  by  Jeremiah  to  the 
exiles  (who  had  been  disquieted  by  prophets  announcing  con- 
fidently their  speedy  return  to  Judah)  exhorting  them  to  settle 
down  contentedly  where  they  were,  to  "  build  houses,  and  plant 
gardens,"  for  no  restoration  would  take  place  until  the  seventy 
years  of  Babylonian  dominion  had  been  accomplished,  v.^^^^. 
This  letter  so  enraged  the  false  prophets  in  Babylonia,  that  one 
of  them — Shemaiah — sent  to  Jerusalem  with  the  view  of  pro- 
curing Jeremiah's  arrest :  the  failure  of  his  plot,  and  Jeremiah's 
reply,  form  the  subject  of  v.^^-^^. 

C-  30-33  embrace  Jeremiah's  principal  prophecies  dealing 
with  Israel's  restoration.  The  thought  has  been  expressed  be- 
fore incidentally  {e.g.  3^^'^^;  23^-^);  but  it  is  here  developed 
connectedly.  The  general  import  of  c.  30,  after  the  introductory 
words  v.i-*,  is  to  assure  Israel,  that,  though  the  present  distress 
is  severe,  the  nation  will  not  wholly  perish  :  in  due  time  it  [246] 
will  be  restored,  Jerusalem  will  be  rebuilt  (v.^^),  and  ruled  again 
by  an  independent  prince  of  David's  line,  who  will  enjoy  in 
particular  the  privilege  of  close  access  to  Jehovah  (v.^-  ^i).  In 
this  chapter  the  two  verses  ^^"^^  ( =  462'^-2^)  are  especially  notice- 
able :  the  title  of  honour,  "  My  servant,"  here  given  to  Israel  for 
the  first  time  (and  applied  to  the  actual  nation),  appears  to  have 
formed  the  basis  upon  which  II  Isaiah  constructs  his  great 
conception  of  Jehovah's  ideal  Servant  (p.  242).  C.  31  holds 
out  the  hope  of  the  restoration  of  Ephraim,  v.^-^,  as  well  as  of 
Judah,  v.io-14 .  at  present  Rachel  (the  mother  of  Joseph^  i.e. 
Ephraim) — so  the  prophet's  imagination  pictures  her — is  watching 


562  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

from  her  tomb  at  Ramah,  and  tenderly  bewailing  the  desolation 
of  her  children;  but  the  mother  may  stay  her  grief;  Ephraim 
will  yet  show  penitence,  v.^^-^o,  and  both  Ephraim  and  Judah 
will  return  together,  v.^i-^o.  There  follows  the  great  prophecy  of 
the  "New  Covenant,"  by  which  the  restored  community  will 
then  be  ruled,  a  covenant  which  is  to  consist  not  in  an  external 
system  of  laws,  but  in  a  law  written  in  the  hearty  a  principle 
operative  from  within,  filling  all  men  with  the  knowledge  of 
Jehovah,  and  prompting  them  to  immediate  and  spontaneous 
obedience,  v.^^-^*.  C.  32  describes  how  Jeremiah,  as  a  sign  that, 
though  the  exile  of  the  entire  nation  was  imminent,  the  Jews 
should  still  once  again  possess  the  soil  of  Canaan,  both  pur- 
chased fields  belonging  to  his  cousin  at  Anathoth,  and  took 
special  means  to  ensure  the  preservation  of  the  title-deeds,  v.^-^^  : 
V,  16-26  lie  records  how  his  heart  afterwards  misgave  him,  and 
V, 26-44  how  he  was  reassured  by  Jehovah.  In  c.  33  the  prophet, 
looking  out  beyond  the  troubles  of  the  present  (v.^^-),  depicts 
afresh  the  subsequent  purification  and  restoration  of  the  nation 
(note  v.  11,  the  reversal  of  7^*  16^  25^^),  v.^*^**^;  closing  with  a 
repetition  (in  a  slightly  varied  form  *)  of  the  Messianic  prophecy 
of  23^^-,  and  a  solemn  assurance  of  the  perpetual  validity  of 
Jehovah's  covenant  with  the  house  of  David  and  the  Levitical 
priests,  v.^**^^. 

[247]  C.  32-33  are  assigned  expressly  (32^  33^)  to  the  period  of  Jeremiah's 
honourable  confinement  in  the  "court  of  the  guard,"  i.e.  to  the  second  part 
of  the  siege,  in  Zedekiah's  tenth  year,  after  it  had  been  interrupted  by  the 
temporary  withdrawal  of  the  Chaldaeans  :  the  composition  of  c.  30-31  belongs 
probably  to  the  same  time,  though  from  the  tenor  of  30^  (*'  Write  thee  all  the 
words  that  I  have  spoken  unto  thee  in  a  book  ")  it  is  more  than  possible  that 
the  contents  had  in  part  been  originally  uttered  previously,  but,  as  32^ 
"then"  shows,  that  they  were  not  committed  to  writing  till  subsequently, 
probably  after  the  fall  of  the  city.  33"*^^  is  not  in  LXX  ;  and  the  majority 
of  recent  critics,  partly  on  account  of  the  prominence  assigned  in  it  to  the 
priests  (cf.,  however,  31^*),  partly  on  other  grounds  (see  Kuen.  §54.  21; 
Giesebr.  p.  183  f.),  question  Jer.'s  authorship  of  it. 

*  The  symbolical  name  "Jehovah  is  our  righteousness,"  which  in  23®  is 
given  to  the  Messianic  King,  is  here,  33^*',  assigned  to  the  restored,  ideal 
city.  The  name  is  intended,  of  course,  to  symbolize  the  fact  that  Jehovah  is 
the  source  of  righteousness  to  the  restored  community.  In  the  one  case,  this 
is  indicated  by  the  name  being  given  to  the  king  who  rules  over  it  (and  who 
therefore  is  doubtless  viewed  as  mediating  the  righteousness) ;  in  the  other, 
by  its  being  given  to  the  city  in  which  the  community  dwells  (cf.  Isa.  i^^). 


JEREMIAH  263 

The  chapters  which  follow  are  largely  historical,  though 
naturally  confined  to  incidents  in  which  Jeremiah  was  more  or 
less  directly  concerned. 

C.  34^"''  relates  the  message  which  Jeremiah  was  instructed  to 
bear  to  Zedekiah  respecting  the  future  fate  as  well  of  the  city  as 
of  the  king  himself. 

The  occasion  was  probably  during  the  first  investment  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Chaldseans  (Hitz.  Keil,  Kuen.  PS.),  a  little  subsequent  to  2ii-i<' ;  though 
others,  from  the  fact  that  the  prophecy  is  the  one  quoted  in  32^-^  during  the 
second  part  of  the  siege,  have  referred  it  by  preference  to  this  period  (Ew. , 
Graf,  Stade,  G.  i.  647). 

348-22.  'phe  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  under  pressure  of  the 
siege,  had  solemnly  engaged  to  emancipate  their  Hebrew  slaves ; 
but  afterwards,  when  the  siege  was  temporarily  raised,  had 
treacherously  disregarded  the  engagement.  Jeremiah  denounces 
them  for  their  breach  of  faith,  with  bitter  irony  proclaiming 
"liberty"  to  the  sword,  the  pestilence,  and  the  famine,  and 
declaring  that  the  Chaldaeans  will  ere  long  return,  and  not 
depart  until  they  have  reduced  the  city. 

C.  35-36  bring  us  back  into  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim.  The 
date  of  c.  35  is  towards  the  close  of  Jehoiakim's  reign,  when,  the 
territory  of  Judah  being  overrun  by  marauding  bands  (2  Ki.  24^), 
the  nomad  tribe  of  Rechabites  took  refuge  in  Jerusalem  :  Jere- 
miah, from  the  example  of  their  staunch  adherence  to  the 
precepts  of  their  ancestor,  points  a  lesson  for  his  own  fellow- 
countrymen.  C.  36  narrates  the  memorable  incident  of  the  fifth 
year  of  Jehoiakim,  when  the  roll  of  Jeremiah's  prophecies  was 
burnt  by  the  king  in  ^  fit  of  passion  (p.  249). 

C.  37-3828*  describe  Jeremiah's  personal  history  during  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldaeans  (comp.  p.  248  f.). 

3828'"-c.  43  state  particulars  respecting  the  events  of  Jere- 
miah's life  after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  the  favour  shown  to 
him  by  [248]  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  murder  of  Gedaliah,  and  the 
circumstances  under  which  the  prophet,  against  his  will,  was 
brought  into  Egypt :  43^'^^  is  a  prophecy  uttered  by  him  upon 
the  arrival  of  the  refugees  at  Tahpanhes  (Daphnae),  declaring 
the  future  conquest  of  Egypt  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 

3828b_29i4  connects  imperfectly  with  Z^'^^,  39^  going  back  to  the 
beginning  of  the  siege.  It  seems  (in  spite  of  its  being  in  the  LXX)  that 
39I-2  (which  cannot  be  legitimatelj^reated  as  a  parenthesis)  is  an  interpolation 


264  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

on  the  basis  of  2  Ki.  25^-  ^-  ^*.  39^""  is  omitted  in  LXX,  and  it  is  doubtful 
if  it  forms  part  of  the  original  narrative  :  the  connexion  of  v.*  with  v.^  is 
imperfect,  and  in  any  case  v.*"^^  is  merely  abridged  from  2  Ki.  25*"^^  (com p. 
esp.  V.8  with  2  Ki.  25®"^''),  according  to  the  purer  and  more  original  text  still 
preserved  in  Jer.  52'"^^.  Most  probably  the  original  text  had  only  38^^^  39^ 
[with  andiox  that,  as  in  the  Heb.]  v.^*  [Heb.  and  they  sent]:  these  words 
form  a  continuous  narrative,  the  particulars  in  which  are  not  borrowed  from 
c.  52  (so  Ew.  Hitz.  Graf,  Kuen.  Orelli, — Hitz.  and  Or.,  however,  including 
v."*-  as  well).  39I6-18  is  g,  supplement  to  c.  38,  promising  a  reward  to  Ebed- 
melech  on  account  of  the  services  rendered  by  him  to  Jeremiah. 

C.  44.  Jeremiah  here  rebukes  the  fugitives  in  Egypt  for 
relapsing  into  their  old  idolatries  :  they  excuse  themselves  :  the 
prophet,  in  reply,  repeats  his  previous  denunciations,  declaring 
that  of  their  entire  body,  a  handful  only  should  return  into  the 
land  of  Judah. 

C.  45  is  a  supplement  to  36^-^,  "  these  words  "  in  v.^  referring 
directly  to  the  roll  there  mentioned.  It  consists  of  a  short 
prophecy,  containing  words  of  mingled  reassurance  and  reproof, 
addressed  to  Baruch  in  the  depression  and  disappointment  which 
overcame  him,  after  writing  the  roll  of  the  4th  year  of  Jehoiakim, 
at  the  near  and  certain  prospect  of  his  country's  ruin.  He  is 
reminded  that  the  age  is  one  in  which  he  must  not  expect  great 
things  for  himself,  but  must  be  content  if  he  escapes  with  his 
bare  life. 

C.  46-5 1  form  the  book  of  Jeremiah's  prophecies  concerning 
foreign  nations,  grouped  together,  as  in  the  case  of  the  similar 
prophecies  in  the  Books  of  Isaiah  (c.  13-23)  and  Ezekiel 
(c.  25-32).  The  prophecies  are  closely  connected  with  c.  25 
(most  of  the  nations  to  which  they  refer  being  named  in  2^'^^-^^), 
and  no  doubt  in  the  first  draft  of  Jeremiah's  prophecies  (see 
p.  271)  immediately  followed  it.* 

C.  46.  On  Egypt.  This  falls  into  two  parts  :  (i)  v.^-^'^  an 
[249]  ode  of  triumph  on  the  defeat  of  Pharaoh  Necho  at 
Carchemish  (v. 2),  b.c.  604;  (2)  v.i^"^^  a  prophecy  written  in  the 
same  strain  as  v.^'^^,  foretelling  the  successful  invasion  of  Egypt 
by  Nebuchadnezzar. 

*  In  the  text  of  the  LXX  they  are  inserted  in  this  chapter,  after  25^^,  the 
words  in  25^^**  "which,"  &c.,  in  the  form,  "The  things  which  Jeremiah 
prophesied  against  the  nations,"  forming  a  superscription;  v.^^  being 
omitted;  and  v.^^  (in  the  form,  "  Thus  said  Jehovah,"  &c.)  ^^'^  follow- 
ing at  the  end. 


JEREMIAH  265 

Y  27f.  (words  of  reassurance  addressed  to  Israel)  are  all  but  identical  with 
30^°^-.  They  appear  to  imply  that  the  captivity  has  begun ^  and  it  is  at  least 
doubtful  (in  spite  of  3^^  16^'')  whether  Jer.  would  have  so  expressed  himself  in 
B.C.  604.  On  the  other  hand,  they  are  in  their  place  in  c.  30,  which  appears 
(p.  262)  to  have  received  its  present  form  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem.  Perhaps 
they  were  attached  here  subsequently,  either  by  Jer.  himself,  or  by  a  reader, 
or  editor,  of  his  prophecies. 

C.  47  is  directed  against  the  Philistines^  indirectly  also  (¥.■*) 
against  Tyre  and  Sidon  :  their  country  is  to  be  wasted  by  a  foe 
whose  attack  is  compared  to  waters  rising  up  out  of  the  north 
and  inundating  the  land. 

The  foe  meant  is  unquestionably  the  Chaldseans  (cf.  1320  25^  46^"),  and  the 
occasion  is  no  doubt  the  same  as  that  of  c.  46.  The  note  of  time  in  v.^*'  is 
obscure  ;  but  probably  the  allusion  is  to  a  capture  of  Gaza  by  the  Egyptians 
not  otherwise  known  to  us,  either  on  their  retreat  from  Carchemish,  or 
possibly  in  connexion  with  the  movements  mentioned  in  37^.  The  note  may^ 
however,  be  due  to  one  who  supposed  the  Egyptians  to  be  meant  in  \.^. 

C.  48  is  a  long  prophecy  directed  against  Moab,  for  the 
inhabitants  of  which  desolation  and  exile  are  foretold.  The 
prophet  develops  his  theme  in  considerable  detail,  in  connexion 
with  the  topography  of  Moab  :  he  closes,  v.'*^,  with  a  prospect  of 
restoration  in  the  future. 

The  prophecy,  in  v.^-  -^'^j  has  numerous  reminiscences  from  Isaiah's 
prophecy  (c.  15-16)  on  the  same  nation  (see  RV.  marg.),  but  the  style  and 
manner  of  the  whole  are  very  different :  the  treatment  is  more  diffuse  ;  and  it 
is  marked  by  greater  vehemence  {e.g.  v.^"-  ^off-  26. 39 j^ 

49^-^  is  on  the  Ammonites,  a  prophecy  of  similar  import  to 
that  on  Moab,  but  briefer ;  vj-'^'^  is  on  Edom,  whose  mountain 
defences  will  form  no  protection  against  the  attack  of  the 
Chaldaean  king  (figured  by  the  "  lion  "  of  v.^^,  and  the  "  eagle" 
of  V.22) ;  ^fP-'^^  is  on  Damascus,  whose  warriors,  when  the 
critical  moment  arrives,  will  be  seized  with  panic,  and  perish 
helplessly  in  the  streets ;  v.^^-ss  ig  on  the  great  pastoral  (Is.  42^1 
60^)  tribe  of  Kedar,  who  are  to  be  rudely  disturbed  in  their 
security,  and  scattered  "  to  every  wind  "  by  Nebuchadnezzar ; 
y  34-39  is  on  Elam  (assigned  by  the  title  to  the  beginning  of  the 
reign  of  Zedekiah),  against  which  a  fate  similar  to  that  of  Kedar 
is  predicted. 

[250]  It  is  probable  that  all  these  prophecies,  except  the  last,  belong  to 
the  4th  year  of  Jehoiakim,  and  reflect  the  profound  impression  which 
Nebuchadnezzar's  victory  at  Carchfmish  produced  upon   the   prophet.     On 


266  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

the  remarkable  similarities  between  the  prophecy  upon  Edom  and  that  of 
Obadiah,  see  below,  under  Obadiah.  In  the  case  of  Ammon  and  Elam 
(496-  39)  the  prophecy  closes  with  a  promise  of  restoration  similar  to  that  given 
to  Moab  (48''7) :  comp.  12"'-. 

Schwally  and  Smend  (above,  p.  247)  argue,  upon  internal  grounds,  that 
c.  46-49  are  not  Jeremiah's :  Giesebr.  agrees  partly,  but  admits  c.  47,  and  a 
nucleus  in  462"^^  49''^^'  Against  this  view,  see  (at  length)  Bleeker  (above, 
p.  247),  who,  however,  allows  that  considerable  parts — viz.  46'*^*'*  ^"^^  48^'^- 
8-9. 14-47  4^6. 12. 14-17.  34-39_are  interpolated  ;  Cornill,  Einl.  §  21  (^  §  25).  9-10  ; 
Wildeboer,  §  13  (p.  251  f.).  Jeremiah  was  not  the  man  to  regulate  the  flow 
of  his  thought  by  literary  canons ;  and  care  must  be  taken  not  to  limit 
arbitrarily  either  the  terms  or  the  manner  in  which  he  might  express  himself. 

C.  50-51.  A  long  and  impassioned  prophecy  2ig2m.'=X  Babylon^ 
50^-51^^,  followed  by  a  short  historical  notice,  5i59-64a^  describing 
how,  when  Seraiah — probably  the  brother  of  Jeremiah's  friend 
and  assistant  Baruch — in  the  4th  year  of  Zedekiah  (b.c.  593) 
accompanied  the  king  on  a  journey  to  Babylon,  Jeremiah  sent 
by  his  hand  a  scroll,  containing  a  prophecy  against  the  city,  with 
instructions  to  read  it  upon  his  arrival  there,  and  afterwards  to 
sink  it  in  the  Euphrates,  as  a  sign  that  Babylon  would  sink  in 
like  manner,  and  not  rise  again.  The  prophecy  itself  (502^-) 
declares  the  approaching  capture  of  Babylon,  and  the  speedy  end 
of  the  power  of  the  Chaldaeans ;  the  time  has  come  for  the 
violence  done  by  them  to  Israel  to  be  requited  (5011^-  ^''-^o-  33f. 
^^5. 24. 34f.  44.  66^  .  ^  pcoplc  from  the  north,  even  the  Medes,  are 
about  to  be  "  stirred  up  "  (cf.  Is.  131^)  against  them  (5o'^-  9-  25. 4iff. 
^j2.  11.  20-23  [Cyrus]);  again  and  again  the  prophet  with  eager 
vehemence  invites  the  foe  to  begin  the  fray  (5014-16-  21. 26f.  ^iHf. 
2'^^-),  while  he  bids  the  exiles  escape  betimes  from  the  doomed 
city  (50^  516. 46f.  50^^  the  future  fate  of  which  he  contemplates 
with  manifest  delight  (502^- 13. 23f.  35-38.  46  ^jisf.  25ff.  soff.  33ff.  47ff.)^ 

It  does  not  seem  that  this  prophecy  (50^-51*^)  is  Jeremiah's.  The 
grounds  for  this  conclusion  do  not  consist  in  the  announcement  per  se  which 
the  prophecy  contains  of  the  end  of  the  Babylonian  power — for  this  was 
certainly  foreseen  by  Jer.  (25^^^  27'-  ^^  29^°) — or  in  the  phraseology,  which  has 
much  in  common  with  Jer.  's  ;  but  in  the  maimer  in  which  the  announcement 
is  made,  and  especially  in  the  contradiction  which  it  evinces  with  the  position 
whicli  Jer.  is  known  to  have  taken  in  the  year  to  which  it  is  assigned  by  51°^. 
( I )  The  standpoint  of  the  prophecy  is  later  than  Zedekiah 's  4th  year.  The 
destruction  of  the  Temple  is  presupposed  (50-^  51"-  ^^) ;  the  Jews  are  in  exile, 
suffering  for  their  sins  (50^'-  '•  i'-  ^  51^^-  "  hath  made  me  an  empty  vesseV) ; 
but  Jehovah  is  now  ready  to  pardon  and  deliver  them  (so^^-  ^  ^iSSb.  36)  .  ^j^g 
hour  of  retribution  is  at  hand  for  their  foes,  and  they  themselves  are  bidden 


JEREMIAH  267 

prepare  to  leave  Babylon  (see  the  passages  cited  above).  But  in  B.C.  593  it 
was  the  measure  of  Israels  wickedness  which,  in  Jer.'s  estimation,  was  not 
yet  filled  up  ;  the  Chaldseans  had  yet  to  complete  against  Jerusalem  the  work 
allotted  to  them  [251]  by  Providence  (c.  24,  &c. )  j  only  when  this  had  been 
accomplished  does  the  prophet  expect  the  end  of  the  Babylonian  monarchy, 
and  the  restoration  of  Israel  {25^2  27'  2^'^^).  Thus  the  situation  postulated 
by  the  prophecy — Israel's  sin  forgiven,  and  the  Chaldseans'  work  accom- 
plished— had  not  arrived  while  Zedekiah  was  still  reigning :  on  the  other 
hand,  the  coming  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  which  is  foremost  in  Jer.'s 
thoughts  throughout  the  prophecies  belonging  to  Zedekiah's  reign,  and  which 
he  views  as  necessarily  preceding  the  restoration,  is  here  alluded  to  as  past. 
(2)  The  point  of  view  is  not  that  of  Jer.  either  in  or  about  the  year  593.  At 
that  time,  as  we  know  from  c.  27-29,  Jer.  was  opposing  earnestly  the 
prophets  who  were  promising  that  shortly  Babylon  would  fall,  and  the  exiles 
be  restored ;  he  was  even  (c.  29)  exhorting  the  exiles  to  settle  down  con- 
tentedly in  their  new  home.  But  the  prophet  who  speaks  in  c.  50-51,  so  far 
from  counselling  patience,  uses  all  the  arts  of  language  for  the  purpose  of 
inspiring  the  exiles  with  the  hopes  of  a  speedy  release,  for  doing  which  the 
"false  prophets"  were  so  severely  denounced  by  Jer.  The  line  of  thought 
adopted  in  the  prophecy  is  thus  inconsistent  with  the  attitude  of  Jer.  in 
B.C.  593.  (3)  The  prophecy  is  not  a  mere  declaration  of  the  end  of  the 
Chaldgean  rule,  such  as  Jer.  undoubtedly  made  :  it  is  animated  by  a  temper, 
which,  if  it  be  Jer.  's,  is  not  adequately  accounted  for.  The  vein  of  strong 
feeling  which  pervades  it,  the  manifest  satisfaction  with  which  the  prophet 
who  utters  it  contemplates,  under  every  imaginable  aspect,  the  fate  which  he 
sees  imminent  upon  Babylon,  show  it  to  be  the  work  of  one  who  felt  far  more 
keenly  against  the  Chaldseans  than  Jer.  did,  who  indeed,  after  the  capture 
of  Jerusalem,  was  treated  by  Nebuchadnezzar  with  marked  consideration 
(c.  39,  &c.),  and  who,  even  when  in  Egypt,  still  regarded  the  Babylonian 
king  as  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  Providence  (43^°^-  44^**)-*  There 
breathes  in  this  prophecy  the  spirit  of  an  Israelite,  whose  experiences  had 
been  far  other  than  Jer.'s,  who  had  smarted  under  the  vexatious  yoke  of  the 
Chaldseans  (cf.  Is.  47^*-  52^),  and  whose  thoughts  were  full  of  vengeance  for 
the  sufferings  which  his  fellow-countrymen  had  endured  at  their  hands. 
Other  indications,  not  sufficient,  if  they  stood  alone,  to  authorise  the  con- 
clusion thus  reached,  nevertheless  support  it.  Jer.  is  not,  indeed,  like  Isaiah, 
a  master  of  literary  style  :  but  the  repetitions  and  the  unmethodical  develop- 
ment of  the  subject  which  characterise  c.  50-51  are  both  in  excess  of  his 
usual  manner.  Jer.  also,  it  is  true,  sometimes  repeats  his  own  words  (p.  276), 
but  not  to  the  extent  which  would  be  the  case  here  if  he  were  the  author  of 

On  the  whole,  the  most  probable  view  of  c.  50  f.  is  the  follow- 
ing.    The  notice  in  ^iss-s^a^  that  Jeremiah  took  the  occasion  of 

*  To  suppose  the  prophet  inspired  to  express  emotions  which  (to  judge 
from  the  general  tenor  of  his  book)  he  did  not  feel,  would  imply  a  very 
mechanical  theory  of  inspiration.      * 


268  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Seraiah's  visit  to  Babylon  to  record  by  a  symbolical  act  his  con- 
viction that  the  Chaldsean  dominion  would  in  time  be  brought 
to  its  end,  is  thoroughly  credible  :  it  is  in  accordance  with  Jer.'s 
[252]  manner  on  other  occasions  (13^^-  ig^^-  272^-):  and  a 
general  declaration  similar  to  that  contained  in  v.^^  jg  perfecdy 
consistent  with  Jer.'s  attitude  at  the  time  (25^2  29^0).  The 
prophecy,  50^-5  i^s^  is  the  work  of  a  follower  of  Jeremiah,  familiar 
with  his  writings,  and  accustomed  to  the  use  of  similar  phrase- 
ology, who  wrote  no  very  long  time  before  the  fall  of  Babylon, 
from  the  same  general  standpoint  as  Is.  132-1423  c.  40-66.  In 
a  later  age  the  prophecy  came  to  be  attributed  to  Jeremiah,  and 
was  identified  with  the  "scroll"  sent  by  him  to  Babylon.  In 
its  original  form,  the  notice,  51^^^*,  contained  no  reference  to 
50^-51^8,  but  only  to  the  words  written  on  the  scroll  sunk  in  the 
Euphrates,  v.^^  ended  at  "Babylon"  (in  the  Heb.  at  nSD  !?« 
iriN  :  notice  how  awkwardly,  in  the  Hebrew,  clause  b  is  attached 
to  clause  a)\  when  50^-51^^  was  incorporated  in  the  volume  of 
Jer.'s  prophecies,  v.^<^^  was  added  for  the  purpose  of  identifying 
it  with  the  contents  of  the  scroll.* 

The  superscriptions  to  the  longer  independent  prophecies  in  Jer.  's  book 
fall  into  one  or  two  well-defined  types,  from  which  that  in  50^  differs,  which 
would  agree  with  the  conclusion  that  the  prophecy  following  was  not  part  of 
the  original  collection,  but  came  into  Jer.'s  book  by  a  different  channel.  The 
usual  types  are  (i)  "  The  word  which  came  to  Jer.  from  Jehovah  (saying)  "  : 
7I  11^  18^  21^  25I  al.',  (2)  "That  which  came  (of)  the  word  of  Jehovah  to 
Jer. "  (p.  276,  No.  27) :  14^  46^  47I  49^4.  The  subject  of  a  prophecy  is  also 
sometimes  indicated  briefly  by  the  prep.  ^  :  23^  46^  48^  49^-  '•  ^'  ^^ ;  21^^  (?). 

In  51^  the  clause  "and  they  shall  be  weary,"  which  is  evidently  out  of 
place  where  it  stands,  is  repeated  from  v.^^ — either  through  some  error,  or 
(Budde)  by  the  compiler,  who  prefixed  it  to  the  note,  "  Thus  far  are  the  words 
of  Jeremiah,"  as  an  indication  that  he  understood  these  "  words  "  to  extend, 
not  as  far  as  v.^^"^^,  but  only  to  isy'i,  the  last  word  of  the  preceding  prophecy. 

C.  52.  Historical  account  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Chaldaeans,  and  exile  of  the  inhabitants. 

This  narrative  is  excerpted  by  the  compiler  of  the  Book  of  Jeremiah  from 
2  Ki.  24^^-25^''' — with  the  omission  of  2  Ki.  25^2-26  (which  had  either  not  yet 
been  introduced  into  the  text  of  Kings,  or,  being  simply  condensed  from  Jer. 

*  See,  further,  Tiele,  Bab. -Ass.  Gesch.  p.  481  f.;  and  the  careful  discussion 
of  Kuenen,  §  57.  Sayce's  reasons  {Monuments,  pp.  484  ff.,  521)  for  dating 
the  prophecy  before  561  are  far  from  cogent,  especially  as  he  now  {Acad. 
Sept.  7,  1895,  p.  189)  places  Kastarit  under  Esarhaddon  I.,  a  century  earlier. 


JEREMIAH  269 

40''"  4 1  ^"2-  "*•  42^  43^'''^*,  did  not  need  to  be  repeated),  and  the  addition  of 
Jer.  5228"^  (though  these  verses,  which  are  not  in  the  LXX,  and  the  chrono- 
logy of  which  differs  from  that  of  v.^^,  were  perhaps  not  introduced  till  a  later 
stage  in  the  redaction  of  the  book)  from  some  other  source — on  account,  no 
doubt,  of  its  containing  detailed  particulars  of  the  manner  in  which  Jer.'s 
principal  and  most  constant  [253]  prediction  was  fulfilled.  The  text  of  this 
section  has,  in  several  places,  been  preserved  here  more  purely  than  in  Kings. 

Tfie  two  texts  of  Jeremiah.'''  In  the  Book  of  Jeremiah  the  text 
of  the  LXX  differs  more  widely  from  the  Hebrew  than  is  the  case 
in  any  other  part  of  the  OT.,  even  in  Sam.,  Kings,  or  Ezekiel. 
In  the  text  of  the  LXX,  as  compared  with  the  Hebrew,  there  are 
very  numerous  omissions,  sometimes  of  single  words,  sometimes 
of  particular  clauses  or  passages,  there  are  occasionally  additions, 
there  are  variations  of  expression,  there  are  also  transpositions. 
The  number  of  words  in  the  Hebrew  text  not  represented  in  the 
LXX  has  been  calculated  at  2700,  or  one-eighth  of  the  entire 
book.  Very  many  of  these  omissions  are,  however,  unimportant, 
consisting  only  of  such  words  as  the  title  the  prophet  attached  to 
the  name  Jeremiah,  or  the  parenthetic  Saith  Jehovah^  &c. ;  but 
others  are  more  substantial,  as  lo^-^-  ^^  ii^'-^  (except  v.^^  "but  they 
did  them  not"),  29^*  (except  "and  I  will  be  found  of  you"),  ^^-^o 
2^14-26  394-13  ^228-30;  somctimcs,  also,  a  chapter,  though  the  sub- 
stance is  not  materially  altered,  appears  in  a  briefer  form  in  the 
LXX  (as  c.  27.  28).  The  most  considerable  transposition  is  in 
the  different  place  assigned  to  the  prophecies  on  foreign  nations 
(p.  264,  note) :  the  order  of  these  prophecies  among  themselves 
is  also  changed.  Different  causes  have  been  assigned  in  ex- 
planation of  these  variations.  By  some  they  have  been  attributed 
to  the  incompetence  and  arbitrariness  of  the  LXX  translators ; 
by  others  they  have  been  supposed  to  arise  from  the  fact  that 
the  existing  Hebrew  text,  and  the  text  from  which  the  LXX 
translation  was  made,  exhibit  two  different  recensions  of  Jeremiah's 
writings.  A  careful  comparison  of  the  two  texts  in  the  light  of 
{a)  Hebrew  idiom,  {b)  intrinsic  probability,   shows   that   both 

*  See  F.  C.  Movers,  De  utriusque  recens,  vatic.  Jeremice  Grcec.  Alex,  et 
Masor.  indole  et  origine^  1837;  Hitzig,  p.  xvff.;  Graf,  p.  xlff.;  A.  Scholz, 
Der  Mass.  Text  u.  die  LXX-Uebers.  des  Buches  Jer.  1875;  E.  C.  Work- 
man, The  Text  of  Jeremiah^  Edinburgh,  1889,  with  the  reviews  by  the  present 
writer  in  the  Expositor ^  May  1889,  and  by  H.  P.  Smith  in  the  Journ.  of 
Bibl.  Lit.  1890,  p.  107  ff.;  Kuenen,  §  58  (a  very  fair  and  impartial  state- 
ment of  the  question) ;  Giesebrecht,  pp.  xix-xxxiv ;  A.  W.  Streane,  The 
double  Text  offeremiah,  1896.      * 


270  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

these  views  contain  elements  of  truth,  though  neither  is  true 
exclusively;  the  variations  of  the  LXX  are  in  part  "recensional," 
i.e.  they  are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Hebrew  text  used  by  the 
translators  deviated  in  some  particulars  from  that  which  we  at 
present  possess ;  but  in  part,  also,  they  are  due  to  [254]  the 
faulty  manner  in  which  the  translators  executed  their  work.  The 
claims  of  each  text  to  represent  the  prophet's  autograph  have 
been  greatly  exaggerated  by  their  respective  advocates ;  *  on  the 
whoky  the  Massoretic  text  deserves  the  preference;  but  it  is 
impossible  to  uphold  the  unconditional  superiority  of  either.  To 
determine  which  readings  of  the  LXX  are  more  original  than 
those  of  the  Hebrew  is  often  a  task  of  no  small  difficulty  and 
delicacy ;  and  commentators  and  critics  differ  accordingly. 

It  is  obviously  impossible  for  the  writer  to  enter  here  into  details :  he 
must  content  himself  with  the  two  general  observations  (i)  that  there  are  cer- 
tainly many  individual  cases  in  which  the  purer  reading  has  been  preserved 
by  the  LXX ;  (2)  that  it  is  at  least  probable  that  there  are  passages  in  which 
the  text  has  been  glossed,  or  expanded,  in  the  Hebrew,  and  is  expressed  by 
the  LXX  in  its  more  original  form  (see  examples  in  QPB.%  Thus  in  c.  25 
words  are  omitted  in  LXX  in  v.  i- 2- 6- 7.  9. 11-13.  i4  (wholly)  is.  20.  24-26.  29.  33, 
With  respect  to  some  of  these,  opinions  may  differ  ;  but  v.'^"'^  "as  it  is  this 
day"  clearly  cannot  have  been  part  of  the  original  text  of  B.C.  604  (25^),  but 
must  have  been  added  after  the  fulfilment.  In  c.  27-29  the  omissions  in 
LXX  (or  additions  in  the  Heb.,  as  the  case  may  be)  are,  from  some  cause, 
peculiarly  numerous :  Kuenen,  §  54.  6,  here  prefers  the  LXX  almost  through- 
out (except  3410-12  LXX  =  2712-15  Heb.,  and  36  (29)  24-32^  where  the  translators 
have  entirely  missed  the  sense);  in  c.  27  W.  R.  Smith,  OTJC.  p.  113 fF. 
(ed.  2,  p.  104  ff. ),  also  urges  strongly  the  superiority  of  the  LXX  (cf.  p.  273). 

It  is  remarked  by  Kuenen  that  the  two  texts  of  Jer.  are  not  so  much  two 
recensions,  as  the  same  recension  in  different  stages  of  its  history.  The  dif- 
ferent positions  of  the  foreign  prophecies  in  the  two  texts  may  be  accounted 
for  by  various  hypotheses,  which  cannot  here  be  discussed  :  in  all  probability, 
however,  their  position  in  the  LXX  {in  c.  25)  is  less  original  than  their 
position  in  the  Hebrew  {after  it ;  cf.  pp.  271,  272). 

The  redaction  of  the  Book  of  Jeremiah,  though  details  must 
necessarily  in  many  cases  remain  hypothetical,  must  have  passed 

*  Especially  by  Graf  and  Keil  on  the  one  side,  and  by  Workman  on  the 
other.  The  last-named  scholar  has  formed  a  raise  view  of  the  method 
followed  by  the  translators,  and  has  made,  in  consequence,  the  great  mistake 
of  not  distinguishing  between  deviations  due  only  to  the  translators,  and 
those  having  their  source  in  the  MSS.  used  by  them  ;  thus  in  his  elaborate 
"Synopsis  of  Variations,"  the  majority  were  never  in  any  Hebrew  MS.,  but 
are  simply  imagiiiary  originals  of  the  translators'  paraphrases. 


JEREMIAH  271 

through  at  least  five  distinct  stages.*  The  first  of  these  stages 
will  have  been  represented  by  the  roll  of  Jehoiakim's  fourth 
year,  in  which  the  prophet,  dictating  to  Baruch,  committed  for 
the  first  time  to  writing  the  prophecies  delivered  by  him  during  the 
preceding  twenty-three  years  (above,  p.  249).  The  second  stage 
was  represented  by  the  roll  of  Jehoiakim's  fifth  year,  in  which  the 
same  prophecies,  after  the  first  roll  had  been  burnt,  were  re- 
written, with  many  additions  (36^2) :  this  roll,  it  may  be  reason- 
ably supposed,  embraced  (allowing  for  possible  glosses  and 
expansions,  introduced  subsequently)  1 1-2. 4-19^  ^  2-6;  7^-9^^; 
10I7-25.  11I-8.  ii9_i26;  21II-22I9;  c.  25;  461-4933.1  'Y\it  third 
stage  will  have  corresponded  to  the  title  i^,  and  have  included  in 
addition  the  prophecies,  delivered  during  the  seventeen  years  follow- 
ing, down  to  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  in  586  :  for  instance,  c.  13  ; 
21I-1O;  2220-238;  23^-^0;  c.  24;  c.  30-33  (in  the  main);  493*-39j 
^i59-64a^  In  the  fourth  stage,  the  narratives  relating  to  events 
after  B.C.  586  will  have  been  added,  viz.  38^^^  393- 1^,  c.  40-44  :  to 
what  stages  the  other  biographical  narratives,  viz.  c.  26,  35,  36, 
45  (relating  to  Jehoiakim's  reign),  and  c.  27-29,  34,  371-3828* 
2q15-18  (Zedekiah's),  are  to  be  referred,  must  remain  uncertain ; 
the  chronological  disorder  makes  it  improbable  that  they  were 
all  added  at  one  and  the  same  stage.  To  a  fifth  stage — spread, 
probably,  over  a  series  of  years,  and  not  completed  by  a  single 
hand — will  belong  such  additions  as  iqI-i^  5  0^-5 1^^;  29i"2-*"i3 
(yi.  2.  4-10  abridged  from  2  Ki.  2  5 1- 3- 4-12)^  c.  52  (the  historical 
appendix,  excerpted  from  2  Ki.  2418^-,  and  presupposing  con- 
sequently the  completion  of  the  Book  of  Kings),  as  also  the 
insertions,  or  glosses,  which  are  traceable,  with  greater  or  less 
probability,  in  various  parts  of  the  book  (cf.  pp.  270,  272  f.).  The 
fourth  stage  will  hardly  have  been  completed  till  towards  the 
close  of  the  exile,  and  the  fifth  not  till  considerably  later.  Some 
of  the  biographical  narratives  may  be  the  work  of  Baruch,  though 
he  will  hardly  have  been  responsible  for  the  imperfect  chrono- 
logical order  in  which  many  of  them  are  now  arranged.  The 
large  amount  of  variation  between  the  LXX  and  the  Massoretic 
text  constitutes  an  independent  ground  for  supposing  that,  in 

*  Cf.  Kautzsch,  Abriss  der  Gesch.  des  alttest.  Schrifttums  (above,  p.  3),  p. 
177  f.  (in  the  separate  reprint  of  1897,  p.  75  f.). 

t  Possibly  also  c.  14-17,  18-20  formed  part  of  the  same  roll  j  but  these 
prophecies  may  have  been  added  kfi  the  third  stage. 


2/2  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

some  cases,  the  writings  composing  the  Book  of  Jer.  circulated 
for  a  while  in  separate  small  collections,*  in  which  variations 
might  more  easily  arise  than  after  they  were  collected  into  a 
volume.  As  regards  the  position  of  individual  prophecies,  it 
seems  that  as  the  original  nucleus  (the  roll  of  Jehoiakim's  fifth 
year)  was  gradually  enlarged,  the  prophecies  relating  to  Judah 
were  placed  (as  a  rule)  before  those  dealing  [255]  with  foreign 
nations  (c.  25,  46^-49^3),  while  the  narratives  which  were  rather  of 
a  biographical  character  were  made  to  follow  c.  25,  the  foreign 
prophecies  themselves  being  kept  at  the  end.  C.  30-33  (pro- 
phecies of  restoration)  may  have  been  placed  where  they  now 
stand,  on  account  of  their  being  connected  (like  c.  27-29,  34) 
with  the  reign  of  Zedekiah :  c.  45  (supplement  to  361-^)  may 
have  been  placed  after  c.  37-44  (which  form  a  tolerably  con- 
tinuous narrative),  and  so  separated  from  c.  36,  on  account  of 
its  subordinate  character.  493^-39  (on  Elam),  though  belonging 
to  Zedekiah's  reign,  would  naturally  be  attached  to  the  other 
foreign  prophecies :  the  same  would  be  the  case  with  c.  50-5 1 
(Babylon).  Even  so,  however,  there  are  several  prophecies  of 
which  the  position  remains  unexplained :  it  is  clear  that  in 
many  particulars  the  arrangement  of  the  book  is  due  to  causes 
respecting  the  nature  of  which  we  must  confess  our  ignorance. 

That  the  text  of  Jer.  was  liable  to  modification  in  the  process  of  redaction 
may  be  inferred,  partly  from  some  of  the  variations  in  the  LXX  (cf.  p.  270), 
partly  from  other  indications.  Thus  2^^^  cannot  have  been  written  by  Jer., 
as  it  stands,  in  604  (25I),  but  must  have  been  added  by  one  who  had  the  whole 
book  before  him  :  for  "  even  all  that  is  written  in  this  book  "  presupposes 
a  prophecy  against  Babylon ;  and  c.  50  f.  (or  the  prophecy  implied  [256]  in 
^j59f.)  is  expressly  dated  some  years  afterwards.  And  the  verses  39^'*  ^"^^ 
being  abridged  ixora.  2  Ki.  25,  can  have  been  inserted  where  they  now  stand 
only  after  the  compilation  of  the  Book  of  Kings  was  completed.  And  this, 
if  2  Ki.  25^2"^^  formed  part  of  the  original  text  of  Kings  (p.  268  f. ),  was  sub- 
sequent to  the  composition  of  Jer.  40-43  ;  so  that  in  that  case  the  existence 
oi  siages  in  the  formation  of  the  present  Book  of  Jeremiah  will  be  palpable. 

It  ought  to  be  stated  that,  in  addition  to  id^'^^  39'*' -"^  (p.  264),  50^-5 1^^ 
(which  are  generally  agreed  not  to  be  from  Jeremiah's  hand),  there  are  several 
other  passages  in  Jer. ,  mostly  short  ones,  which,  in  some  cases  on  the  ground 

*  Thus  c.  27-29,  to  judge  from  the  unusual  orthography  of  some  of  the 
proper  names  (n^DT,  not  in'DT,  and  some  other  names  similarly ;  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, not  as  commonly  (and  correctly)  in  Jer.,  Nebuchadrezzar),  probably 
have  a  history  of  their  own  (if  we  but  knew  it),  and  reached  the  compiler 
through  some  special  channel  (comp.  p.  270). 


JEREMIAH  273 

that  they  are  not  recognised  in  the  LXX,  in  others  on  the  ground  that  they 
are  repetitions  of  previous  passages,  or  that  they  interrupt  the  connexion,  or 
contain  ideas  foreign  to  Jer.'s  usual  point  of  view  (so  especially  1719-27  33"-20)^ 
are  considered  by  recent  critics  to  be  additions  to  the  original  text  of  the 
book.  Thus  Kuenen  (partly  after  Stade,  ZATW.  1883,  p.  I5f.,  Gesch.  i. 
646 f.)  treated  as  such  16^^^-  (§  53.  19),  i;!^-^'  (§  52.  15,  16),  29I6-20  (§  54.  6: 
not  in  LXX),  zo"'"'  (not  in  LXX)---4627f-  (in  LXX  :  §  54.  25  ;  56.  7),  3022-24 
("perhaps,"  §  54.  23  :  v. 22  not  in  LXX),  3i35-37  (§  54.  25),  332'-  (§  54.  20), 
33^^'^^  (§  54.  21  ;  not  in  LXX) ;  in  c.  25,  he  read  (§  56.  1-3)  v. i- 2.  ?•  Oa- "  .«rf 
[above,  p.  270]  20.24.25a  ^s  in  LXX,  omitting  besides  v.iib-i4.26b  (^.^-seb 
omitted  also  in  LXX) ;  in  27'^-  ^^- 1^-^'- 19-22  he  preferred  (§  54.  6)  the  shorter 
text  of  the  LXX;  he  regarded  923^-25!.  also  as  "very  doubtful"  (§53.  ii); 
and  allowed  (§  56.  9)  that  c.  48  might  be  in  parts  interpolated,  esp.  in  v.^^"*^ 
(v.40a^b.  41b.  45-47  not  in  LXX) ;  but  he  defended  (against  Stade)  317*-  (§  52. 
10),  520-22  {tb.),  3217-23  (§  54.  22).  The  two  most  recent  writers  on  Jer., 
Cornill  and  Giesebrecht,  go,  however,  much  beyond  Kuenen  in  the  assumption 
of  such  additions,  each,  namely,  rejecting  several  other  passages  independently, 
and  agreeing  in  the  case  of  i^  317^-  15II-14  i6i4f-  1712. 19-27  21 11-12  2319-20  3oiof.  22-24. 

3110-14.35-37    32lb.  2b-5.  17-23    3321.  lla^S     ("the    VoicC    of    them     .     .      .      hoUSC    of 

Jehovah"),  33^^-2^  A^""^'}  and  (largely)  in  25i-26  (Corn,  here,  in  particular, 
reads  v."**  as  in  LXX,  and  omits  v.  12.  i3b  (from  even  all)  "•  i8«'rf.  26b  .  Giesebr. 
reads  v.^i''  as  in  the  Heb.,  and  omits  v.^2-14.  i8«/ar.  26b) .  j^  c.  27  Corn,  omits 
(with  LXX)  v.*^  and  much  of  v. ^^"22,  while  Giesebr.  omits  v.'  only :  in  c.  29 
Corn,  omits  v. 2- 16-20  (not  in  LXX)  22-31  (from  saying  to  captivity,  saying), 
while  Giesebr.  retains  here  \^^-^^,  neutralizing  the  difficulty  which  these 
verses  occasion  by  placing  them  (with  Luc.  and  other  MSS.  of  LXX)  before 
v.i^  In  view  of  the  omissions  and  variations  in  the  LXX,  and  of  the  dis- 
arrangement which  manifestly  prevails  in  parts  of  Jer.'s  prophecies  (pp.  269- 
272),  the  possibility  of  such  insertions  must  be  granted ;  though  it  may  be 
greatly  doubted  whether  there  are  sufficient  grounds  for  holding  them  to  be 
as  numerous  as  Corn,  and  Giesebr.  suppose  (cf.  Konig,  Einl.  §  65.  2b) :  it 
may  have  been  characteristic  of  Jer.  to  repeat  himself  (as  it  certainly  was  to 
be  diffuse),  as  well  as  to  follow  the  impulse  of  his  feeling  in  introducing 
passages  not  in  strict  logical  harmony  with  the  context.  The  decision  in 
individual  cases  is,  however,  sometimes  difficult,  and  hard  to  keep  free  from 
subjective  considerations.  In  c.  25  the  critical  verses  are  v. ^^■^4. 26b^  ^he  chief 
question  being  whether  the  original  prophecy  spoke  here  more  (Heb.  text) 
or  less  (LXX)  distinctly,  or  (Kuen.  Corn.  &c.)  not  at  all,  of  the  future 
close  of  the  Babylonian  empire  (cf.  p.  260) ;  in  27^^-22  (p^  270)  it  is  whether 
Jer.  foretold  the  restoration,  or  only  the  captivity,  of  the  furniture  and 
vessels  of  the  Temple,  which  had  been  left  by  Nebuchadnezzar  in  597. 

Jeremiah's  was  a  susceptible,  deeply  emotional  nature.  The 
adverse  course  of  events  impresses  him  profoundly;  and  he 
utters  without  reserve  the  emotions  which  in  consequence  are 
stirred  within  him.  The  trials  which  he  experienced  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  prophetic  ofiice,  the  persecution  and  detraction 


274  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

which  he  encountered  from  those  to  whom  his  words  were  un- 
welcome, the  disappointments  which,  in  spite  of  the  promises 
given  him  at  his  call  (i^^-^^),  were  nevertheless  his  lot  in  life, 
the  ruin  to  which,  as  he  saw  too  truly,  his  country  was  hastening, 
overpowered  his  sensitive,  highly-strung  organism  :  he  breaks  out 
into  bitter  lamentations  and  complaints,  he  calls  for  vengeance 
upon  his  persecutors,  he  accuses  the  Almighty  of  injustice,  he 
wishes  himself  unborn.*  Yet  he  does  not  flinch  from  the  call  of 
duty  :  he  contends  fearlessly  against  the  forces  opposed  to  him ; 
he  struggles  even  to  avert  the  inevitable.  Love  for  his  country 
is  powerful  within  him:  through  two  long  chapters  (c.  14 f.)  he 
pleads  on  behalf  of  his  erring  nation :  the  aim  of  his  life  is  to 
lead  his  people  to  better  things.  But  the  sharp  conflict  has  left 
its  scar  upon  his  soul.  Isaiah's  voice  never  falters  with  emotion  ; 
Jeremiah  bewails  with  tears  of  grief  the  times  in  which  his  lot  is 
cast ;  t  the  strain  of  his  thoughts  imparts  naturally  to  his  periods 
a  melancholy  cadence;  in  pathetic  tones  he  bids  his  country 
prepare  to  meet  its  doom.| 

And  thus  the  tragic  pathos  of  Jeremiah's  life  is  reflected  in  his 
book.  His  writings  disclose  to  us  his  inmost  thoughts.  And  as 
the  thoughts  of  an  emotional  spirit  resent  all  artificial  restraint, 
so  Jeremiah's  style  is  essentially  artless ;  its  only  adornment  con- 
sisting in  the  figures  which  a  poetical  temperament,  in  an  Eastern 
clime,  would  spontaneously  choose  as  the  vehicle  of  feeling. 
His  prophecies  have  neither  the  artistic  finish  of  those  of  Amos 
or  Isaiah,  nor  the  laboured  completeness  of  Ezekiel's.  In  his 
[257]  treatment  of  a  subject  he  obeys  no  literary  canons ;  he 
pursues  it  just  as  long  as  his  feelings  flow,  or  the  occasion 
prompts  him.  His  language  lacks  the  terseness  and  energy 
which  is  generally  characteristic  of  the  earlier  prophets  :  sentences 
are  drawn  out  at  greater  length ;  even  where  the  style  is  poetical, 
the  parallelism  of  thought  is  less  perfectly  sustained ;  and  there 
is  a  decided  tendency  to  adopt  the  rhetorical  prose  style  of 
Deuteronomy  {e.g.  c.  7,  11,  34,  44),  by  which  it  is  evident  that 
Jeremiah  is  greatly  influenced.  More  than  any  other  prophet, 
also,  Jeremiah  not  only  uses  favourite  phrases,  but  (like  other 

*  11^°  12^  jfioff.  j^i5-i8  igigff.  2o'ff- 14'f*. 

t  419  818-9^  io^9'^-  13"  239. 

XE.g.   626  729  givf.   22^0. -m..   cf.    3M.22  414  68  3 1 15-20.      comp.   further 

VVellh.  Isr.  u.  Ji'id.  Gesch.,  chap.  x.  (cd.  i,  pp.  103-106). 


JEREMIAH  275 

writers  of  the  Deuteronomic  school)  is  apt  to  7'epeat  clauses  and 
combinations  of  words,  and  sometimes  (p.  276  f.)  even  whole 
verses.  His  foreign  prophecies  (c.  46-49),  though  not  so  striking 
as  Isaiah's,  display  considerable  variety  of  imagery  and  expression, 
as  well  as  greater  poetic  vigour  than  most  of  his  other  writings. 
By  his  conception  of  the  "  New  Covenant "  (31^^"^*),  he  surpasses 
in  spirituality  and  profundity  of  insight  every  other  prophet  of 
the  Old  Testament. 

Expressions  characteristic  of  Jeremiah  : 

1.  D'i/n  shepherds,  fig.  of  kings  or  rulers:   2^  3^^  lo^^  12^°  22^2  231- 2- 4 

2^34-36  ^o^.  A  favourite  term  in  Jer.,  even  when  the  figure  of  the 
fliock  is  not  expHcitly  drawn  out. 

2.  The  type  of  sentence,    expressive  of  mingled   pathos  and  surprise  : 

V-nTi  .  .  .  DN  .  .   .   n  2l4-  31  84f-  19-  22  14I9  2228  49II  ;    cf.   30^. 

3.  nnit^D,  nuwD  backs ltdmg{s) :  2^^  322  (  =  Hos  14^)  5^  8^  14',  Hos.  11', 

Pr.  1^2 .  jn  the  combination  h^-w/'  niwr),  3^-  ^-  "•  12.  | 

4.  D'3S  n"?!  fjiy  n3D  to  turn  the  neck  and  not  the  face  :  2^  iS^'^  32^^-1 

5.  iDiD  np"?  to  receive  correction-.  -2?^  ^  728  1723  32^  35^^,   Zeph.   3^-', 

Pr.  133102432.1 

6.  n*?  '?y  rhv  lit.  to  come  up  upon  the  heart  (often  ||  to  remember) :  3^^  7^1 

195  3235  442ib^     Rare  besides,  Is.  65I',  2  Ki.  12^ 

7.  nnntr  stubbornness-.   3!^   724  913   nS   1310    1512    1312  231?^   Dt.   29I8, 

Ps.  Sii^.f     Always  followed  by  "of  heart ". 

8.  From  the  land  of  the  north  :    (as  the  place  whence  evil  or  invasion 

arises)  622  1022  tp^ :  from  the  north,  i^^  46  6^  1320  1512  4520  472 
5o3-  41  5i48  ;  cf.  lis  259-  26  466- 10-  24  .  (as  the  place  of  Israel's  banish- 
ment, whence  it  will  be  brought  back)  3^8  (cf.  v.i2),  i6i^  23^  318. 

9.  Men  (c'n)  of  Judah  and  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  :  4^  ii^-^  172^  iS^i 

3232  3513  3531.     Elsewhere  only  2  Ki.  232^:2  Chr.   3430,  Dan.  9'' 
(a  reminiscence  from  Jer. :  cf  323^). 
[258]  10.   '?nj  -^^v; great  destruction  :  4^  6^  14"  483  5022  5154^  ^eph.  i^^^.t 

11.  An  idea  strengthened  by  the  negation  of  its  opposite  :  422  724  211"  [for 

evil  and  not  for  good  -.  so  39^6  442?,  Am.  9^)  246b  421°  (cf.  Ps.  28^). 
Cf.  above  No.  4.     Not  common  elsewhere. 

12.  nry  n'^D  to  make  a  full  end:  £^  51°-  ^^  30"  =  4628. 

13.  N'nD  (or  'DJN  njn)  'Jjn  Behold  I  bring  .  .  .\  ^^  (i^^  ii^i  193-  ^^  31^  35!' 

39I6  455  495^  I  Ki.  14I0  2x21,  2  Ki.  21^2  2216  =  2  Ch.  3424  (cf  above, 
p.  201,  No.  27).     In  other  prophets,  only  three  or  four  times  in  Ez. 

14.  [Dj'n-ip?  ny  the  time  that  I  visit  them  {thee,  hijn) :  6^^  49^  5o3i .  jj^  ^^ 

slightly  varied  forms  Dm;^?  ny  the  time  of  their  visitation,  8^2  iqI^  (  = 
5 1 18)  4521  5027 ;  Dmps  ri3B'  the  year  of  their  visitation,  \\-^  23I2 
48^^.1 

15.  2'nDD  nuD  Terror  on  every  side-,  (i^  2o3- 10  46^  492^,  Ps.  3iKt     Cf. 

Lam.  222  my  terrors  on  every  side. 

16.  vVy  'Dty  Nnpj  "iB'tt  fw^jr  which  my  name  is  called  i^va  token  of  ownership) : 

of  the  temple  or  city,«^i<'-  "•  "•  30  2520  323*  34I6  ;  of  the  people,  14* ,' 


276  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

of  Jeremiah  himself,  15^6,  Similarly  Dt.  2810,  i  Ki.  8«(  =  2Ch. 
633),  2  Ch.  f\  Am.  9I2,  Is.  63!^  Dan.  9I8.  i9  (the  original  meaning 
of  the  phrase  may  be  learnt  from  2  Sa.  12^  ;  cf.  Is.  4-^^).t 

17.  .  .  .  D3:pn  ri'smg  up  and  .  .  .  (speaking)  7^3  258  ^^u .  (sending)  7^5 

25*  26"  29^^  35IS  44^    2   Ch.    36^'';   (testifying)    ii'j   (teaching) 

32^.  r 

18.  The  cities  of  Judah  and  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  :  7^'*  3^  1 1^  33^*^  44^-  ^ 

(with  "  land  of  Judah  "),  17^^ :  streets  of  Jerusalem^  also,  5^  11  ^3  i^ie^ 
Not  expressions  used  by  other  prophets. 

19.  |m  ntsn  to  incline  the  ear :  "j"^-  ^^  nS  1723  254  3414  2515  ^^5  (j^o^  j^  dj-^^ 

or  in  any  other  prophet,  except  Is.  553). 

20.  Behold,  the  days  come,  and  .  .  .-.  f^  (f^  16^^  i(f  235- '  303  3127.  3i.  sa 

3314  4812  492  5147. 62,  Elsewhere  only  Am.  42  S^^  9^3,  i  Sa.  23i, 
2  Ki.  2o"  =  Isa.  39'. 

21.  The  voice  of  mirth  and  the  voice  of  gladness,  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom 

and  the  voice  of  the  bride  :  734  16^  2.^^  33I1. 

22.  D':n  pj/D  habitation  of  jackals  :  9"  (Heb.^°)  lo'^^  4933  5137.1 

23.  HNS  'JfiKp  corner-dipt  {i.e.  shaved  about  the  temples :   an  epithet  of 

certain  Arab  tribes) :  ^^  1^  4932. 

24.  A  verb  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  its  passive  :  11^^  (yiNi  'jynin) 

171420^  3i4-i8. 

25.  The  sword,   the  pestilence,   and  the  famine   (sometimes  in  changed 

order):  1412  2i7-9  2410  278-13  29"- is  3224.36  34I7  332  ^2"- 22  4413 ; 
the  sword  and  the  famine-.  512  1122  1413. 15. 16.  is  154  j82i  ^^^^ 
4412-18.27.  cf.  152. 
[259]  26.  Sv  ^P^3  '"n  Behold  I  visit  upon  .  .  .  :  1 122  232  2932  4525  50I8 
(^n).  The  verb  itself  is  also  much  more  frequent  in  Jer.  than  in 
any  other  prophet. 

27.  .  .  .  ^K  '"'  nm  rfn  nt^x  (a  very  peculiar  type  of  sentence :  Ewald, 

Syntax,  §  334*) :   14^  46'  47'  49''- T 

28.  pNH  niD^DD  '?d'?  myi"?  for  a  shuddering  unto  all  kingdoms  of  the  earth  : 

154  249  29I8  3417.     From.  Dt.  2822. 

29.  Sentences  of  the  type  "fishers,  and  they  shall  fish  them":  i6i^  23^ 

4812  512. 

30.  And  I  will  kindle  a  fire  in  .   .  .  and  it  shall  devour  .  .  .  :   172'*' 

211^^4927  5o32^  From  the  refrain  in  Am.  ii*,  varied  from  "And 
I  will  send,''  &c.,  Am.  i^-  7-  lo- 12  22-  s,  Hos.  81^.1 

31.  To  return  each  one  from  his  evil  way.  1811  25^  263  351^  363-',  Jon. 

38.  Cf.  I  Ki.  1333,  2  Ki.  1713,  2  Ch.  7",  Ez.  1322  33",  Jon.  310, 
Zech.  i". 

32.  His  {thy)  soul  shall  be  to  him  {thee)  for  a  prey  :  21^  382  39I8  :  cf.  45^ 

33.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  {often  +  of  hosts),  the  God  of  Israel:  a  standing 

formula  with  Jeremiah,  as  6^-  ^  73-  21  ii3  &c.,  but  extremely  rare  in 
other  prophets  (not  unfrequently,  without  of  hosts,  in  Kings). 
The  principal  cases  of  the  repetition  of  passages,  noted  on  p.  275,  are  the 
following  (sometimes  with  slight  variations  in  the  phraseology) : — ji*"'  and 

lg7b.  9b, J  18a.  19     j  rSO, 2}^\i     ^Tb, 228b     Ill3». 44b     2 1 12b. 46     51. i?^-  29    9^ 

(Heb.8). 613*15    81°'12. 622-34    co41*43^ 622b    2632b. 7I6    Ill4a, 723a.  24-25    ji4b. 


JEREMIAH  277 

8a.  7b^ 731-33    jg6.  6.  lib.  7b  _82b    154    2$^^ 8"    14^^^ 9^"^    (Hcb.^^"')    23". 

9^6b  (Heb.^Sb)  4937b__iol2-16  5il5-19._ii20  20^2  — ii23b   2312b   4844b   498b__i^2b 

4311b. _i5i3-i4  J73.4b_i6i4f.  237f-.— 1720  i93a._i725  22".— 198  49"  (Edom) 
5o^3b  (Babylon) ;  cf.  iS^^.— 21^  382.— 2i^3f.  ^qS"-.— 235^-  33151,. _23i9f.  30231.. 
_3i36f.  .  cf.   3325f.._462ib  5o27>'.— 48''o- 41b  4922.-4918  5040.— 

-4926    5030.— 50l3b    198    ^gn_^Q27b    4621b. _5o30    4926._^o31-32 
2il3-14._5o40    49l8._5o41-43    622-24.  _^o^-46    49l9-21._^i  15-19    iol2-16.       ScC    also 

above,  Nos.  21,  30.  It  is,  of  course,  a  question  whether  all  these  are  due  to 
Jer.  himself :  if  the  view  adopted  above  be  correct,  this  will  certainly  not  be 
the  case  with  those  in  c.  50-51  ;  and  probably  it  is  not  so  in  some  of  the 
others  as  well.  The  instances  of  the  repetition  of  shorter  clauses  and  phrases 
are  too  numerous  to  specify. 


CHAPTER  V. 

EZEKIEL. 

Literature. — H.  Ewald  in  Die  Propheten  des  AB.s  (vol.  iv.  of  the 
translation) ;  F.  Hitzig  in  the  Kgf.  Exeg.  Handb.  1847,  ed.  2  (rewritten) 
by  R.  Smend,  1880  [does  not  altogether  supersede  Hitzig's  work] ;  C.  F. 
Keil,  Der  Proph.  Ez.  1868,  (ed.  2)  1882;  C.  H.  Cornill,  Der  Proph.  Ez. 
geschildert,  1882,  and  Das  Buck  des  Proph.  Ez.  1886  (Prolegomena,  and 
apparatus  criticus^  remarkably  thorough  :  text  apt  to  be  arbitrary) ;  C.  von 
Orelli  (in  Strack  and  Zockler's  Kgf.  Kommentar),  1888 ;  L.  Gautier,  La 
mission  du  proph.  Ezech.  1891  ;  A.  B.  Davidson  in  the  Cambridge  Bible  for 
Schools,  1892  (to  be  recommended) ;  D.  H.  Miiller,  Ezechiel-Studien,  Wien, 
1894;  J.  Skinner  (in  the  "Expositor's  Bible"),  1895.  On  the  Temple  in 
c.  40-42,  &c.,  see  also  E.  Kuhn  in  the  Sttid.  u.  Krit.  1882,  pp.  601-688. 
The  Heb.  text  of  Ez.  is  often  corrupt,  and  needs  correction  from  the  LXX 
(cf.  QPB.% 

Ezekiel,  the  son  of  Buzi,  was  one  of  the  captives  *  who  were 
carried  with  Jehoiachin  in  597  into  Babylonia,  and  was  settled 
with  others  at  Tel-abib  (3^^),  by  the  river  Chebar  (i^-^  3^^  &c.). 
He  was  a  priest,  and  as  such  belonged  to  the  aristocracy  of 
Jerusalem,  who  formed  the  bulk  of  the  first  captivity  under 
Jehoiachin.  The  exiles  at  Tel-abib  must  have  formed  a  con- 
siderable community.  Though  their  circumstances  could  hardly 
have  been  affluent,  they  do  not  appear  to  have  been  in  actual 
want:  Ezekiel  lived  in  his  own  "house"  (3^^  8^  12^^-),  where 
the  elders  of  the  Israelites  are  represented  as  coming  to  sit  and 
listen  to  his  words  (8^;  cf.  14^  20^);  and  the  houses  of  others 
are  alluded  to,  33^^  (cf.  Jer.  29^).  It  was  in  the  fifth  year  of 
the  exile  of  Jehoiachin  (b.c.  592)  that  Ezekiel  received  his  pro- 
phetic call  (i^^-)^  and  the  latest  date  in  his  book  (29^^)  is  22 
years  afterwards  (b.c.  570). 

The  home  of  Ezekiel's  prophetic  life  was  thus  on  the  banks  of 

*  He  reckons  by  the  years  of  ''our  captivity,"  3321  40^  The  epoch  from 
which  the  "30th  year,"  i^,  is  dated,  is  uncertain. 

278 


EZEKIEL  279 

the  Chebar.  There  he  watched  from  a  distance  the  toils  closing 
round  Jerusalem;  and  there  he  declared,  in  every  variety  of 
symbolism  and  imagery,  the  approaching  fall  of  the  city,  the  ruin 
of  ancient  Israel  (c.  1-24).  Israel's  chief  crime  is  its  idolatry. 
[261]  This  has  vitiated  its  history  from  the  beginning  (c.  16.  20. 
23),  and  it  is  rife  in  it  even  now.  It  would  seem  that  in  this 
judgment  Ezekiel  is  not  wholly  just  to  the  past,  and  that  he  has 
transferred  to  it  unconsciously  the  associations  of  the  present. 
But  be  that  as  it  may,  the  corruption  of  Jerusalem  is  incurable 
now;  and  therefore,  as  he  repeatedly  insists,  Jerusalem  must 
perish.  But  even  the  exiles  fall  far  short  of  what  they  should 
be;  exile  has  not  yet  wrought  upon  them  the  moral  change 
(Hos.  2^^^-)  which  it  was  to  effect.  Hence  his  conviction  that 
further  judgments  were  imminent  for  them  in  the  future :  and 
his  anxiety  to  win  at  least  the  souls  of  individuals  (31^^-  33^^-), 
who  might  form  the  nucleus  of  the  purified  Israel  of  the  future. 
His  advances  were  received  with  coldness :  he  was  even,  as  it 
seems,  obliged  to  refrain  from  speaking  openly  among  the  exiles, 
and  to  confine  himself  to  addressing  those  who  visited  him 
specially  in  his  own  house  (3^^^- ;  cf.  c.  8.  14.  20),  until  the  fall 
of  Jerusalem  sealed  the  truth  of  his  predictions,  and  assured  for 
him  a  credit  which  otherwise  he  would  never  have  attained 
(2427  33^2).  The  antagonism  between  Ezekiel  and  the  exiles  is 
manifest ;  he  addresses  them  repeatedly  as  a  "  rebellious  house  " 
(see  p.  297).  How  they  felt  towards  him,  and  how  he  viewed 
them,  appears  further  from  such  passages  as  1221^-  141^-  2oi^-. 
Nevertheless,  like  Jeremiah  (p.  260),  he  fixed  his  hopes  for  the 
future  upon  them  :  Zedekiah  and  the  Jews  in  Jerusalem  he  gave 
up  entirely  (9'-*^-  c.  12.  ly^^^i  21'^^-'^'^  c.  22) :  the  exiles,  when  purged, 
would  form  the  foundation  of  a  better  Israel  in  the  future  (ii^''^- 
J722.24  2o37f.  3625ff.). 

The  Book  of  Ezekiel  consists  of  three  sections,  dealing  with 
three  different  subjects : — I.  c.  1-24.  The  approaching  fall  of 
Jerusalem;  II.  c.  25-32.  Prophecies  on  foreign  nations;  III. 
c.  33-48.  Israel's  future  restoration. 

The  dates  of  the  several  prophecies  are  in  many  cases  stated 
with  precision.  No  critical  question  arises  in  connexion  with 
the  authorship  of  the  book,  the  whole  from  beginning  to  end 
bearing  unmistakably  the  stamp  of  a  single  mind. 

I.  C.  1-24.  The  approacJwng  fall  of  Jerusalem. 


28o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

I.  C.  1-3-^.  Ezekiel's  call,  and  the  beginnings  of  his  ministry. 
In  c.  I  Ezekiel  relates  how  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  [262]  exile 
(=B.c.  592)  he  fell  into  a  prophetic  trance  or  ecstasy;*  and 
describes  at  length  the  vision  which  he  then  saw. 

Out  of  a  storm-cloud  appearing  in  the  north  there  gradually  emerged  the 
likeness  of  four  living  creatures  (cherubim),  each  with  four  wings  and  four 
faces,  and  all  moving  harmoniously  together,  v.^'^^.  Looking  more  closely, 
he  perceived  that  they  enclosed  a  kind  of  quadrangular  chariot,  resting  on 
four  wheels,  which  had  an  independent  motion  of  their  own,  though  always 
in  perfect  harmony  with  that  of  the  four  cherubim,  for  one  spirit  actuated 
both,  v.^^'^^ ;  the  four  cherubim  supported  on  their  heads  a  firmament,  v.^-"-'^ ; 
and  on  the  firmament  was  a  throne,  with  a  Divine  Form  seated  upon  it. 

It  is  the  supreme  majesty  of  Jehovah  which  thus  takes  shape 
in  the  prophet's  imagination ;  and  it  approaches  "  from  the 
north  "  (not  from  Zion),  as  an  omen  that  His  abode  is  no  longer 
in  the  city  of  His  choice  (cf.  also  Jer.  i^^-is)^ 

The  main  elements  of  the  symbolism  are  suggested,  no  doubt,  partly 
by  the  two  colossal  cherubim  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  partly  by  the 
composite  winged  figures  which  formed  such  an  impressive  feature  in  the 
palaces  of  Babylonia ;  but  the  prophet's  imagination — the  faculty  which, 
when  the  outer  senses,  as  in  an  ecstasy,  are  dormant,  is  abnormally  active — 
combines  the  materials  with  which,  while  in  a  waking  state,  observation  or 
reflection  had  stored  his  mind,  into  a  new  form,+  which  both  as  a  whole  and 
in  its  individual  parts  is,  no  doubt,  meant  to  be  significant  {e.g.  the  four 
hands,  one  on  each  side  of  each  cherub,  and  the  wheels  full  of  eyes,  to 
symbolize  the  universality  of  the  Divine  presence). 

2^-^.  Ezekiel  hears  the  voice  of  Jehovah  speaking  from  the 
throne,  and  commissioning  him  to  be  the  prophet  of  His  people, 
though  at  the  same  time  warning  him  of  the  opposition  and  ill- 
success  which  he  is  likely  to  encounter.  Nevertheless,  he  is 
bidden  not  to  fear ;  and  after  the  commission  to  preach  has  been 
repeated  to  him  in  a  symbolic  form,  2^-3^,  he  is  encouraged  with 
the  further  assurance  that  he  will  be  enabled  to  bear  up  against 
his  opponents,  ^^-'^'^  (comp.  Jer.  i).  Hereupon  the  vision  leaves 
him,  V.  12-14^  and  he  proceeds  to  the  scene  of  his  mission  among 
the  exiles,  v.^^.     After  seven  days  he  is  commanded  to  com- 

*  i"^**  "  the  hand  of  Jehovah  came  there  upon  him," — a  phrase  describing 
the  sense  of  overmastery  by  a  power  beyond  their  own  control,  of  which  the 
prophets  were  conscious  when  seized  by  the  prophetic  trance :  cf.  3^"*-  ^  8' 
3f'  37'  4o\  Isa.  8",  Jer.  15^  2  Ki.  3^5. 

t  Lee,  Inspiration  of  Holy  Scripture  (ed.  4),  pp.  173-183. 


EZEKIEL  281 

mence  his  ministry,  and  is  reminded  of  the  nature  of  the  [263] 
responsibility  placed  upon  him  :  he  is  a  "  watchman,"  appointed 
to  warn  every  sinner  of  the  danger  in  which  he  stands,  and,  in 
case  he  fails  to  do  so,  liable  to  bear  the  consequences  of  his 
neglect,  v.^^--^ 

2.  3'^^-c.  7.  The  impending  ruin  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem. 
^22-27^  Ezek.  in  a  second  trance  sees  again  the  same  vision  as 

in  c.  I.  On  account  of  the  temper  in  which  the  people  will  meet 
him,  he  is  released  temporarily  from  the  obligation  of  speaking 
openly  among  them  as  a  prophet  (cf.  2427  33^2). 

C.  4-5.  The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  portrayed  symbolically. 
(a)  4^'^  the  prophet,  representing  Jehovah^  lays  mimic  siege  to 
Jerusalem  ;  {b)  4^'^'^,  representing  the  people,  he  enacts  figuratively 
the  privations  undergone  by  them  during  the  siege,  and  the 
misery  to  be  experienced  by  them  in  exile  afterwards ;  {c)  ^-^, 
representing  the  city,  he  significantly  shows  how  the  inhabitants 
(symbolized  by  his  hair)  will  in  different  ways  be  scattered  and 
perish.  There  follows,  5^'^'^,  an  exposition,  in  unmetaphorical 
language,  of  the  guilt  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  judgment  im- 
minent upon  her. 

C.  6.  Ezek.  here  apostrophizes  the  land.  Not  the  city  only, 
but  the  land  of  Judah  generally,  has  been  desecrated  by  idolatrous 
rites,  which  can  effectually  be  rooted  out  only  by  a  desolation, 
and  depopulation,  of  the  entire  territory. 

C.  7.  A  final  denunciation  directed  against  the  kingdom 
generally,  describing  in  still  stronger  terms  the  certainty  of  the 
coming  disaster,  and  the  inability  of  prophet,  priest,  or  elder  to 
avert  it.  In  v.^"''-  ^^"^^  the  prophecy  assumes  a  lyric  strain,  such 
as  is  unwonted  in  Ezekiel. 

3.  C.  8-1 1.  Vision  of  the  guilt  and  punishment  of  Jerusalem 
(sixth  year  of  the  exile  of  Jehoiachin  =  B.C.  591). 

C.  8.  Ezekiel,  in  the  presence  of  the  elders,  who  are  sitting 
in  his  house,  falls  into  a  prophetic  trance,  and  is  brought  in  his 
vision  to  Jerusalem,  where  he  sees  different  forms  of  idolatry 
carried  on  in  the  precincts  of  the  Temple.  C.  9  the  threat  ex- 
pressed in  8^^  is  carried  out.  Jehovah,  having  left  the  throne 
borne  by  the  cherubim,  stands  at  the  entrance  of  the  Temple  to 
superintend,  as  it  were,  the  execution  of  His  purpose :  at  His 
command  His  ministers  pass  through  the  city,  and  destroy  all 
who  have  not  previously  l^en  marked  on  the  forehead  by  an 


282  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

angel  in  token  of  their  loyalty  to  Jehovah.  C.  lo  Jehovah  re- 
appears upon  the  [264]  throne,  and  commands  burning  coals, 
taken  from  the  fire  between  the  cherubim,  to  be  scattered  over 
the  city,  v.^-^.  He  again  leaves  His  throne  and  stands  beside 
the  Temple  while  this  is  being  done,  v^-^^,  but  resumes  His  seat 
as  soon  as  it  is  completed,  preparatory  to  taking  His  final  de- 
parture from  His  sanctuary.  He  pauses  for  a  while  at  the  east 
gate  of  the  outer  Court,  v.^^'^^^  C.  11  the  prophet  sees  25  men 
standing  in  the  east  gate,  who  "  gave  wicked  counsel  in  the  city," 
i.e.,  no  doubt,  who  were  planning  revolt  from  Nebuchadnezzar, 
confident  (v.^^)  in  the  strength  of  the  city  to  resist  reprisals. 
Their  confidence,  it  is  declared,  is  misplaced ;  for  the  city  will 
be  given  into  the  hands  of  its  foes,  v.  ^-12.  Even  as  Ezekiel 
spoke,  one  of  the  ringleaders  dropped  down  dead.  The  prophet 
(cf.  9^),  dreading  the  omen,  is  moved  to  intercede  on  behalf  of 
the  "  remnant  of  Israel,"  and  receives  in  reply  the  assurance  that 
Israel  will  not  perish :  the  exiles,  however  contemptuously  the 
Jerusalemites  may  view  them  (comp.  p.  260),  will  return  to  their 
former  home,  and  again  enjoy  the  tokens  of  Divine  favour, 
y  14-22^  After  this,  the  cherubim,  bearing  Jehovah's  glory,  finally 
leave  Jerusalem :  the  prophet  watches  them  in  their  course  as 
far  as  the  Mount  of  Olives,  when  the  vision  suddenly  leaves  him, 
and  he  awakes  from  his  prophetic  trance  to  find  himself  again 
among  the  captives  of  Tel-abib. 

4.  C.  12-19.  The  certainty  of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  its 
ground  in  the  nation's  sinfulness,  further  established. 

121-20.  The  exiles  descrediting  the  announcement  recently 
made  to  them  by  the  prophet,  he  firstly  (v.^-^^^)  enacts  in  their 
sight  a  dumb  show,  symbolizing  the  approaching  exile  of 
Zedekiah  and  the  people ;  and  secondly  (v.^^''-^)  represents  under 
a  figure  the  privations  which  they  will  suffer  during  the  siege  and 
subsequently. 

1221-1411.  On  the  prophets  and  their  announcements.  The 
non-fulfilment  of  oracles  uttered  by  the  false  prophets,  and  the 
fact  that  Ezek.'s  own  prophecies,  in  consequence  of  their  not 
relating  to  the  immediate  future,  did  not  admit  of  being  tested 
by  the  result,  led  the  people  to  distrust  all  prophecies.  But 
Jehovah's  word  will  not  fail  of  its  accomplishment,  1221-28;  the 
false  prophets  will  not  only  be  silenced  by  the  logic  of  facts,  but 
they  will  themselves  be  swept  away  in  the  coming  destruction, 


EZEKIEL  283 

1^1-16^  y  17-23  is  directed  against  certain  prophetesses,  [265] 
whose  influence  among  the  exiles  is  described  as  particularly 
pernicious.  The  prophets  alluded  to  are  no  doubt  those  who 
lulled  the  people  of  Jerusalem  into  false  security,  and  who  un- 
settled the  exiles  with  delusive  promises  of  a  speedy  return  (see 
Jer.  c.  28  ;  2g^^^'  &c.).  There  follows  a  specification  of  the  con- 
ditions (abandonment  of  idolatry,  and  loyalty  to  Himself)  under 
which  alone  Jehovah  will  be  consulted  by  His  people,  or  permit 
His  prophet  to  answer  them,  14^-'^'^. 

14^2-23^  An  exception  explained.  When  once  Jehovah  has 
passed  His  decree  against  a  land,  the  righteous  who  may  be 
therein  will  alone  be  delivered  :  *  in  the  case  of  Jerusalem,  how- 
ever, a  remnant,  against  this  rule,  will  escape,  in  order,  viz.,  by 
the  spectacle  of  their  godlessness,  to  satisfy  the  exiles,  among 
whom  they  are  brought,  of  the  justice  of  the  judgment  accom- 
plished upon  the  city  (cf.  12^^). 

C.  15-17.  Allegories,  exhibiting  from  different  points  of  view 
the  nation's  ripeness  for  judgment. 

C.  15.  Israel  is  compared  to  a  vine-branch — not  at  its  best 
the  most  valuable  of  woods,  and  now,  already  half-burnt  by  the 
fire  (alluding  to  the  exile  under  Jehoiachin) :  can  there  be  any 
question  what  use  will  be  found, for  the  remainder?  The  un- 
favourable comparison  is  suggested  by  reflection  on  the  history 
and  temper  of  the  nation  :  and  from  what  has  already  happened, 
the  prophet  asks  his  hearers  to  infer  what  the  final  issue  is  likely 
to  be. 

C.  16.  Jerusalem  an  adulteress.  Jerusalem  is  depicted  as  a 
woman  who,  in  spite  of  the  care  and  attention  which  Jehovah 
had  shown  toward  her,  v.^-^^  had  requited  Him  with  persistent 
ingratitude  and  infidelity,  v.^^'^W  and  has  merited  accordingly 
the  punishment  of  the  adulteress,  v.^^-*^.  In  her  sinfulness  she 
has  even  exceeded  Samaria  and  Sodom,  v.**'^'^ ;  so  low,  accord- 
ingly, has  she  fallen  in  Jehovah's  favour,  that  her  restoration  (for 
a  prospect  of  this,  however  distant,  is  still  held  out)  can  take 
place  only  a/^er  that  of  Samaria  and  Sodom. 

C.  17.  Zedekiah's  disloyalty  to  his  Babylonian  masters,  and 
the  consequences  which  may  be  expected  to  result  from  it,  v.^"^^. 
In  \.^'^^  the  circumstances  are  stated  in  the  form  of  an  allegory 

*  Cf.  the  theory  of  strict  (temporal)  retribution  expounded  in  c.  18. 
t  The  same  figure  as  in  Hos.  2'^-,  Jer.  2"^°^- 


284  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

(or  as  it  is  termed  in  v. 2,  a  "riddle"),  the  sense  of  which  is 
explained  in  v.^^-^i.  The  prophecy  closes,  v.  22-2-1^  with  [266]  a 
glance  at  brighter  days  to  come,  and  the  restoration  of  the 
Davidic  kingdom  in  the  future. 

C.  1 8.  The  moral  freedom  and  responsibility  of  the  individual 
before  God.  Ezek.'s  contemporaries  complained  that  they  were 
suffering  for  sins  committed  by  their  forefathers  :  "  the  fathers," 
they  said,  "  have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth  are 
set  on  edge."  The  prophet,  in  opposition  to  this  one-sided 
view,  expounds  a  strongly  individualistic  theory  of  retribution : 
every  one  is  rewarded  according  to  his  doings :  the  righteous 
man  lives,  the  unrighteous  man  dies, — each  entirely  irrespectively 
of  his  father's  merits  or  demerits,  v.^'^o.  Similarly,  the  wicked 
man  who  repents  of  his  wickedness  lives;  the  righteous  man 
who  turns  from  his  righteousness  dies,  v. 21-29.  The  practical 
lesson  follows :  let  each  one  repent  while  there  is  time :  for 
Jehovah  "hath  no    pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that  dieth," 


V. 


30- 


The  same  proverb  is  quoted  by  Jeremiah  {31-^'),  who  admits  that  it 
expresses  a  reality,  but  rests  his  hopes  upon  the  advent  of  a  better  future, 
when  the  conditions  of  society  will  be  so  altered  that  the  evil  consequences 
of  sin  will  be  confined  to  the  perpetrator,  and  not  extend  to  the  innocent. 
Ezek.  's  theory  is  prompted  by  the  desire  to  exert  a  practical  influence  upon 
his  contemporaries ;  hence  he  emphasizes  that  aspect  of  the  question  which 
they  neglected,  and  which,  though  not  the  sole  truth,  is  nevertheless  a  very 
important  aspect  of  the  truth,  viz.  that  individual  responsibility  never  entirely 
ceases,  and  that  the  individual  soul,  if  it  exerts  itself  aright,  can  emancipate 
itself  from  a  moral  doom  entailed  upon  it,  either  by  the  faults  of  its  ancestors, 
or  by  its  own  evil  past.  See  further  the  notes  of  Prof.  Davidson,  pp.  1,  li, 
124-134. 

C.  19.  A  lamentation  on  the  "princes"  (i.e.  the  Jewish 
kings),  and  on  the  fall  of  the  kingdom.  Two  other  allegories  : — 
(i)  the  Davidic  stock  is  likened  to  a  lioness  :  her  two  whelps  are 
Jehoahaz  (v.^-^)  and  Jehoiachin  (v.^^^),  whose  different  fates  are 
described,  v.^-^ ;  (2)  it  is  likened  to  a  vine  planted  in  a  fertile 
soil,  and  putting  forth  strong  branches  (the  Davidic  kings) ;  but 
now  the  vine  is  forcibly  uprooted  :  its  strong  rods  (Jehoahaz  and 
Jehoiachin)  are  broken  and  destroyed ;  it  is  itself  planted  in  the 
wilderness  (the  exiles  with  Jehoiachin) ;  and  fire  is  gone  forth 
out  of  the  rod  of  its  branches,  destroying  its  fruit  (the  suicidal 
policy  of  Zedekiah). 


EZEKIEL  285 

5.  C.  20-24.  The  same  theme  further  developed. 

20^-^^  (  =  c.  20  Heb.).  (the  7th  year  of  the  exile,  i.e.  the  4th 
before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  =  B.C.  590).  The  elders  of  Israel 
come  (as  14^)  to  consult  Ezekiel.  He  answers  them  in  similar 
[267]  terms :  while  Israel's  idolatry  continues,  Jehovah  will  not 
be  consulted  by  them.  This  answer  is  justified  by  a  review  of 
the  nation's  history,  showing  how  it  had  been  continuously  ad- 
dicted to  idolatry,  and  Jehovah  had  only  been  restrained  from 
destroying  it  by  the  thought  that,  if  He  did  so,  His  name  would 
be  profaned  in  the  eyes  of  the  heathen.  And  still  the  nation's 
heart  is  unchanged :  even  exile  has  not  eradicated  the  impulse 
to  idolatry ;  hence  iy.^^^-)  further  purifying  judgments  must  yet 
pass  over  it,  ere  Jehovah  (as  He  still  will  do)  can  acknowledge 
it  again  as  His  own. 

But  Ezekiel  sees  the  end  of  Jerusalem  advancing  rapidly ; 
and,  20^5-c.  24,  his  thoughts  turn  thither. 

20*5-49  (==21^-5  Heb.).  A  great  and  all-devouring  conflagra- 
tion is  to  be  kindled  in  the  forest  of  the  South  (the  "  Negeb," 
i.e.  the  southern  tract  of  Judah;  Gen.  12^  RV.  marg.).  The 
meaning  of  the  allegory  is  transparent. 

C.  21  (  =  21^*3"^  Heb.).  The  sword  of  Jehovah  against 
Jerusalem.  Jehovah  threatens  to  draw  His  sword  from  its 
sheath,  and  to  cut  off  from  Jerusalem  "  righteous  and  wicked  " 
alike,  v.^"''.  In  v.^"^^  the  sword  is  represented  as  already  drawn ; 
and  the  prophet  adopts  almost  a  lyric  strain,  as  he  pictures  its 
glittering  blade,  darting  hither  and  thither  about  the  gates  of 
Jerusalem.  Next  Ezekiel  imagines  Nebuchadnezzar  to  have 
already  started,  and  to  be  debating  whether  first  to  attack 
Jerusalem  or  Ammon  :  at  the  point  where  the  roads  diverge, 
he  consults  his  oracles;  the  lot  falls  for  him  to  proceed  to 
Jerusalem,  v.^^"^^ ;  and  the  prophet  describes,  not  without  satis- 
faction, the  consequent  abasement  of  the  unworthy  Zedekiah, 
y  24-27^  But  though  Jerusalem  suffers  first,  Ammon  will  not  long 
glory  in  its  escape :  in  vain  may  Ammon  furbish  its  sword  in 
rivalry,  as  it  were,  to  Jehovah's :  it  must  return  into  its  sheath, 
and  leave  Ammon  defenceless  before  the  foe,  v. 2^-32^ 

The  Ammonites  had  previously  {2  Ki.  24-)  co-operated  with  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, but  they  had  afterwards  intrigued  to  procure  a  general  insurrection 
against  the  Chaldsean  power  (see  Jer.  27^'-  ^),  and  now  were  acting  probably 
in  concert  with   Zedekiah.      It  was  doubtless  expected  in  Jerusalem  that 


286  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Nebuchadnezzar  would  attack  the  Ammonites  first :  Ezek.  declares  the 
speedy  advent  of  the  Chaldseans  before  Jerusalem.  V.^  alludes  to  the 
incredulity  with  which  his  prophecy  would  be  received.  The  general  sense 
of  the  sword-song  is  clear  ;  but  the  text  in  parts  is  very  corrupt  (esp.  v.^°-  ^^ 
[Heb.  15. 18]  :  see  QPB.^). 

[268]  C.  22.  The  guilt  of  Jerusalem.  The  prophet  draws  an 
appalling  picture  of  the  crime  rampant  in  the  capital ;  dwelling 
in  particular,  not  (as  c.  5,  16)  on  the  idolatry,  but  on  the  moral 
offences  of  which  the  inhabitants  had  been  guilty,  v.  1*22.  The 
corruption  extends  to  all  classes,  v.-^-^^. 

C.  23.  Oholah  and  Oholibah.  In  c.  22  the  prophet  drew  a 
picture  of  the  present  generation  :  here  he  draws  one  of  those 
that  had  passed.  Under  an  allegory,  similar  in  character  to  that 
in  c.  16,  he  describes  the  past  history  of  Samaria  and  Jerusalem. 
Jehovah,  in  Egypt,  took  to  Himself  two  women  who  were 
harlots  :  one  became  at  length  intolerable,  so  that  she  was  put 
away,  v.^'^^ ;  the  other,  instead  of  taking  warning  by  her  sister's 
fate,  excelled  her  in  unholy  practices,  v.^^'^^  (cf  Jer.  3^"-^-^)  :  she 
must  therefore  be  equally  punished,  v.^^-ss^  upon  grounds  which, 
that  none  may  doubt  their  sufficiency,  are  stated  again  at  length, 

y^  36-49^ 

C.  24  (the  ninth  year  of  the  exile,  B.C.  588,  the  loth  day  of 
the  loth  month,  being  the  day  on  which  Jerusalem  was  invested 
by  the  Chaldseans,  2  Ki.  25I ;  cf.  Zech.  S^^).  V.i-i*.  5y  the 
parable  of  the  rusty  caldron  the  prophet  sets  forth,  firstly,  the 
siege  now  commencing ;  secondly,  its  final  issue,  viz.  the  forced 
evacuation  of  Jerusalem  by  its  inhabitants  on  account  of  the 
defilement  which  they  have  contracted  through  their  sins. 

V.i^-^''  an  incident  in  Ezek.'s  family  life  is  made  the  vehicle 
of  a  lesson.  The  prophet's  wife  suddenly  dies  :  but  he  is  com- 
manded to  refrain  from  all  public  manifestation  of  grief,  in  order 
thereby  to  prefigure  the  paralysing  shock  of  surprise  which  will 
seize  his  countrymen  when  the  tidings  reaches  them  that  the 
city  to  which  they  still  turned  with  longing  eyes  has  really  fallen. 
And  when  this  has  taken  place,  the  truth  of  Ezek.'s  prophetic 
word  will  be  demonstrated,  and  the  need  for  his  enforced  silence 
(3^^^')  will  have  passed  away. 

II.  C.  25-32.  Prophecies  on  foreign  nations. 

Ezekiel,  like  Amos,  Isaiah,  and  Jeremiah,  embraced  other 
nations  besides  Israel  in  his  prophetic  survey :  but  his  point  of 


EZEKIEL  287 

view  is  one  peculiar  to  himself,  and  determined  naturally  by  the 
circumstances  of  his  age.  The  fall  of  Jerusalem  wore  the 
appearance  of  a  triumph  for  heathenism  :  Jehovah,  so  it  seemed, 
had  been  unable  in  the  end  to  defend  His  city :  the  nations 
around  viewed  Him  with  scorn,  and  His  name  was  profaned 
amongst  [269]  them.  To  reassert  the  majesty  and  honour  of 
Jehovah  by  declaring  emphatically  that  He  held  in  reserve  a 
like  fate  over  Israel's  neighbours,  is  the  main  scope  of  the  fol- 
lowing chapters.  Seven  nations  form  the  subject  of  the  pro- 
phecies, viz.  Ammon,  Moab,  Edom,  the  Philistines,  Tyre,  Sidon, 
and  Egypt :  most  are  comparatively  brief;  only  those  on  Tyre 
and  Egypt  being  more  elaborated. 

1.  25^"'^.  On  Ammon  (cf.  21^^'^^).  Though  the  Ammonites 
had  seemingly  combined  with  Judah  in  rebellion  against  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, when  Jerusalem  was  the  first  to  fall,  they  had  not 
delayed  to  give  malicious  expression  to  their  delight :  Ezek. 
declares  that  they  shall  be  invaded  in  consequence  by  the 
"  children  of  the  east "  (Jud.  6^,  Jer.  49^^),  i.e.  by  nomad 
Arab  tribes,  who  would  plunder  and  appropriate  the  Ammonite 
territory. 

2.  25^-^1.  On  Moab.  A  similar  prospect,  upon  substantially 
the  same  ground,  is  held  out  to  Moab. 

3.  2  5 12-14.  On  Edom.  The  Edomites  are  charged  with 
taking  advantage  of  the  opportunity  of  Judah's  extremity  to 
pay  off  old  scores :  in  this  instance,  Jehovah's  vengeance  will  be 
exacted  of  them  by  the  hand  of  Israel  itself. 

4.  2^^^'^"^.  On  the  Philistines.  The  Philistines  were  always 
ready,  when  occasion  offered,  to  manifest  their  hatred  or  con- 
tempt (16'^'^'^'^)  for  Judah;  and  it  may  be  inferred  from  the 
present  passage  that  they  did  so  after  the  great  misfortune  which 
had  now  befallen  it.  For  this  they  are  threatened  by  Jehovah 
with  extinction. 

5.  26^-281^.  On  Tyre.  In  the  eleventh  year  of  the  exile, 
B.C.  586,  shortly  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  (alluded  to  in  26^). 

The  number  of  the  month  has  dropped  out  in  26^ :  it  must  have  been  one 
later  than  the  fourth,  the  month  in  which  Jerusalem  was  taken,  Jer.  52^'*. 
The  Phoenicians  appear  as  vassals  of  Nebuchadnezzar  in  Jer.  27^^*  {c.  593). 
Afterwards  they  carried  into  effect  what  they  were  already  then  planning, 
and  revolted — doubtless  in  concert  with  Judah  and  other  neighbouring  states. 
At  the  time  of  Jerusalem's  fall,  N||buchadnezzar  was  in  the  land  of  llamath 


288  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

(Jer.  52^) ;  and  he  must  soon  afterwards  have  begun  his  famous  siege  of  Tyre, 
the  commencement  of  which  Ezek.  here  anticipates,  and  which,  according  to 
Josephus  (quoting  from  Phoenician  sources),  lasted  for  13  years.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, though  he  must  have  seriously  crippled  the  resources  and  trade  of 
Tyre,  did  not,  as  Ezek.  himself  owns  (29^^),  succeed  in  reducing  it.  Tyre 
was  always  less  important  politically  than  commercially  ;  and  the  fame  which 
the  Tyrians  enjoyed  as  the  great  seafaring  nation  of  antiquity,  and  as  [270] 
owning,  moreover,  an  ancient  and  illustrious  city,  is  no  doubt  the  reason  why 
Ezek.  deals  with  them  at  such  length.  He  devotes  to  them,  in  fact,  three 
distinct  prophecies,  treating  the  Tyrian  power  under  different  aspects. 

(a)  C.  26.  The  rich  merchant-city,  which  rejoices  over  the 
ruin  of  Jerusalem,  and  hopes  to  turn  it  to  her  own  profit,  will 
feel  Jehovah's  anger :  the  nations  will  come  up  against  her  and 
destroy  her,  v.^-^,  even  Nebuchadnezzar,  with  his  hosts  and 
implements  of  war,  v.'''"^*;  the  tidings  of  her  fall  will  produce 
a  profound  impression  upon  the  seafaring  nations  of  the  world, 
V.  1^-21.  (d)  C.  27.  A  vivid  and  striking  picture  of  the  commercial 
greatness  of  Tyre,  soon  to  come  to  an  end.  Tyre  is  here  repre- 
sented as  a  sMp,  to  the  equipment  of  which  every  quarter  of  the 
world  has  contributed  its  best,  which  is  manned  by  skilful 
mariners  and  defended  by  brave  warriors  (v.^-^^),  but  which, 
nevertheless  (v. 26-36)^  to  the  astonishment  a'nd  horror  of  all 
beholders,  is  wrecked,  and  founders  on  the  high  seas.  The 
figure  is  not,  however,  consistently  maintained  throughout ; 
already  in  v.^'^^-  the  language  shows  that  the  city  is  in  the 
prophet's  mind ;  and  v.12-25  jg  devoted  to  a  graphic  and  powerful 
description  of  the  many  nations  who  flocked  to  Tyre  with  their 
different  wares.  The  contrast  between  the  splendour  depicted 
in  v.i-25  and  the  ruin  of  v.^^ff-  is  tragically  conceived.  The 
chapter  is  one  of  peculiar  archaeological  and  historical  interest. 
(c)  281-1^.  Against  the  king  of  Tyre.  The  king  of  Tyre  is  repre- 
sented as  claiming  to  be  a  god,  and  to  possess  Divine  pre- 
rogatives; but  he  will  be  powerless,  Ezek.  declares,  in  the  day 
when  the  nations,  at  Jehovah's  summons,  advance  against  him, 
v.i'^o.  In  a  second  paragraph  Ezek.,  with  sarcastic  allusion  to 
these  pretensions  of  the  Tyrian  king,  describes  him  as  a  glorious 
being,*  decked  with  gold  and  precious  ornaments,  and  placed 
in  Eden,  the  garden  of  God  (or,  of  the  gods) ;  but  now,  for  his 
crimes,  to  be  expelled  from  his  proud  position,  and  made  a 
mockery  to  all  men,  v.^^^^^. 

*  In  the  Heb.  text,  a  cherub.     But  see  Davidson's  notes. 


EZEKIEL  289 

6.  2820"^^  On  Sidon.  A  short  prophecy,  threatening  Sidon 
with  siege  and  invasion,  and  closing  with  a  promise  addressed  to 
Israel. 

7.  C.  29-32.  A  group  of  six  prophecies  on  Egypt. 
Zedekiah's  revolt  from  the  Chaldseans  had  been  accompHshed  in  reliance 

upon  Egyptian  help  (17^^)  ;  but  the  army  which  they  despatched  to  the  relief 
of  Jerusalem,  and  which  even  necessitated  Nebuchadnezzar's  raising  the  [271] 
siege  (Jer.  2,1^^'  34^"' )>  speedily  withdrew  :  and  the  Chaldseans,  as  Jer.  foresaw 
would  be  the  case,  reinvested  the  city.  Ezek.  here  declares  the  ignominious 
humiliation  of  the  boastful,  but  incapable  power  (cf  Is.  30'^),  which  had  so 
often  exerted  a  seductive  influence  over  Israel,  but  had  ever  failed  it  in  the 
time  of  need, 

(a)  C.  29^-1^  (loth  month  of  the  loth  year  of  the  exile,  6 
months  before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem).  The  humiliation  of  Egypt. 
Pharaoh  Hophra,  king  of  Egypt,  is  figured  as  a  river-monster 
(the  crocodile),  secure  in  its  native  haunts,  but  soon  to  be  drawn 
thence  by  Jehovah,  and  left  to  perish  miserably  on  the  open 
field,  v.i-''.  An  invading  foe  will  depopulate  Egypt;  and  the 
country  will  be  desolate  for  40  years,  v.^'^^  ^  ^X  the  end  of  that 
time  the  Egyptian  exiles  will  return,  and  a  new  Egyptian  king- 
dom will  be  established,  but  one  too  weak  and  unimportant  to 
inspire  Israel  again  with  false  confidence,  v.^^-ie^  (^)  29^^-21.  An 
appendix  to  v.^^^*^,  added  16  years  afterwards,  in  the  27  th  year  of 
the  exile  (  =  b.c.  570).  Nebuchadnezzar,  though  in  his  attack 
upon  Tyre  he  was  carrying  out  Jehovah's  purpose  (cf.  Jer.  25^), 
had  failed  to  capture  it;  and  the  conquest  of  Egypt  is  here 
promised  him  as  compensation  for  his  unrewarded  service,  {c) 
3oi"i^  (sequel  to  29^-1^).  The  ruin  imminent  upon  Egypt  will 
affect  the  nation  in  its  entirety :  her  army,  her  people,  her  idols, 
her  cities,  will  all  suffer  alike,  {d)  t^o'^^-'^^  (first  month  of  the 
nth  year  of  the  exile,  i.e.  3  months  before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem). 
Ezek.,  alluding  to  the  recent  failure  of  the  Egyptian  army  to 
relieve  Jerusalem  (v.^i-  22  the  "  broken  arm  "),  predicts  for  Egypt 
still  further  disaster,  {e)  C.  31  (3rd  month  of  the  nth  year 
of  the  exile,  5  weeks  before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem).  The  proud 
cedar-tree.  The  king  of  Egypt  in  his  greatness  is  compared  to 
a  spreading  and  majestic  cedar :  the  fall  of  this  cedar,  and  the 
dismay  which  it  will  occasion  in  the  world,  are  picturesquely 
described.  (/)  C.  ^2^-^^  (12th  month  of  the  12th  year  of  the 
exile,  i.e.  20  months  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  b.c.  584).  A 
lamentation  on  Egypt's  approaching  disgrace.     Pharaoh,  repre- 


290  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

senting  Egypt,  is  compared,  as  in  c.  29,  to  a  crocodile  dragged 
far  from  its  accustomed  haunts,  and  cast  upon  the  dry  land  :  its 
giant  body  covers  hill  and  vale,  and  blood  streaming  from  it 
stains  the  earth :  heaven  and  earth  are  aghast  at  the  spectacle, 
fe)  32"^^-^2  (fourteen  days  after  v.^'^^ :  in  v.i^  "in  the  twelfth 
month  "  has  probably  dropped  out).  An  [272]  elegy,  describing 
the  final  end  of  the  king  of  Egypt  and  all  his  multitude.  Their 
corpses  lying  unburied  on  the  battlefield,  the  prophet  pictures 
their  shades  descending  to  the  under-world  (Sheol),  and  imagines 
the  ironical  greeting  which  they  will  there  receive  from  the 
various  peoples  who  once  spread  terror  in  the  earth,  but  who  now 
repose  in  their  several  resting-places  in  the  recesses  of  Sheol : 
Egypt  is  at  length  become  like  one  of  them. 

III.  C.  33-48.  Israel's  restoration. 

I.  C.  33-39.  The  land  and  people. 

C.  33.  The  prophet.  By  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  the  truth  of 
Ezek.'s  predictions  was  brilliantly  confirmed  :  the  exiles  would 
now  be  no  longer  unwilling  to  hear  him.  Accordingly  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  prophetic  office  is  again  (see  3^^"-^)  impressed 
upon  him,  v.^-^;  and  he  reaffirms  publicly  (v.^^)  ^jg  doctrine 
of  individual  responsibility  (see  c.  18),  with  the  object  of  show- 
ing that  no  one,  if  he  repents  in  time,  need  despair  of  the  Divine 
mercy.  These  truths  had  been  borne  in  upon  him  (v.^^)  during 
a  prophetic  trance  into  which  he  had  fallen  on  the  evening  before 
the  tidings  of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  reached  the  exiles.*  It  was 
the  crucial  date,  which  had  been  indicated  to  him  before  (24^^-27)^ 
as  that  after  which  his  mouth  would  be  no  longer  closed.  V.^-'^-^s 
is  directed  against  the  remnant  who  were  left  in  Judah,  and 
who  cherished  the  vain  hope  that  they  would  be  able  to  maintain 
themselves  there  in  something  like  their  former  state. 

C.  34.  The  advent  of  the  Messianic  kingdom.  The  respon- 
sible rulers  of  the  nation  have  woefully  neglected  their  trust. 
The  people  consequently  have  in  different  ways  suffered  violence, 
and  even  been  driven  forcibly  from  their  home :  Jehovah  Him- 
self will  take  them  by  the  hand  and  restore  them.  The  thought 
(and  figure)  of  Jer.  23I-*  is  here  developed  by  Ezek.  in  detail. 

C.  35-36.  The  land.  After  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  the  Edomites 
had  obtained  possession  of  a  portion  of  the  territory  of  Judah, 

*  In  V.21  read,  with  MSS.,  LXX  (MSS.),  Pesh.,  eleventh  for  twelfth-,  the 
tidings  of  the  fall  of  the  city  would  hardly  take  18  months  to  reach  Babylon. 


EZEKIEL  291 

and  manifested  an  ill-natured  delight  in  their  rival's  humiliation. 
The  prophet  declares  that  for  this  unseemly  ebullition  of  hatred, 
Edom  shall  become  a  perpetual  desolation  (c.  35),  while  Judah, 
which  is  now  the  reproach  and  derision  of  its  neighbours,  will  be 
repeopled,  and  receive  of  Jehovah's  hand  an  abundant  blessing, 
36!"^^.  In  36^^*2^  the  prophet  draws  out  the  ultimate  ground 
of  Israel's  restoration :  Israel's  dispersion,  viz.,  caused  Jehovah's 
power  to  be  doubted,  and  His  honour  sullied,  among  [273]  the 
heathen :  that  this  might  not  endure  for  ever,  but  that  the 
heathen  might  be  morally  impressed  by  the  spectacle  of  Israel 
regenerate  (cf.  Jer.  4}-^),  Jehovah  Himself  brings  His  people 
back,  at  the  same  time,  by  an  act  of  grace,  purging  its  guilt, 
imparting  to  it  a  new  heart,  and  ruling  it  by  His  spirit  (v.'^^"^''). 

C.  37.  The  people,  (a)  V.^-^^.  The  vision  of  the  valley  of 
dry  bones.  Israel  had  in  appearance  ceased  to  be  a  nation; 
the  people  distrusted  the  future,  and  had  abandoned  all  hope 
of  restoration  (v.^^^).  By  the  striking  symbolism  of  this  vision 
they  are  taught  that  God  can  endow  the  seemingly  dead  nation 
with  fresh  life,  and  plant  it  again  in  its  old  land  (v.^*).  (d) 
Yi5-28^  Judah,  however,  will  not  be  restored  alone ;  Ephraim  also 
will  share  in  the  blessings  promised  for  the  future;  and  both 
houses  of  Israel  will  be  united  in  the  dominion  of  the  Messianic 
king.  Jehovah's  dwelling  will  be  over  them,  and  the  nations 
will  acknowledge  His  presence  in  Israel. 

The  thought  of  the  restoration  of  Ephraim  as  well  as  Judah  occurs  fre* 
quently  elsewhere  in  the  prophets  (Hos.  i^^  3^,  Is.  ii^^,  Mic.  2^^  ^3^  jgj.^  ^^^ 
3i5ff-;  cf.  also  Am.  98*-  i«.^  Hos.  iiio*-  h^-^),  and  in  Ezek.  himself  (44-5 
(Orelli),  i653ff.  3711-14  3^25  ^^isff.)^    V. 27-28  is  a  prelude  of  c.  40  ff.  (esp.  437-9). 

C.  38-39.  Jehovah's  final  triumph  over  the  world.  Ezek. 
here  develops  in  a  new  form  his  fundamental  thought  that 
Jehovah's  "  name "  must  be  vindicated  in  history,  and  acknow- 
leged  in  its  greatness  by  the  nations  of  the  earth.  He  imagines 
an  attack  of  hordes  from  the  north,  organized  upon  a  gigantic 
scale,  against  the  restored  nation,  but  ending,  through  Jehovah's 
intervention,  in  their  total  and  ignominious  discomfiture,  38^- 
39^^.  The  spectacle  will  afford  ocular  evidence  to  the  world 
of  Jehovah's  power,  and  of  the  favourable  regard  which  He  will 
henceforth   bestow   upon   His   restored  and  renovated   people, 

The  imagery  of  38*^-  may  have  J^een  suggested  to  Ezek.  by  the  hordes  of 


292  LITERATURE  OF   THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Scythians,  which  had  poured  into  Asia  during  the  reign  of  Josiah,  spreading 
consternation  far  and  wide  (see  p.  252).  The  same  representation  of  an  ideal 
defeat  of  nations,  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  annihilating  Israel,  will  meet 
us  again  in  Joel  and  Zechariah.  Comp.  on  this  prophecy  C.  H.  H.  Wright, 
Biblical  Essays,  pp.  99-137. 

2.  C.  40-48.  The  constitution  of  the  restored  theocracy 
(25th  year  of  the  exile  =  572  b.c).  Ezek.  is  brought  in  a  vision 
to  Jerusalem,  where  he  sees  the  Temple  rebuilt.  He  describes 
at  length  its  structure  and  arrangements ;  and  lays  down  direc- 
tions respecting  its  services  and  ministers,  and  the  distribution  of 
the  reoccupied  territory.  Ezek.,  as  a  priest,  and  as  one  to  whom 
[274]  the  associations  of  the  Temple  were  evidently  dear,  attaches 
greater  weight  to  the  ceremonial  observances  of  religion  than  was 
usually  done  by  the  prophets ;  and  he  here  defines  the  principles 
by  which  he  would  have  the  ritual  of  the  restored  community 
regulated.  Both  the  arrangements  of  the  Temple  and  the  ritual 
to  be  observed  are  evidently  founded  upon  pre-exilic  practice, 
the  modifications  which  Ezek.  introduces  being  designed  with 
the  view  of  better  securing  certain  ends  which  he  deems  of 
paramount  importance.  The  Temple  is  Jehovah's  earthly  resi- 
dence :  in  the  restored  community,  which  Ezek.  imagines  to  be 
so  transformed  as  to  be  truly  worthy  of  Him  (3622-36)^  He  will 
manifest  His  presence  more  fully  than  He  had  done  before 
(3 7 ^^"28) ;  His  re-entry  into  the  Temple,  and  His  abiding  pre- 
sence there,  are  the  two  thoughts  in  which  c.  40-48  culminate 
(431-^  48^^) ;  to  maintain,  on  the  one  hand  the  sanctity  of  the 
Temple,  and  on  the  other  the  holiness  of  the  people,  is  the 
aim  of  the  entire  system  of  regulations.  Accordingly  special 
precautions  are  taken  to  guard  the  Temple,  the  holy  things,  and 
the  officiating  priests,  from  profanation.  The  inner  Court  of  the 
Temple  is  to  be  entered  by  none  of  the  laity,  not  even  by  the 
"  prince  "  (46^^-) ;  no  foreigners  are  for  the  future  to  assist  the 
priests  in  their  ministrations;  instead  of  the  Temple  buildings 
being  (as  those  of  the  pre-exilic  Temple  were)  in  close  proximity 
to  the  city  and  royal  palace  (so  that  the  residence,  and  even  the 
burial-ground,  of  the  kings  encroached  upon  them,  43^"^),  they 
are  to  be  surrounded  by  the  domain  of  the  priests,  the  city  lying 
altogether  to  the  south  of  this.  The  redistribution  of  the  terri- 
tories of  the  tribes  has  the  effect  of  bringing  the  Temple  more 
completely   into   the   centre   of  the   land.     The   rights   of  the 


EZEKIEL  293 

"  prince  "  are  limited :  he  is  no  longer  to  enjoy  the  prerogatives 
of  the  old  Davidic  king,  who  treated  the  Temple  almost  as  his 
private  chapel,  entered  its  precincts  as  he  pleased,  and  obliged 
the  priests  to  give  effect  to  his  wishes.  He  has,  however,  cer- 
tain religious  duties  to  perform ;  but  his  political  signficance  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum :  he  is,  in  fact,  little  more  than  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  nation  in  matters  of  religion.  Though  the 
details  are  realistically  conceived,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  an 
ideal  element  in  Ezelc's  representations,  which  in  many  respects 
it  was  found  in  the  event  impossible  to  put  into  practice. 

(i.)  The  Temple,  c,  40-43.  (a)  Description  and  measurements 
[275]  of  the  ou^er  Court,  with  its  gateways  and  chambers,  40^-27  • 
(d)  description  and  measurements  of  the  inner  Court,  with  its 
gateways  and  chambers,  4028-47  ^  (^)  the  Temple — the  dimensions 
of  its  various  parts,  the  "  side-chambers  "  (cf.  i  Ki.  6^)  surround- 
ing it,  and  its  decorations,  40*^-4126  ;•*  (^)  the  chambers  north 
and  south  of  the  Temple  (between  the  outer  and  inner  Courts) 
to  serve  as  sacristies  or  vestries  for  the  priests,  42'^''^^;  (e)  the 
external  measurements  of  the  whole  complex  of  buildings,  421^-20 ; 
(/)  the  Temple  being  thus  represented  as  complete,  Jehovah, 
under  the  same  symbolical  representation  as  before  (c.  i,  c.  8-10), 
solemnly  resumes  possession  of  it,  entering  by  the  same  east 
gate  of  the  outer  Court  by  which  Ezek.,  nearly  nineteen  years 
previously,  had  seen  Him  leave  it  (10^^),  43^'^^;  (g)  the  altar  of 
Burnt-offering  (noticed  briefly,  40*^^),  with  instructions  for  the 
ceremonial  to  be  observed  at  its  consecration,  43^^"^''. 

(2.)  The  Temple  and  the  people,  c.  44-46.  The  central  aim 
of  the  regulations  contained  in  these  chapters  is  to  maintain  the 
sanctity  of  the  Temple  inviolate,  (a)  The  east  gate  of  the  outer 
Court,  by  which  Jehovah  entered,  to  be  permanently  shut,  44^-^ ; 
(/^)  no  foreigner  to  be  admitted  for  the  future  to  the  precincts 
of  the  Temple,  even  for  the  performance  of  subordinate  offices ; 
menial  services  for  the  worshippers  (44^^^)  are  to  be  performed 
henceforth  by  those  members  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  who  had 
acted  as  priests  at  the  high  places,  the  right  to  exercise  priestly 
functions  being  confined  strictly  to  the  sons  of  Zadok,  44*"^^; 
(c)  regulations  on  the  dress,  habits,  duties,  and  revenues  of  the 
priests,  4417-31  •  (^)  the  "  oblation,"  or  sacred  territory,  occupied 

*  The  "separate  place,"  with  the  "building,"  41^2-14^  ^3^5  ^  ]^i^^  of  yard 
with  outhouses,  at  the  back  of  the  T|niple,  for  the  removal  of  refuse,  &c. 


294  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

by  the  Temple  area,  and  by  the  domains  of  the  priests  and 
Levites ;  and  the  possessions  reserved  for  the  city,  and  "prince," 
respectively,  45^"^;  (<?)  specified  dues,  to  be  paid  to  the  "prince," 
for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him,  without  arbitrary  exactions,  to 
maintain,  in  the  name  of  the  community,  the  public  services  of 
the  Temple,  45^'^^;  (/)  the  half-yearly  (45^^-20  RV.  jnarg.)  rite 
of  atonement  for  the  Temple;  and  the  sacrifices  to  be  offered 
by  the  "  prince  "  on  various  occasions,  with  regulations  respecting 
the  manner  in  which  the  outer  Court  of  the  Temple  is  to  be 
entered  by  the  laity,  45^8-46^5^ 

[276]  461^-  the  east  gate  of  the  inner  Court  is  to  be  opened  on  Sabbaths 
and  New  Moons,  but  the  "prince "  is  to  have  no  right  of  entry  within  it ;  at 
most,  he  may  mount  the  steps  to  the  threshold  of  the  gate  leading  into  it, 
and  worship  there  while  the  priest  is  offering  the  sacrifice ;  on  high  festivals 
he  is  to  enter  and  leave  the  outer  Court,  just  like  the  people  generally. 

{g)  (Appendix  to  45^^*)  Limitation  of  the  rights  to  be  exer- 
cised by  the  "prince"  over  his  own  and  his  subjects'  landed 
possessions,  /^6^^'^^ ;  (h)  (Appendix  to  ^2^^^-)  the  places  reserved 
in  the  inner  and  outer  Courts  for  cooking  the  sacrifices  apper- 
taining to  the  priests  and  people  respectively,  46^^-2*. 

(3.)  The  Temple  and  the  land,  c.  47-48.  {a)  The  barren 
parts  of  the  land  (in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Dead  Sea)  to  be 
fertilized,  and  the  waters  of  the  Dead  Sea  to  be  sweetened,  by  a 
stream  issuing  forth  from  underneath  the  Temple,  47^'^^. 

V.i^.  An  exception,  showing  the  practical  turn  of  the  prophet's  mind  :  the 
marshes  beside  the  Dead  Sea  to  remain  as  they  are  on  account  of  the  excellent 
salt  which  they  furnish. 

{b)  The  borders  of  the  land  to  be  occupied  by  the  restored 
community,  4713-23^  (^)  Disposition  of  the  tribes — the  7  north 
of  the  Temple,  481-'';  the  "oblation,"  or  strip  of  sacred  land 
south  of  these,  with  the  Temple,  surrounded  by  the  priests' 
possessions,  in  the  centre,  the  Levites'  land  and  the  city  on  the 
north  and  south  of  these  respectively,  and  with  the  domain  of 
the  prince  (in  two  parts)  on  the  east  and  west,  v.^-^^  (cf.  45^"^) ; 
the  5  tribes  south  of  the  Temple,  v.^s-ss^  the  12  gates  of  the 
city,  and  its  name,  Jehovah  is  there,  symbolizing  the  central 
thought  of  the  entire  prophecy^  v.^°'^^  (contrast  c.  22). 

Ezekiel  emphasizes  in  particular  the  power  and  holiness  of 
God.  His  standing  designation  of  God  is  "  Lord  Jehovah,"  for 
which  the  title  "  God  of  Israel " — which  Jeremiah,  for  instance, 


EZEKIEL  295 

uses  constantly — only  appears  on  special  occasions  (c.  8-1 1, 
43^  44-);  and  in  His  presence,  he  is  himself  only  a  "son  of 
man."  The  dominant  motive  of  the  Divine  action  is  the  dread 
lest  His  holy  name  should  be  profaned :  on  the  other  hand,  in 
His  people's  restoration  or  in  an  act  of  judgment.  His  name  is 
sanctified,  i.e.  its  holiness  is  vindicated  (p.  298,  No.  28).  These 
truths  find  expression  in  Ezekiel's  most  characteristic  phrase, 
"And  they  {or  ye)  shall  know  that  I  am  Jehovah"  (above  50 
times).  This  phrase  is  most  commonly  attached  to  the  [277] 
announcement  of  a  judgment,*  but  sometimes  it  follows  a  promise 
of  restoration.  It  strikes  the  keynote  of  Ezek.'s  prophecies. 
To  the  unbelieving  mass  of  the  people,  as  to  the  heathen,  it 
must  have  seemed  that  in  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  Jehovah  had 
proved  Himself  unable  to  cope  with  the  enemies  of  His  people  : 
Ezek.  sees  in  it  a  manifestation  of  Jehovah's  holiness  visiting 
Israel  for  its  sins  (cf.  39^^^*),  and  he  insists  that  the  course  of 
history  will  bring  with  it  other,  not  less  striking,  manifestations 
of  His  Godhead.  Thus  in  his  prophecies  on  foreign  nations  the 
same  refrain  constantly  occurs  (255-7. 11.  i7  gS^^i  &c.) :  the  judg- 
ment on  each  is  a  fresh  proof  of  Jehovah's  power,  which  is 
finally  vindicated  most  signally  in  the  ideal  defeat  of  nations, 
whom  Ezek.  pictures  as  marshalled  against  the  restored  nation 
in  the  future  (38^3;  396^-22).  To  His  faithful  people,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  blessings  which  Jehovah  will  pour  upon  them 
are  an  additional  and  special  evidence  of  the  same  truth  (20*^- 
3427  3611.38  2^13.14  2C)28).  In  His  attitude  towards  His  people, 
Jehovah  is  the  righteous  Judge,  who  is  merciful  towards  the 
repentant  sinner,  but  deals  sternly  with  the  rebellious  {'^^^'  c.  18, 
33).  But  the  prophet's  exertions  to  gain  the  hearts  of  his 
fellow-countrymen  were  indifferently  rewarded;  hence,  Israel's 
restoration  in  the  last  resort  depends  upon  Jehovah  alone,  who 
will  work  in  the  future,  as  He  had  done  in  the  past  (20^- 1^-  22. 44)^ 
for  His  name's  sake  (36^3;  cf.  Z^-'^^).  "Jehovah  must  restore 
Israel,  for  so  only  can  His  sole  Godhead,  which  the  ruin  of  His 
people  had!  caused  to>  be  questioned  (c.  25-32),  be  generally 
acknowledged  in  the  world;  He  can  restore  Israel,  for  of  His 
free  grace  He  forgives  His  people's  sin  and  by  the  workings  of 
His  Spirit  transforms  their  hard  heart  (3626^-  392^)."  For  the 
future  which  Ezek.  thus  anticipates,  the  prophet's  chief  aim  is  to 

*  57.  10.  13.  J4  74.  9.  27  J  jlO.  12  ^(.^ 


296  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

make  provision  that  Israel  should  not  lapse  again  into  its  former 
sins ;  and  hence  the  new  constitution  which  he  projects  for  it, 
c.  40-48.  Ezek.  is  very  far,  indeed,  from  depreciating  moral 
ordinances  (c.  18,  33  &c.);  but  he  finds  the  best  guarantee  for 
their  observance,  as  well  as  the  best  preventive  against  all  forms 
of  idolatry,  in  a  well-ordered  ceremonial  system;  and  this  he 
develops  in  c.  40-48.  The  restored  Temple  assumes  a  central 
significance;  to  guard  it,  and  all  connected  with  it,  from  a 
repetition  of  the  profanation  which  [278]  it  had  experienced  in 
the  past  (5I1  c.  8-1 1,  43''^-),  to  teach  the  nation  to  reverence  it 
aright,  to  render  Israel  worthy  of  the  God  who  would  thus 
make  His  dwelling  in  their  midst,  is  the  aim  and  scope  of  the 
concluding  chapters  of  his  book.* 

The  literary  style  of  Ezek.  is  strongly  marked.  He  uses 
many  peculiar  words ;  and  stereotyped  phrases  occur  in  his  book 
with  great  frequency.  He  is  fond  of  artificial  kinds  of  com- 
position, especially  symbol,  allegory,  and  parable,  which  he 
sometimes  develops  at  great  length  {e.g.  c.  16,  23,  31),  and 
elaborates  in  much  greater  detail  than  is  done  by  other  prophets. 
He  has  imagination,  but  not  poetical  talent.  He  is  the  most 
uniformly  prosaic  of  the  earlier  prophets,  Jeremiah,  though  often 
also  adopting  a  prose  style  {e.g.  c.  7),  rising  much  more  frequently 
into  the  form  of  poetry,  and  displaying  genuine  poetic  feeling. 
The  style  of  poetry  which  Ezek.  principally  affects  is  the  Qinah^ 
or  lamentation,  the  rhythmical  form  of  which  is  sometimes 
distinctly  audible  in  his  prophecies.!  Only  very  rarely  does  he 
essay  a  lyric  strain  (75-7- lof.  21^^^-)^  of  a  species  peculiar  to  him- 
self. His  allegories  and  long  descriptive  passages  are,  as  a  rule, 
skilfully  and  lucidly  arranged :  the  obscurities  which  some  of 
them  present  (especially  c.  40  if.)  are  probably  due  chiefly  to 
corruption  of  the  text.  Most  of  the  prophets  display  spontaneity  : 
Ezek.'s  book  evinces  reflection  and  study :  his  prophecies  seem 
often  to  be  the  fruit  of  meditations,  thought  out  in  the  retire- 
ment of  his  chamber.  The  volume  of  his  prophecies  is 
methodically  arranged,  evidently  by  his  own  hand :  his  book 
in  this  respect  forms  a  striking  contrast  with  those  of  Isaiah  or 
Jeremiah. 

*  Comp.  further  Davidson,  pp.  xxxi-lii. 

tC.  19,  26i'-i8  28i8£.^  and  parts  of  32"-32.  See  Budde,  ZATW.  18S2, 
pp.  15-22,  and  below,  under  Lamentations. 


EZEKIEL  297 

Examples  of  expressions  characteristic  of  Ezekiel : — 

1.  Son  of  man  (mx  p),   in  addressing  the  prophet :   2^-  '  3^-  '•  ■*,   and 

constantly  (nearly  100  times) ;  often  in  the  phrase,  And  thou,  son 
of  man  :  2^-  ^  ^^  4^  5^  &c.     Elsewhere  (as  a  title),  only  Dan.  8^'^. 

2.  Lord  Jehovah  (m.T  'jin)  :  2*  3^^-  ^  &c.  (more  than  200  times  altogether. 

In  other  prophets  occasionally,  but  far  less  frequently :  e.g.  about 
14  times  in  Jer.).     In  AV.,  RV.,  "  Lord  God." 

3.  House  of  rebelliousness  ('1D  n^a),  of  Israel:  2«-«-8  39-26.27  122.  8.9.2b 

1712  243I'  :  rebelliousness  alone  (LXX  house  of),  2'  44^  Comp. 
Nu.  1710  [Heb.  1 635]  p  ,^o  ,^3  .  is.  309. 

4.  r(\)r\\<  lands :  5^-  ^  6^,  and  often  (in  all  27  times).     The  plur.  of  [279] 

this  word  greatly  preponderates  in  later  writers  :  Gen.  lo'^-  ^o-  3i  (p) 
263-4  (R)^  4i54^  Lev,  263«-39  (H);  then  not  till  2  Ki.  iS^s  19"; 
never  in  other  prophets  except  Jer.  7  times,  Dan.  3  times  ;  in  Chr. 
Ezr.  Neh.  22  times. 

5.  Behold,  I  am  against  .  .  .  usually  thee  or  you  {h^  or  h]}  ':3n) :  5^ 

138.20  2i3  [Heb. 8]  263  2822  293.10  3022  34I0  35S  359  {^toward,— m  a 
favourable  sense)  382  39I.     So  Nah.  2^4  36,  Jer.  21^3  233"-  3i-  32  ^^\ 

5l25t. 

6.  To  do  Judgments  (d^bss?)  on  :  s^"-  ^^  ii9  i6«  25"  2822-  26  3014.  lo  .  also 

Ex.  12^2^  Nu.  33*  (both  P),  cf.  2  Ch.  242^  (nu) :  d'Jjsk'  also  (a  rare 
word)  Ez.  1421,  Ex.  6«  7^  (both  P),  Pr.  I929|. 

7.  To  scatter  to  every  wind-.  ^^'  12  (cf.  v. 2),  121^  (cf.  1721) ;  Jer.  493-. 

8.  {My)  eye  shall  not  spare  (usu.  followed  by  neither  will  (/)  have  pity), 

^11  74.  9  gi8  95. 10  155  20"  (cf.  p.  icx),  No.  17). 

9.  7"^  i-ai'/i73/  (lit.  bring  to  rest)  my  fury  upon  .  .  .  :  5^3  1542  2117  [Heb.  22] 

24^3|.     Cf.  Zech.  68. 

10.  /,  Jehovah,  have  spoken  it,  usually  as  a  closing  asseveration  :  5^3  j^i7 

1721  2117-32  [Heb. 22- 37]  24!^  26^4  30^2  3424,.  followed  by  WB'yi  and 
have  done  it  (or  will  do  it\  \f^  22^4  id^"^  y]^^.  So  I  have  spoken 
it:  2334  26^*  281*'  39^  Comp.  Nu.  143^.  Not  so  in  any  other 
prophet. 

11.  To  finish  my  fury  (or  wrath)  upon  .  .  .:    513b  6^2  78  13I3  208- 21 ; 

cf.  513a  {be finished).     So  Lam.  4"t- 

12.  Set  thy  face  toward  or  against  (  .  .  .  I'JS  D'K') :  62  13"  20^^  2i2  [Heb. 

2l2- 7]  252  2821  292  352  382. 

13.  The  motmtains  of  Israel:  e-  3  19^  3328  34I3- 14  3512  351  bis.  4.  8  3722  338 

392-  4.  IV  .  cf_  3^14,     A  combination  peculiar  to  Ez. 

14.  D'p'SN  water-courses  (often  joined  with  mountains,  hills,  and  valleys, 

as  a  rhetorical  designation  of  a  country) :  63  31 12  32^  3413  358 
36^- c. 

15.  D^SiVi  idol-blocks:    6^- 5- 6- 9. 13  gio  143-7  i636  igc.  12.  15  2o7- 8- 16.  w    and 

often  (39  times) ;  see  p.  202,  No.  33. 

16.  And  .  .  .  shall  know  that  I  am  Jehovah  (see   p.   295).     Comp.  in 

P,  Ex.  67  75  144-  8  1 612  2946  .  cf.  3ii3b  (H).  Occasionally  besides, 
Ex.  io2,  I  Ki.  2oi3-  28,  Is.  4928.  26  60I6,  Joel  317. 

17.  To  scatter  (mi)  a7nong  the  lands  :  6^  121''  2o23  221^  2912  30-3-  26  3519 ;  cf. 

with  to  disperse  i  ii«-  "  2o34-  4i,     cf.  No.  25. 


298        •     LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

1 8.  To  stretch  out  my  hand  jtpon  .  .  .  :  6^^  \^^-  ^^  16"  257-  ".  16  ^^3^ 

19.  To  pour  out  my  fury  upon  .  .  .  :  7^  9^  14^^  20^-  ^^*  ^^  22*^  30^^^  36^' 

Cf.   2033-  34. 

20.  stumbling-block  of  iniquity  \  7"  h^- 4- ?  iS^o  4412. 

21.  N'cj  ruler  ox  prince  (applied  sometimes  to  the  king) :  7^'  i2^*'-^2  19^ 

2ii2(Heb.")25(Heb.30)22G3424  3725  458.9;  and  (in  the  sing.)  44^ 

Not  of  Israel,  26^^  27^1  30^^ 
by 

very  rare  elsewhere,  except  in  P  (p.  134). 

22.  A  subject  opened  by  means  of  a  question ;  8^-  ^2-  w-  n  (sq  ^^e^^   jg^ 

j^2ff.   1 82  192  2o3'  ■*  22^  2336  3 1 2.  18  32I9  378  ;    cf.    179-  "'  ^^. 

23.  7<7  /«/  a  person^ s  way  ttpon  his  head  {i.e.  to  requite  him) :  "im  |n3 
x'Nna  :  910  ii2i  i6«  22^1 ;  cf.  if^.  Only  besides  i  Ki.  8^2  (  =  2  Ch. 
623).     CNTa  nyn  n^BTi  is  the  more  common  synonym. 

24.  D'S3N  wm^j  :   12^'*  1721  3S6*'-f-  »•  22  og4|^ 

25.  T'l?  d?iV;2>(?rj'5  (psn)  among  the  nations:  12^^ 
cf.  2825  29I8.     Cf.  No.  17. 

26.  To  bear  shame  [r^uhz) '.  1 652.  B4  3324.  25.  30  3^2 

27.  DNtJ'  contempt,  isits'  z*^  contemn  (Aram.) :   16^^  25^-  ^^  2824-  26  355. 

28.  r^  <5^  sanctified  (or  ^^^^  w^  holiness)  in  :  20«  2822-  25  3523  3316  (^f.  v. 23), 
39'^ ;  cf.  Lev.  io3  2232,  Nu.  2oi3  (all  P).  Cf.  the  stress  laid  on 
Jehovah's  holy  name,  2o39  3620-22  397. 25  ^37. 8  ^^f,  36^3 ;  and  for  my 
name's  sake,  20^*  ^4-  22.  44j.  Comp.  Davidson,  pp.  xxxix-xli ;  149, 
279. 

29.  In  the  time  of  the  iniquity  of  the  end:  2i25-  29  (Heb.30-  34)  3^5. 

30.  The  fire  of  my  indignation  :  2i3i  2221-  3i  3819. 
On  Ezek.'s  affinities  vsdth  the  priestly  terminology,  esp.  with  the  Law  of 

Holiness,  see  above,  pp.  49  f.,  130  ff.,  145  ff.  37^'-  43'*  ^  it  is  to 
be  noted,  express  a  fundamental  thought  of  the  Priests'  Code 
(p.  129). 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  MINOR  PROPHETS. 

Literature. — F.  Hitzig  (in  the  Kgf.  Exeg.  Handb.),  1838,  ^1863,  *by 
H.  Steiner  (substantially  unchanged),  1881  ;  H.  Ewald  in  his  Propheten  des 
AB.s,  1840-41,  2  1867-68  (translated) ;  C.  F.  Keil,  1866,  -  1888  ;  E.  B. 
Pusey,  The  Minor  Prophets,  with  a  Commentary  explanatory  and  practical ; 
C.  von  Orelli  (p.  278)  ;  F.  W.  Farrar,  The  Minor  Prophets,  their  lives  arid 
times,  in  the  *'  Men  of  the  Bible  "  series,  1890  (useful) ;  J.  Wellhausen,  Die 
Kleinen  Propheten  ubersetzt,  mit  Noten,  1892  ;  G.  A.  Smith,  7he  Book  of  the 
Twelve  Prophets  (in  the  "Expositor's  Bible"),  i.  1896  (very  suggestive). 
The  articles  in  the  Encycl.  Brit.  (ed.  9)  may  also  often  be  consulted  with 
advantage. 

On  particular  prophets  the  following  may  be  especially  noticed  : — 

Hosea  : — Ed.  Pocock  (Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew  in  Oxford),  Comm.  on 
Hosea,  1685  (exhaustive,  for  the  date  at  which  it  was  written)  ;  Aug. 
Wunsche,  Der  Proph.  Hosea,  1868  (with  copious  quotations  from  Jewish 
authorities) ;  W.  Nowack,  Der  Proph.  Hosea  erkldrt,  1880  ;  A.  B.  Davidson 
in  the  Expositor,  1879,  p.  241  ff.;  W.  R.  Smith,  Prophets  of  Israel,  Lect. 
iv.;  T.  K.  Cheyne  in  the  Camb.  Bible  for  Schools,  1884;  J.  J.  P.  Valeton, 
Amos  en  Hosea  (an  exegetical  and  historical  study),  1894. 

Joel : — Ed.  Pocock,  Comm.  on  Joel,  1691  ;  K.  A.  Credner,  Der  Proph. 
Joel,  1831  ;  Aug.  Wunsche,  Die  Weiss,  des  Proph.  Joel,  1872  ;  A.  Merx, 
Die  Proph.  des  Joel  u.  ihre  Ausleger^  1879  (with  an  elaborate  historical 
account  of  the  interpretation  of  the  book) ;  J.  C.  Matthes,  ThT.  1885, 
pp.  34 ff.,  129  fF.,  1887,  p.  357  ff.;  A.  B.  Davidson  in  the  ^;i:/^i-2V^r,  March 
1888 ;  H.  Holzinger,  Sprachkarakter  u.  Abfassungszeit  des  Buches  Joel, 
in  the  ZATW.  1889,  pp.  89-131  ;  S.  R.  Driver,  Joel  and  Amos,  in  the 
Camb.  Bible  for  Schools,  1897. 

Amos  : — G.  Baur,  Der  Proph.  Amos  erkldrt,  1847  ;  J.  H.  Gunning,  De 
godspraken  van  Amos,  1885  ;  W.  R.  Smith,  Prophets,  Lect.  iii. ;  A.  B. 
Davidson,  Expositor,  March  and  Sept.  1887  ;  H.  G.  Mitchell,  Amos  (Boston, 
U.S.A.,  1893);  L.  B.  Baton, /5Z?V.  1894,  p.  80 ff.;  S.  R.  Driver,  as  above. 

Obadiah  : — C.  P.  Caspari,  Der  Proph.  Ob.  ausgelegt,  1842. 

Jonah  :— M.  Kalisch,  Bible  Studies,  Part  ii.  1878  ;  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Theol. 
Review,  1877,  p.  291  ff.;  C.  H.  H.  Wright,  Biblical  Essays  (1886),  pp. 
34-98  ;  Delitzsch,  Mess.  Weissagtingen,  1890,  p.  88. 

Micah  : — Ed.  Pocock,  Comtn.  on  Micah,  1677  ;  C.  P.  Caspari,  Uber 
%    299 


300  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Micha  den  Morasthiten  u.  seine  proph.  Schrift,  1851-52  (very  elaborate)  ; 
W.  R.  Smith,  Proph,  p.  287  flf.;  T.  K.  Cheyne  in  the  Camb.  Bible  for 
Schools,  1882,  2  1895  ;  V.  Ryssel,  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Textgestalt  u.  die 
Echtheit  des  B.  Micha,  1887  ;  J.  Taylor,  The  Mass.  text  and  the  ancient 
versions  of  Micah,  1891  ;  H.  J.  Elhorst,  De  profetie  van  Micha  (Arnhem, 
1891);  W.  H.  Kosters,  ThT.  1893,  p.  249  ff.  On  c.  4f.  Kuenen,  ThT. 
1872,  p.  285  ff. 

Nahum  : — O.  Strauss,  Nahumi  de  Nino  Vaticinium,  1853  ;  A.  Biller- 
beck  u.  A.  Jeremias,  Der  Untergang  NineveJCs  u.  die  Weissagungsschrift 
des  Nahu?n,  in  Delitzsch  and  Haupt's  "Beitrage  zur  Assyriologie,"  1895,  pp. 
87-188;  A.  B.  Davidson,  Nah.  Hab.  and  Zeph.,  in  the  Canib.  Bible  for 
Schools,  1896. 

[281]  Habakkuk  : — F.  Delitzsch,  De  Hab.  Proph.  vita  atque  cetate,  1842, 
ed.  2,  1844  ;  and  Der  Proph.  Hab.  atisgelegt,  1843  ;  K.  Budde,  St.  ti.  Krit. 
1893,  P-  383  ff.;  J.  W.  Rothstein,  ib.  1894,  p.  51  ff.;  K.  Budde,  Expositor, 
May  1895,  p.  372  ff.;  A.  B.  Davidson,  as  above. 

Zephaniah  : — F.  A.  Strauss,  Vaticinia  Zephanice,  1843  ;  F.  Schwally  in 
the  ZATW.  1890,  pp.  165-240  (including  a  Comm.  on  the  text);  Budde, 
St.  u.  Kr.  1893,  p.  393  ff.  ;  A.  B.  Davidson,  as  above. 

Haggai : — A.  Kohler,  Die  nachexilischen  Propheten  erkldrt  (I.  Haggai, 
i860;  IL  Sachariah  i.-viii.,  1861  ;  IIL  Sachariah  ix.-xiv.,  1863;  IV. 
Malachi,  1865)  ;  T.  T.  Perowne,  Hagg.  and  Zech.  in  the  Camb.  Bible,  1886. 

Zechariah  : — A.  Kohler,  as  above  ;  C.  H.  H.  Wright,  Zechariah  and  his 
Prophecies,  1879  (the  *' Bampton  Lectures"  for  1878,  with  crit.  and  exeg. 
notes)  ;  C.  J.  Bredenkamp,  1879  ;  W.  H.  Lowe,  Comm.  on  Zech.  Heb.  and 
LXX,  1882;  K.  Marti,  1892  (also  St.  u.  Kr.  1892,  p.  207  ff.  [c.  3],  716  ff. 
[6^-^^];  cf.  Ley,  1893,  P«  11^^')'  From  the  abundant  Hterature  dealing 
specially  with  c.  9-14  may  be  selected,  in  addition,  Abp.  Newcome,  Minor 
Prophets,  London,  1785;  Hengstenberg,  Beitrdge  zur  Einl.  ins  AT.  1831, 
i.  p.  361  ff.;  Christology  of  the  OT.  (Clark's  transl.)  iii.  329-iv.  138;  Bleek, 
Stud.  u.  Krit.  1852,  p.  247  ff.,  and  in  his  Introduction  ;  Stahelin,  Einl.  in 
die  kan.  Bb.  des  AT.  1862,  p.  315  ff.;  J.  J.  S.  Perowne,  article  Zechariah 
in  Smith's  Did.  of  the  Bible,  1863  ;  B.  Stade  in  the  ZATW.  1881,  pp.  1-96  ; 
1882,  pp.  1 51-172,  275-309,  with  Kuenen's  criticisms  in  his  Onderzoek 
(ed.  2),  §§  81-83 ;  T.  K.  Cheyne,  JQR.  1888,  pp.  76-83  ;  A.  F.  Kirkpatrick, 
Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,  p.  438  ff.;  Eckardt,  ZATW.  1893,  p.  76  ff.;  A.  K. 
Kuiper,  Zach.  ix.-xiv.,  eene  exeg.-krit.  studie  (Utrecht,  1894). 

Malachi : — Ed.  Pocock,  Comm.  on  Malachi,  1677  ;  A.  Kohler,  as  above  ; 
B.  Stade,  Gesch.  Isr.  ii.  128-138  ;  T.  T.  Perowne  in  the  Camb.  Bible,  1890. 

§  I.    HOSEA. 

Chronological  Table. 

786.  Jeroboam  II.  737.  Pekahiah. 

746.  Zechariah,  735.  Pekah. 

745.  Shallum.  733.  Hoshea. 

745.  Menahem.  722.  Fall  of  Samaria. 


HOSEA  301 

Hosea  prophesied  in  the  Northern  kingdom  under  Jeroboam 
II.  and  succeeding  kings.  Jeroboam  II.  was  the  fourth  and 
most  successful  ruler  (2  Ki.  1423-29)  of  the  dynasty  founded  by 
Jehu,  who  overthrew  the  dynasty  of  Omri,  and  destroyed  the 
public  worship  of  Baal  (to  which  Ahab  had  given  the  patronage 
of  the  court).  The  dynasty  of  Jehu  had  not,  however,  satisfied 
the  expectations  of  the  prophets  by  whose  sanction  and  aid  it 
had  been  established  (2  Ki.  9-10)  ;  and  hence  almost  the  open- 
ing words  of  Hosea's  prophecy  are  a  denunciation  of  judgment 
upon  it  (i^^- :  the  allusion  is  to  2  Ki.  lo^^).  The  reign  of 
Jeroboam  II.  was  a  long  one,  marked  by  successes  without 
and  prosperity  within  (comp.  the  picture  of  material  welfare 
drawn  in  c.  2) :  the  luxury,  selfishness,  oppression  of  the  poor, 
and  kindred  vices  which  it  engendered  are  rebuked  in  stern 
tones  by  Hosea's  elder  contemporary  Amos.  After  the  death  of 
Jeroboam  II.  party  [282]  spirit,  which  there  was  now  no  strong 
hand  to  hold  in  check,  broke  out :  Zechariah  could  not  maintain 
his  throne,  and  was  murdered  after  a  six  months'  reign  by  a 
conspiracy.  With  him  the  dynasty  of  Jehu  came  to  an  end. 
There  followed  a  period  of  anarchy  of  which  Hosea  (7^-'^  8*) 
supplies  a  picture  :  phantom  kings  coming  forward  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, with  the  form,  but  without  the  reality,  of  royal  power ; 
the  aid  of  Assyria  and  Egypt  alternately  invoked  by  rival  factions 
(Hos.  5^2  7^1  8^  12I:  the  corresponding  penalty,  g^-^  10^  ii^). 
Thus  Shallum,  after  a  month,  was  overthrown  by  Menahem,  who 
sought  to  strengthen  his  position  by  buying  the  support  of  the 
Assyrian  monarch  Pul  (Tiglath-Pileser),*  2  Ki.  15^^^-.  This 
application  to  Assyria  appears  to  be  alluded  to  in  Hos.  8^^- : 
at  the  same  time,  or  shortly  after,  another  party  was  seeking 
help  in  the  opposite  direction,  from  Egypt,  12^^  Menahem 
reigned  for  10  (8)  years :  his  son  Pekahiah  succeeded  him,  but 
after  two  years  was  murdered  by  Pekah,  a  rough  soldier  from 
Gilead,  whom  we  hear  of  in  Is.  7  as  engaged  with  Rezin,  king  of 
Damascus,  in  an  attack  upon  the  dynasty  of  David  in  Jerusalem. 
Pekah, — whose  reign,  to  judge  from  the  Inscriptions,  must  have 
been  considerably  shorter  than  is  represented  in  the  Book  of 
Kings, — in  his  turn,  was  deposed  and  murdered  by  Hoshea, 
with  the  connivance  and  support  of  the  Assyrian  king  Tiglath- 

*  See  Schrader,  A'^Z'.2  227  fF.;  A'^.  ii.  277,  291,  compared  with  pp. 
287,  290  ;  or  /Records  of  the  Past^  2nd  series,  i.  18,  23. 


302  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Pileser  (b.c.  734).  Hoshea,  however,  ultimately  broke  with  the 
power  to  which  he  owed  his  throne,  and  opened  treasonable 
negotiations  with  So  or  Sev^  {i.e.  Sabako),  king  of  Egypt,  with 
the  result  that  Shalmaneser,  Tiglath-Pileser's  successor,  laid  siege 
to  Samaria,  which,  after  holding  out  for  three  years,  capitulated 
to  Sargon.  Large  numbers  of  the  inhabitants  were  transported 
by  Sargon  to  different  parts  of  Assyria;  and  the  kingdom  of 
Ephraim  was  thus  brought  to  its  close. 

It  is  probable  that  the  title  (i^)  has  not  come  down  to  us  in  its  original 
form  :  for  (i)  it  is  clear  from  internal  evidence  that  c.  1-3  belong  to  the 
reign  of  Jeroboam  11.  and  that  c.  4-14  relate  to  the  troubles  that  followed  j 
this  being  so,  it  is  strange  that  the  later  date  (Uzziah,  &c.)  shoMlA  precede  the 
earlier  one  (Jeroboam)  ;  (2)  it  is  hardly  likely  that  Hosea,  writing  in  and  for 
the  Northern  kingdom,  would  date  his  book  by  reigns  of  the  kings  oijudah  ; 
(3)  it  is  doubtful  if  any  of  Hosea's  prophecies  date  from  the  period  after  734, 
the  year  in  which  Tiglath- Pileser  deported  the  inhabitants  of  the  trans- 
Jordanic  region  (2  Ki.  15^^)  to  Assyria  :  for  Gilead  is  alluded  to  as  Israelitish 
(6^  12"  ;  cf.  5^),  without  any  reference  to  a  judgment  having  [283]  fallen 
upon  it ;  nor  is  there  any  allusion  to  Pekah's  attack  upon  Judah  in  735  B.C. 
Probably  the  original  title  had  simply  "  in  the  days  of  Jeroboam,"  and  was 
intended  to  refer  only  to  c.  1-3  :  when  a  title  had  to  be  found  for  the  whole 
book,  in  order  to  indicate  that  the  latter  part  referred  to  a  later  period,  the 
names  of  the  Judoean  kings  contemporary  with,  and  subsequent  to,  Jeroboam 
II.  were  added. 

The  terminus  a  quo  of  Hosea's  prophecies  will  thus  be  shortly 
before  B.C.  746  :  the  terminus  ad  quern,  B.C.  735-734. 

The  Book  of  Hosea  falls  naturally  into  two  parts  :  (i)  c.  1-3, 
belonging  to  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II.;  (2)  c. 
4-14,  belonging  to  the  period  of  the  kings  following. 

L  C.  1-3.  This  part  of  the  book  consists  of  three  sections, 
i2_2i.  22-23-  c.  3.  The  first  of  these  contains  a  symbolical 
representation  of  Israel's  unfaithfulness  to  Jehovah,  and  the  con- 
sequences of  it :  Hosea  gives  to  the  three  children  borne  by  his 
unchaste  wife  Gomer,  the  symbolical  names,  Jezreel,  in  antici- 
pation of  the  vengeance  to  be  exacted  of  the  house  of  Jehu  on 
the  spot  where  formerly  Jehu  had  massacred  the  house  of  Ahab, 
2  Ki.  lo^i;  Lo-ruhamah,  "  Uncompassionated,"  and  Lo-ammi, 
"  Not  my  people,"  in  token  of  Jehovah's  rejection  of  Ephraim, 
v.2-9.  Yet  this  rejection  is  not  final :  a  promise  of  the  union  of 
Judah  and  Israel  and  restoration  of  the  latter  to  favour  follows. 
Jezreel,  the  scene  of  defeat  in  i^,  becomes  the  scene  of  an  ideal 
victory,  marking  the  return  of  the  nation  from  exile,  and  its 


HOSEA  303 

reconquest  of  Palestine ;  and  its  members  are  invited  to  resume 
the  use  of  the  title  which  had  just  been  discarded,  and  to  accost 
one  another  in  terms  implying  their  entire  restoration  to  Jeho- 
vah's favour,  1I0-2I  [Heb.  2^-^]. 

The  second  section,  2^-23^  states  in  plain  language  the  mean- 
ing which  the  prophet  attaches  to  the  narrative  of  1^-2^.  V.^-i^ 
the  prophet  dwells  upon  the  impending  punishment,  and  the 
cause  of  it,  viz.  Ephraim's  ingratitude  to  Jehovah,  and  her  for- 
saking him  for  the  Baals ;  and  v.^^-^s  he  shows  how  this  period  of 
punishment  will  be  also  a  means  of  reformation,  and  [284]  will 
result  in  the  bestowal  upon  the  nation  of  fresh  marks  of  con- 
fidence and  love  at  the  hands  of  her  Divine  husband  ("  Jezreel," 
typifying  Israel,  is  now  to  verify  her  name  by  being  sown  anew  in 
the  earth).  And  thus  the  interpretation  ends,  2^3,  at  the  same 
point  which  the  original  prophecy  had  reached  in  2^, 

2^  is  the  close  of  i^**"",  and  should  be  included  in  c.  i.  The  "mother" 
in  2^  is,  of  course,  the  community  conceived  as  a  whole,  the  **  children"  being 
the  individual  members. 

In  the  third  section  (c.  3)  Hosea  appears  again,  as  in  c.  i, 
enacting  the  part  of  Jehovah  towards  His  people.  His  love  for 
his  faithless  wife,  and  his  behaviour  towards  her  (v.^-^),  are,  as 
he  says  himself  (v.^^-  %  symbols  of  Jehovah's  love  towards  the 
unfaithful  Israelites,  and  of  the  means  employed  by  Him  (de- 
privation for  a  season  of  civil  and  religious  institutions)  to  win 
them  back  to  purity  and  holiness. 

II.  C.  4-14.  These  chapters  consist  of  a  series  of  discourses, 
a  summary,  arranged  probably  by  the  prophet  himself  at  the  close 
of  his  ministry,  of  the  prophecies  delivered  by  him  in  the  years 
following  the  death  of  Jeroboam  II.  Though  the  argument  is 
not  continuous,  or  systematically  developed,  they  may  be  divided 
into  three  sections  :  c.  4-8,  in  which  the  thought  of  Israel's  guilt 
predominates ;  c.  9-1 1^^,  in  which  the  prevailing  thought  is  that 
of  Israel's  punishment \  w'^'^-o..  14,  in  which  these  two  lines  of 
thought  are  both  continued  (c.  12-13),  but  are  followed  (c.  14) 
by  a  glance  at  the  brighter  future  which  may  ensue,  provided 
Israel  repents.  The  following  is  an  outline  of  the  subjects 
treated : — (i.)  C.  4.  Israel's  gross  moral  corruption  (v. 2),  abetted 
and  increased  by  the  wdrldliness  and  indifference  of  the  priests. 
C.  5-7.  The  self-indulgence  and  sensuality  of  the  leaders  of  the 
nation,  resulting  in  the  degradation  of  public  life,  and  decay  of 


304  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

national  strength,  intermingled  with  descriptions  of  the  bitter 
consequences  which  must  inevitably  ensue.  C.  8.  The  prophet 
announces  the  fate  imminent  on  northern  Israel,  with  its  cause, 
viz.  idolatry  and  schism,  v.^-'':  already,  indeed,  has  the  judg- 
ment begun;  Israel  has  drawn  it  upon  itself,  by  dallying  with 
Assyria,  by  religious  abuses,  and  by  a  vain  confidence  in  fortified 
cities,  v.^"!"^.  (ii.)  C.  9-11^^.  The  approaching  judgment  is 
described  more  distinctly :  disaster,  ruin,  exile  (9^), — even  the 
idols  of  Beth-el  will  not  be  able  to  avert  it,  but  will  be  carried 
off  themselves  to  Assyria  (lo^^-), — with  passing  allusions  [285] 
to  its  ground,  viz.  the  nation's  ingratitude  and  sin,  and  with  a 
glance  at  the  end  (ii^'^^)  at  the  possibility  of  a  change  in  the 
Divine  purpose,  resulting  in  Ephraim's  restoration,  (iii.)  iii2_ 
c.  14.  The  thought  of  Israel's  sin  again  forces  itself  upon  the 
prophet :  they  had  fallen  short  of  the  example  set  them  by  their 
ancestor:  in  vain  had  Jehovah  sought  to  reform  them  by  His 
prophets ;  the  more  He  warned  them,  the  more  He  blessed  them, 
the  more  persistently  they  turned  from  Him :  the  judgment 
therefore  must  take  its  course  (13^^^-).  There  follows  an  invita- 
tion to  Israel  to  repent,  and  renounce  its  besetting  sins ;  and 
with  a  description  of  the  blessings  which  Jehovah  will  confer,  in 
case  Israel  responds,  the  prophecy  closes  (c.  14). 

Hosea  is  thus  in  a  pre-eminent  degree,  especially  in  c.  4-14, 
the  prophet  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  Northern  kingdom  :  * 
what  Amos  perceived  in  the  distance,  Hosea  sees  approaching 
with  rapid  steps,  accelerated  by  the  internal  decay  and  disorgan- 
ization of  the  kingdom.  Not  only  the  moral  corruption  of  the 
nation  generally,  including  even  the  priests  (4^^-^  6^-^^  7^  9^), 
but  the  thoughtless  ambition  of  the  nobles,  the  weakness  of  its 
kings,  the  conflict  of  opposing  factions,  are  vividly  depicted  by 
him  (4I8  5I  73-7. 16  gi5  jq3  1310).  He  alludes  frequently  to  Israel's 
idolatry,  both  their  attachment  to  sensuous  Canaanitish  cults 
and  their  devotion  to  the  unspiritual  calf-worship  (4^^-^'^- 1^-  ^^  ^^'^ 
84-6.11  ^1.10.15  ioi-5-8-i5  j  i2  12II  13^.):  idols  are  satirized  by 
him  as  made  by  the  hands  of  men,  in  a  form  devised  by  human 
minds,  of  the  silver  and  gold  which  they  owed  to  Jehovah  (2^ 
34-6  132).  hence  the  folly  of  trusting  in  them  or  worshipping 

*  Jtidah  is  alluded  to  only  incidentally,  4^^  ^5. 10. 12. 13.  i4  54. 11  gu  jqH  nW 
(obscure:  text  doubtful),  12^:  usually  in  unfavourable  terms  j  otherwise,  how- 
ever, in  i^  and  (by  implication)  1"  3'  (cf.  p.  306). 


HOSEA  305 

them  (8^  ironically — "they  are  made  ofily  to  be  cut  off":  lo^^- 
i4'^).  Hosea  urges  Israel  to  repent,  grounding  his  appeal  upon 
the  many  tokens  of  Jehovah's  love  to  which  its  history  had 
borne  witness  (9^^  ii^-^-^  12^-1^  13*'^;  cf.  6''  8^),  in  virtue  of 
which  Israel  was  bound  to  the  observance  of  a  multitude  of 
duties,  comprised  in  the  "  Torah  "  of  Jehovah  (S^^- 1-),  which  it 
was  the  office  of  the  priests  (4^)  to  inculcate  and  uphold. 
Through  Israel's  neglect  of  the  duties  thus  laid  upon  it,  Jehovah 
has  the  right  to  enter  into  judgment  [286]  with  it  (4^  5I).  These 
duties,  for  the  non-observance  of  which  the  prophet  rebukes  Israel, 
are  primarily  moral  ones,  as  appears  in  particular  from  4!"^,  where 
he  attributes  the  moral  degeneration  of  the  people  (v.^^^)  to  the 
priests'  forgetfulness  of  the  "  Torah  "  of  their  God.  The  people, 
however,  think  to  propitiate  Jehovah  with  their  offerings  (S^^; 
cf.  5^),  forgetting  that  His  delight  is  in  "mercy,  and  not  sacri- 
fice," and  in  the  (practical)  "knowledge  of  God"  (see  Jer.  22!^) 
more  than  in  burnt-offerings  (6^) ;  and  in  spite  of  the  love  shown 
to  them  in  the  past,  repay  Him  with  ingratitude,  and  slight  the 
commands  on  the  observance  of  which  He  sets  the  highest  value. 
Hence  He  is  become  their  enemy  (s^^- 14  yi2. 13  gi^  99.  isf.  137^.); 
and  the  prospect  of  invasion  (5^  S^-^  ii^  i3^^)>  and  exile  to  a 
foreign  land  (8^^  93.6.17  jjS^^  jg  \^^^  out  before  them  by  the 
prophet  with  ever-increasing  distinctness  and  force.  Particularly 
noticeable  is  Hosea's  conception  of  love  as  the  bond  uniting 
Jehovah  and  Israel  (3^  9^^  ii^*'*  14*),  as  well  as  individual 
Israelites  with  one  another  (6^)."* 

Style  of  Hosea.  "  Osee  commaticus  est  [is  broken  up  into 
clauses],  et  quasi  per  sententias  loquens,"  said  Jerome  long  ago ; 
and  his  words  exactly  describe  the  style  of  the  prophet,  short, 
abrupt  sentences,  very  frequently  unconnected  by  any  copula, 
full  of  force  and  compressed  feeling,  pregnant  with  meaning,  the 
thought  sometimes  so  condensed  as  to  be  ambiguous  or  obscure. 
The  style  of  Hosea  is  unique  among  the  prophets :  his  elder 
contemporary  Amos  writes  in  much  more  flowing  and  regular 
periods.  But  Hosea's  style  seems  to  be  the  expression  of  the 
emotion  which  is  stirring  in  his  heart :  his  sensitive  soul  is  full 
of  love  and  sympathy  for  his  people ;  and  his  keen  perception  of 
their  moral  decay,  and  of  the  destruction  towards  which  they 

*  See  more  fully  on  Hosea's  prevailing  lines  of  thought,  W.  R,  Smith, 
OTJC.  Lect.  iv.;  Cheyne,  p.  22  fF.;  Farrar,  chap,  viii. 


3o6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

are  hastening,  produces  in  consequence  a  conflict  of  emotions, 
which  is  reflected  in  the  pathos,  and  force,  and  "  artless  rhythm 
of  sighs  and  sobs,"  which  characterise  his  prophecy  (notice  e.g. 
the  pathos  of  such  verses  as  6*  7^"^  ^12.  Uj  1-2-4.  sf.^  'pj^g  figures 
used  are  suggestive;  they  are,  however,  in  agreement  with  his 
general  style,  indicated  by  a  word,  and  not,  as  a  rule,  worked 
out  (416  5H  64b.  5b  ^4. 6.  7. 11. 16  g^  910  iqT  138  145.6.8).  jehovah, 

on  His  terrible  side,  is  compared  [287]  to  a  lion,  a  panther,  a 
bear  (5^*  13^-^:  in  a  different  application,  11^^),  and  even  to  a 
moth  or  rottenness  (5^^) ;  on  His  gracious  side,  to  the  refreshing 
and  invigorating  "latter  rain"  (6^),  and  to  the  dew  (14^). 

■  Hosea  is  also  fond  of  paronomasias  a^^b-ssa  ("sow"),  8'  qI^""^  ii"  (double 
sense  of  "return"),  12^^  [Heb.^^];  comp.  the  allusion  to  the  derivation  of 
' '  Ephraim,"  9^«  131^  148  [Heb.^]  ""^ ;  and  the  use  of  '*  Beth-Aven  "  for  "  Beth- 
el," 4^^  10^  (cf.  V.8).  The  construction  of  clauses  dcrvvdirus  is  more  common 
in  him  than  in  any  other  prophet :  tf.^.  4'-  ^8  58b.  6b.  10  510  712. 16  ^6.  9. 15  iqI.  2b. 
«-"i'  14*  (Heb.5),  &c.:  clauses  with  nny  ("now")  similarly,  4^^  5'  f  S^- 1^^ 
(hence  Jer.  14^°),  lo^*  (uncommon). 

There  are  several  passages  in  Hosea,  which,  partly  on  the  ground  that  they 
are  thought  to  express  ideas  alien  to  Hosea's  historical  or  theological  position, 
partly  because  they  interrupt  the  connexion  of  thought,  have  been  held  by 
recent  critics  to  be  later  additions  to  the  original  text  of  his  prophecies.  Thus 
Stade  {Gesch.  i.  577  n.)  questioned  i'  i^O-a^  3^  (the  words  "and  David  their 
king")  4^^  8^'' ;  Cornill  {Einl.^%  27.  3)  agrees  (except  for  8^'*) ;  the  originality 
of  these,  with  the  exception  of  i',  was  defended  by  Kuenen  (in  1889), 
Onderzoek,  §  Gj.  8-10.  More  recently,  Wellh.  rejected  in  addition  2^^  6^^  7^ 
(to  Israel,  then)  10^^^,  most  of  14^"^,  as  well  as  a  few  less  important  phrases 
elsewhere:  Cheyne  (in  W.  R.  Smith,  Proph."^  p.  xviiff.)  cites  as  the  "most 
probable "  later  insertions  i"^  \^^-7>  3**  ("and  David  their  king")  415a  5i5_54 
6"  7^  (to  Israel,  then)  8^^  14^-3  (entirely).  G.  A.  Smith  rejects  i'  (p.  213), 
4i«-  814  (pp.  224,  259),  and  doubts  2>^  (p.  248),  ^^  e^^-  (p.  225),  ii6-7.io-n 
(p.  297  f),  14*  (p.  317),  but  seems  to  accept  i^^-^}-  (though  allowing  that  it 
must  be  misplaced),  and  the  suspected  words  in  3^  (p.  213  f.),  and  defends  at 
length  \i^'^  (pp.  309-312).  The  question  (which  will  occur  again  in  the  case 
of  Amos,  Micah,  Hab.,  and  Zeph.)  is  analogous  to  that  which  has  arisen 
before  with  reference  to  Is.  Jer.  and  II  Is.:  it  may  no  doubt  occasionally 
happen  (esp.  in  the  case  of  a  prophet  like  Jer.,  whose  text  has  manifestly 
passed  through  many  hands)  that  a  prophecy  has  been  expanded  or  supple- 
mented at  a  later  date  :  but  the  grounds  ought  to  be  very  clear  before  it  can 
be  deemed  probable  that  this  has  taken  place  upon  the  extensive  scale  which 
is  sometimes  supposed.  It  may  be  questioned  whether  recent  criticism  has 
not  shown  a  tendency  to  limit  unduly  the  spiritual  capabilities,  and  imagina- 
tive power,  of  the  pre-exilic  prophets;  and  whether,  the  prophets  being /<7^/j, 
guided  often,  as  is  clear,  by  impulse  and  feeling,  rather  than  by  strict  logic, 
imperfect  connexion  with  the  context   (except  in  extreme   cases,  or  when 


JOEL  307 

suppoited  by  linguistic  or  other  independent  indications)  forms  a  sufficient 
ground  for  judging  a  passage  to  be  a  later  insertion.  It  is  also  not  improbable 
that  the  discourses  of  the  prophets  have  often  been  transmitted  to  us  in  a 
condensed  form,  in  which  mediating  links  may  have  been  omitted.  And  a 
picture  of  restoration,  at  the  end  of  a  prophecy,  does  not  neutralize  previous 
threatenings  :  such  pictures  are  always  ideal  ones  ;  they  do  not  exempt  those 
whom  the  prophet  in  question  is  addressing  from  the  judgment  of  exile  or 
disaster  which  has  been  pronounced  upon  them;  the  judgment  takes  effect: 
but  out  of  the  national  ruin  which  it  implies,  the  prophet  pictures  in  the  un- 
defined future  a  renovated  community  arising — he  does  not  pause  to  ask  by 
what  historical  process  the  renovation  has  been  effected,  though  sometimes 
(esp.  in  Isaiah)  the  godly  Israelites  who  escape  the  disaster  are  conceived  as 
forming  its  nucleus — which  shall  carry  on  the  historical  continuity  of  the 
nation,  and  remain  the  recipient  of  Jehovah's  blessings.  See  generally,  on  the 
subject  of  "the  alternation  of  threatening  and  promise  in  the  prophets,"  the 
discriminating  study  of  Giesebrecht,  Beitriige,  pp.  187-220,  who  confesses 
himself  unable  to  maintain  the  originality  of  some  passages  (including  in 
particular  Hos.  i'  i^°-2^),  but  insists  that  there  is  no  sufficient  ground  for 
suspecting  promises  which  come  at  the  close  of  announcements  of  disaster. 


§  2.  Joel. 

The  title  of  this  prophecy  mentions  nothing  beyond  the 
names  of  the  prophet  and  of  his  father  Pethuel.  The  prophecy 
consists  of  two  parts,  12-2^^,  and  2^^  to  the  end.  i^-''  states,  in 
graphic  language,  the  occasion  of  the  prophecy,  viz.  a  visita- 
tion of  locusts,  accompanied  by  a  drought,  which  caused  the 
•severest  distress  throughout  the  country,  i  ^^-^^  ^^'-^ ;  the  pro- 
phet exhorts  the  people  to  fasting,  supplication,  and  mourning, 
ji3f.  2i-  i2f. .  for  the  present  visitation  of  locusts  is  to  him  a 
symbol  of  the  approaching  "  Day  of  Jehovah  "  (i^^),  to  be  ushered 
in  by  another  visitation  of  terrible  and  unprecedented  intensity, 
22-11,  which  timely  repentance  may  perchance  avert,  2^2-17^  'pjig 
people,  we  must  suppose,  responded  to  the  prophet's  invitation  : 
2!^^-  describes  in  narrative  form  (see  RV.)  Jehovah's  gracious 
change  of  purpose,  which  thereupon  ensued ;  and  what  follows, 
to  the  end  of  the  book,  is  His  answer  to  the  people's  prayer. 
The  answer  begins  with  a  promise  of  deliverance  from  the 
famine :  rain  will  again  descend  upon  the  parched  soil ;  fruitful 
seasons  will  compensate  for  the  locusts'  ravages ;  and  all  will 
know  that  Jehovah  is  Israel's  God,  220-27.  Then  the  spirit  of 
prophecy  will  be  poured  out  upon  all  flesh :  and  the  "  Day  of 
Jehovah"  will  draw  near,  wit|j  dread-inspiring  signs  in  heaven 


308  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

and  earth.  But  the  terrors  of  that  day  are  not  now  for  the  Jews, 
but  for  their  enemies :  in  the  judgment  which  marks  its  arrival, 
those  who  trust  in  Jehovah  will  escape,  228-32^  but  upon  the 
heathen,  who  have  "scattered  Israel  among  the  nations,  and 
parted  my  land,"  besides  otherwise  ill-treating  the  people  of  God, 
summary  vengeance  will  be  taken  :  they  are  invited  to  arm  them- 
selves, and  come  up  to  the  valley  of  [288]  Jehoshaphat  ("  Jehovah 
judges  "),  ostensibly  for  battle  against  the  Jews,  in  reality  to  be 
annihilated  by  the  heavenly  ministers  of  Jehovah's  wrath  (3^^^). 
The  scene  of  carnage  which  ensues  is  pictured  under  suggestive 
figures,  3^^^- ;  but  "  Jehovah  will  be  a  refuge  unto  His  people, 
and  a  stronghold  to  the  children  of  Israel."  Then  the  soil  of 
Judah  will  be  preternaturally  fertilised;  and  "a  fountain  shall 
come  forth  of  the  house  of  Jehovah,  and  shall  water  the  wady  of 
the  Acacias  "  (symbolizing  the  arid  and  barren  regions  of  Judah)  : 
Egypt,  on  the  other  hand,  and  Edom,  as  a  punishment  for 
the  wrongs  inflicted  by  them  upon  the  people  of  Judah,  will  be 
changed  into  wildernesses  (3^^'^^). 

The  locusts  in  c.  i  (though  this  has  been  questioned)  are,  no  doubt,  to  be 
understood  literally;  there  is  nothing  in  the  language  used  to  suggest  any- 
thing but  an  actual  visitation  of  locusts,  from  which  the  country  has  been 
suffering.  The  actual  locusts  suggest  to  Joel  the  imagery  by  which  he 
describes,  2^^-,  the  approach  of  the  "Day  of  Jehovah":  here  the  locusts 
are  idealized  \  they  are  creatures  of  the  imagination,  invested  with  appalling 
size  and  power,  the  prototype  of  the  "apocalyptic"  locusts  ol"  Rev.  9^"^° 
(where,  however,  the  ideal  delineation  is  carried  much  further  than  here). 
As  the  locusts  in  c.  2  are  compared  to  an  army,  they  can  hardly  (as  some  have 
supposed)  be  themselves  merely  symbolical  of  an  army.  The  meaning  of 
* '  the  northern  one  "  in  2^"  is  disputed,  and  uncertain.  From  the  connexion 
with  v.  ^^-25  it  would  naturally  be  understood  to  denote  the  locusts,  the 
removal  of  which  follows  the  people's  repentance.  But  locusts  never  (or 
scarcely  ever)  enter  Palestine  from  the  north ;  so  that  (unless  the  occasion 
was  one  of  the  exceptions)  "the  northern  one"  would  be  an  unsuitable 
designation  for  them  ;  hence  by  some  the  term  is  considered  to  be  descriptive 
of  a  human  foe  (see  p.  311  n\ 

For  determining  the  date  of  Joel  (the  title  being  silent)  we 
are  dependent  entirely  upon  internal  evidence;  and  as  this  is 
interpreted  differently  by  different  critics,  much  diversity  of 
opinion  exists  on  the  subject.  The  principal  criteria  afforded 
by  the  prophecy  are  the  following: — (i)  Joel  mentions  Tyre, 
Zidon,  the  Philistines,  the  Greeks  ("  Javan,"  i.e.  lonians),  Sabeans, 
Egypt,  and  Edom;  (2)  he  is  silent — not  even  noticing  them 


JOEL  309 

allusively — on  the  Syrians,  Assyrians,  and  Chaldaeans;  (3)  he 
nowhere  mentions  or  alludes  to  the  Ten  Tribes;  even  when 
speaking  most  generally,  e.g.  of  the  future  restoration,  or  of 
Israelites  sold  as  slaves  (s^-  ^-  ^%  he  names  only  "  Judah  and 
Jerusalem " :  "  Israel,"  where  the  term  occurs  (2^7 ;  3I6 :  32  is 
ambiguous),  is  used  simply  as  the  generic  name  of  Judah ;  (4) 
Jehovah's  people  is  "a  reproach  among  the  nations"  (2^^); 
[289]  and  it  is  said  of  "  all  nations  "  that  they  have  "  scattered  " 
His  "heritage  among  the  nations,  and  parted"  His  "land," 
and  "  cast  lots  over "  His  "  people "  (32b-3a) .  ^he  return  of  the 
captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  is  also  anticipated  by  the 
prophet  (3^);  (5)  the  Tyrians,  Zidonians,  and  Philistines  are 
charged  with  having  plundered  the  gold  and  silver  and  treasures 
belonging  to  Jehovah,  and  selling  captive  Judahites  to  the  Greeks 
(34-6) ;  (6)  Egypt  and  Edom  are  threatened  with  desolation 
for  the  violence  done  to  Judah  in  murdering  innocent  Judahites 
in  their  land  (3^^);  (7)  there  is  no  allusion  to  any  kind  of 
idolatry,  the  services  of  the  Temple  are  conducted  regularly; 
the  priests  take  a  prominent  position,  and  are  evidently  held  in 
respect  (i^-  ^^  2^^) ;  the  cessation,  through  the  locusts  and 
drought,  of  the  means  of  providing  the  daily  Meal-  and  Drink- 
offering  is  treated  as  a  grave  calamity ;  (8)  the  prophet  is  silent 
as  to  the  king,  and  even  as  to  the  princes ;  the  elders^  on  the 
contrary,  are  alluded  to  (i^*)  as  prominent  in  a  public  gathering; 
(9)  mention  is  made  (32- 12)  of  the  "  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,"  pre- 
sumably so  called  from  the  king  of  that  name;  (10)  there  are 
resemblances  between  Joel  and  Amos  which  show  that  one  of 
the  two  prophets  must  have  imitated  or  borrowed  from  the  other 
(Joel  3^^  and  Amos  i^ ;  3I8  and  Amos  q^^^). 

It  was  argued  by  Credner  in  1831  that  the  conditions  implied 
by  these  criteria  were  satisfied  by  a  date  in  the  early  part  of  the 
reign  of  King  Joash,  B.C.  878-839  [rather  c.  837-801]  (2  Ki.  12), 
after  the  invasion  of  Judah  by  Shishak  (i  Ki.  14"^--*^),  which  is 
supposed  to  be  alluded  to  in  3^^''  (no  strafigers  to  pass  through 
Jerusalem  any  more),  and  3^'^  {^^  violence  against  the  children  of 
fudah  "),  the  reign  of  Jehoshaphat  (No.  9),  and  the  revolt  of  the 
Edomites  under  Jehoram  (2  Ki.  8-^-22),  to  the  murder  by  whom 
of  Judahites  settled  in  their  territory  3^^  may  refer,  and  not  long 
after  the  plundering  of  the  royal  treasures  (No.  5)  by  marauding 
Philistines  and  Arabians  duriag  the  same  reign  (2  Ch.  21^^- ^"^ 


310  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

2  2^),  but  before  the  time  when  the  Syrians  under  Hazael 
threatened  Jerusalem,  and  had  to  be  bought  off  at  the  cost 
of  the  Temple  treasures  by  Joash  (2  Ki.  I2i7^-),  and  a  fortiori 
before  the  time  when  Judah  suffered  at  the  hands  of  Assyrians 
or  Chaldaeans  (cf.  No.  2).  Upon  this  view  32-3.6  ^re  referred  to 
the  loss  of  territory  suffered  by  Judah  at  the  time  of  the  revolt  of 
Edom  (which  was  followed  quickly  [290]  by  that  of  Libnah, 
2  Ki.  8^2)^  and  to  the  sale  of  prisoners,  whom  the  Philistines  and 
Arabians  might  be  presumed  to  have  taken,  to  other  nations, 
such  as  is  laid  by  Amos  (i^-  ^)  to  the  charge  of  Gaza  and  Tyre. 
Joash  (2  Ki.  ii^i)  was  only  seven  years  old  when  he  came  to 
the  throne :  if  Joel's  prophecy  dated  from  the  period  of  his 
minority,  the  non-mention  of  the  king  (No.  8),  it  is  urged,  would 
be  explained,  while  the  position  of  the  priests,  and  the  regularity 
of  the  Temple  services  (No.  7),  would  be  a  natural  consequence 
of  the  influence  exerted  by  the  priest  Jehoiada. 

Credner's  arguments  were  specious ;  and  most  scholars  until 
recently  acquiesced  in  his  conclusion.  At  the  same  time,  he  can 
hardly  be  considered  to  have  done  justice  to  3^ :  the  strong 
expressions  here  used  respecting  the  dispersion  of  Israel  among 
the  nations,  and  the  allotment  of  the  Holy  Land  to  new  occu- 
pants, cannot  fairly  be  referred  to  any  calamity  less  than  that  of 
the  Babylonian  captivity.  Keil  felt  this  objection  so  strongly, 
that  he  supposed  the  words  in  question  to  be  spoken  by  Joel 
with  reference  to  the  future ;  but  if  the  passage  be  read  in  con- 
nexion with  the  context,  it  seems  plain  that  the  prophet  alludes 
to  sufferings  which  have  been  already  undergone  by  the  nation. 
And  when  the  criteria  noted  by  Credner  are  considered  carefully, 
it  appears  that  many  of  them  are  equally  consistent  with  a  date 
after  the  captivity,  while  other  features  exhibited  by  the  prophecy 
even  agree  with  such  a  date  better. 

Thus*  (i)  the  enemies  of  Judah  are  the  nations  collectively^  who  are 
assembled  for  a  signal  defeat  outside  the  walls  of  Jerusalem.  This  is  a 
feature  prominent  in  later  prophets,  as  Ez.  38-39,  Zech.  14 :  the  earlier 
prophets  speak  oi  definite  enemies  of  Judah  (as  the  Assyrians).  (2)  The  book 
implies  a  nation  united  religiously,  and  free  from  any  of  those  tendencies  to 
heathenism  which  call  forth  the  constant  rebuke  of  the  pre-exilic  prophets. 
(3)  No  king  is  mentioned  :  the  nation  possesses  a  municipal  organisation  with 

*  Comp.  W.  R.  Smith,  s.v.  JOEL,  in  the  Encycl.  Brit.^  (reprinted  in 
Black's  Bible  Dictionary).  The  form  in  which  the  arguments  on  the  same 
side  are  stated  by  Merx  is  not  free  from  exaggeration. 


JOEL  311 

a  priestly  aristocracy,  which  accords  with  the  constitution  that  prevailed  after 
the  exile.  That  the  Persians  do  not  appear  as  the  enemies  of  Israel  is  not 
more  than  natural,  they  were  hard  masters,  but  not  invaders ;  and  under 
their  rule  (comp.  Neh.)  the  enemies  of  the  Jews  were  their  neighbours,  pre- 
cisely as  appears  in  JoeL  (4)  Edom's  hostility  to  Judah  was  not  confined  to 
the  period  of  the  reign  of  Joash  :  it  was  habitual ;  and  a  bitter  feeling  against 
[291]  Edom  often  manifests  itself  in  Jewish  writers  after  the  events  of  B.C. 
586  (cf.  p.  226).  (5)  Egypt  is  probably  mentioned  merely  as  the  typical 
example  of  a  power  hostile  to  Judah  :  even  on  Credner's  theory  the  allusion 
is  to  an  incident  which  happened  a  century  before.  And  3^'^  is  much  more 
pointed  if  spoken  after  the  desecration  of  the  Temple  by  the  Chaldaeans  (cf. 
Isa.  52^),  than  after  the  invasion  of  Shishak  (who  is  not  stated  to  have 
entered  Jerusalem  at  all).  (6)  2  Chr.  21  mentions  Philistines  and  Arabians, 
but  is  silent  altogether  as  to  the  Phoenicians,  who  appear  here  as  the  offenders. 
There  is  no  ground  for  limiting  the  traffic  in  slaves  to  the  age  of  Amos ;  and 
the  notice  of  Javan  (Greece)  better  suits  a  later  time,  when  Syrian  slaves  were 
in  request  in  Greece.  (7)  Judah  and  the  people  of  Jehovah  are  convertible 
terms :  northern  Israel  has  disappeared.  This  is  not  the  case  in  the  earlier 
prophets ;  the  prophets  of  Israel  do  not  exclude  Judah,  at  least  from  their 
promises,  nor  do  the  prophets  of  Judah  exclude  Israel.  (8)  The  importance 
attached  to  the  daily  offering  is  not  less  characteristic  of  the  post-exilic  age 
(Neh.  10^;  cf.  Dan.  8^^  11^^  12^^).  (9)  Joel's  eschatological  picture  consists 
largely  of  a  combination  of  elements  derived  from  older  unfulfilled  prophecies. 
Its  central  feature,  the  assembling  of  the  nations  to  judgment,  already  appears 
in  Zeph.  3^,  and  in  Ezekiel's  prophecy  concerning  Gog  and  Magog,  where 
the  wonders  of  fire  and  blood  are  also  mentioned  (Ezek.  38^^).  The  picture 
of  the  fertility  of  the  land  (3^^)  is  based  on  Am.  9^^  (comp.  below) ;  that  of 
the  stream  issuing  from  the  Temple,  and  fertilizing  the  Wady  of  Acacias,  upon 
Ezek.  47^'^^  (cf.  Zech.  14^) ;  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  upon  Ezek.  39-^.* 

These  arguments  are  forcible.  In  particular,  the  terms  of 
31-2  (cf.  2 19^),  the  relation  of  Israel  to  "  the  nations  "  which  these 
passages  presuppose,  and  the  general  resemblance  of  the  repre- 

*  See  also  Farrar,  pp.  105-112,  120-123.  Those  who  adopt  this  date  for 
Joel  often  suppose  that  "  the  northern  one "  of  2^°  is  an  allusion  to  the 
imagery  of  Ez.  38^^^  39^,  where  the  ideal  hosts  that  threaten  Judah  are 
represented  as  coming  from  the  north.  But  it  is  very  doubtful  if  this  is  right : 
the  fate  of  the  "  northerner  "  is  distinctively  that  of  a  swarm  of  locusts. 

Prof.  J.  W.  Rothstein,  in  a  note  in  the  German  translation  of  the  present 
work  (p.  333  f.),  argues,  on  account  of  differences  in  the  political  situation 
presupposed,  and  in  the  literary  originality  displayed,  that  the  book  is  not 
throughout  the  work  of  a  single  hand  :  \^-i'^^  he  thinks,  may  well  be  pre- 
exilic  ;  2-^-3'-^^  is  a  supplement,  reflecting  the  situation  and  conceptions  of  the 
post-exilic  age  (cf.  Ob.  ^"'^^  by  the  side  of  v.^"^),  added  by  one  who,  inter- 
preting (incorrectly)  the  locusts  of  1^-2^  as  a  symbolical  designation  of  the 
foes  who  were  overrunning  the  land  when  he  wrote,  introduced  at  the  same 
time  2^0  for  the  purpose  of  announging  their  destruction. 


312  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

sentation-in  c.  3  to  those  found  in  the  later  prophets,  must  be 
allowed  to  turn  the  balance  of  evidence  somewhat  strongly  in 
favour  of  the  later  date.  Joel's  imagery  and  language  are  fine  : 
but  he  can  scarcely  be  said  to  exhibit  the  originality  and  breadth 
of  view  which  are  generally  characteristic  of  the  earlier  prophets. 
He  seems  to  move  "in  the  circle  of  moral  convictions  and 
eschatological  hopes  which  had  been  marked  out  for  him  by  his 
great  predecessors  "  :  though  he  calls  to  repentance  (i^^^-  2'^^^- 1^), 
the  stress  lies  with  him  not  upon  his  people's  sin,  but  upon  the 
distinction  between  Israel  and  other  nations ;  Israel,  at  least  in 
so  far  as  it  responds  to  Jehovah's  call  (2^2),  is  to  be  saved  and 
glorified,  the  nations  are  annihilated.  It  seems  as  if  Joel  re- 
affirmed, in  a  form  suited  to  the  temper  and  needs  of  his  age, 
the  promises  of  the  older  prophets,  which  it  was  impossible  [292] 
to  regard  as  adequately  accomplished  in  the  actual  condition  of 
the- restored  exiles.* 

The  principal  literary  parallels  between  Joel  and  other  prophets  are  the 
following  :—ii5,  Isa.  13^.-22,  Zeph.  i^^  (and  Ex.  io"b)._23,  Ez.  36^  (the 
"garden  of  Eden").— 2^^,  Nah.  210^  [H.  "^J  (nr.NS  i^npf).— 210,  Isa.  1310, 
Ez.  327.— 2"b,  Ps.  79^°  115^  cf.  423-10,  Mic.  710.— 2^7,  Ez.  36I1  3928,  Isa. 

456-  6-  18.— 228,    Ez.     3929    (cf.     3627).— 232,     Qb.  ".—32,     Ez.     3822.-33^^    Qb.  " 

(^■113  it:  only  Nah.  310  besides).— 3^- l^  Ob.  15.-310,  Isa.  2^  (  =  Mic.  4^).— 
31*,  Am.  i2.— 317b,  Ob.  17,  Isa.  521^.-318,  Am.  g^^.— 319,  Ob.  10. 

Von  Orelli  argues  that  some  of  these  parallels  are  decisive  for  the  pre- 
exilic  date  of  Joel  (p.  237):  "Ez.  302^*  is  unmistakably  dependent  upon 
Joel  Ji*^  2"-;  similarly  Jer.  2$^^'  on  Joel  311- 1^.  So  Isa.  66I8  presupposes 
Joel  32.  Ez.  47!^-  develops  further  the  imagery  of  Joel  3I8  ;  and  Ez.  38!' 
398  allude  in  all  probability  especially  to  Joel  3.  The  dependency  of  Isa. 
13*-  ^  on  Joel  1 1''  is  palpable.  And  the  parallels  with  Amos  show  incontro- 
vertibly  that  he  is  earlier  than  this  prophet.  Am.  i^  is  taken  certainly  from 
Joel  31^  :  accordingly  Am.  91^  also  is  dependent  on  Joel  3I8."  But  that  this 
is  the  true  relation  between  the  passages  quoted  is  by  no  means  self-evident. 
Nothing  is  more  difficult  (except  under  specially  favourable  circumstances) 
than  from  a  mere  comparison  of  parallel  passages  to  determine  on  which  side 
the  priority  lies ;  f  and  if  those  cited  by  von  Orelli  be  examined,  it  will  be 
seen  that  there  is  no  reason  (apart  from  the  assumption,  upon  other  grounds, 
that  Joel  is  the  earlier)  why  the  relation  should  not  be  inverted,  why,  in 
other  words,  it  should  not  be  Joel  who  is  the  borrower.  And  as  regards  the 
parallels  with  Amos,  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  in  each  case  the  picture  in  Joel  is 
more  highly  coloured  than  in  Amos  :  especially  (as  Kuen.  §  68.  15  observes) 

*  See  i\xr\hex  Joel  and  Amos,  p.  30  fF. 

t  Hence  the  failure  of  the  attempts  made  by  Kiiper,  Caspari,  and  others  to 
show  that  Isa. 


AMOS  313 

it  seems  unlikely  that  Amos,  if  he  had  been  borrowing  from  a  passage  which 
described  Jehovah's  thunder  as  shaking  heaven  and  earth,  would  have  limited 
its  effects  to  the  pastures  of  the  shepherds  and  the  top  of  Carmel.  But  even 
if  this  argument  be  not  accepted  as  decisive,  there  is  still  nothing  inherent 
either  in  these  or  in  the  other  passages  to  show  that  the  priority  is  with  Joel : 
in  other  words,  the  parallels  cannot  be  used  for  determining  the  date  of  Joel ; 
we  can  only,  after  having  determined  his  date  on  independent  grounds ^  point 
to  the  parallels  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  (as  the  case  may  be)  either  his 
dependence  upon  the  other  prophets,  or  their  dependence  upon  him.  In  2*^ 
[Heb.3^],  however,  Ob.^'^,  "And  in  mount  Zion  shall  be  those  that  escape," 
does  appear  to  be  expressly  cited:  "And  in  mount  Zion  and  in  Jeru- 
salem shall  be  those  that  escape,  as  Jehovah  hath  said. "  G.  B.  Gray,  in  the 
Expositor,  Sept,  1893,  p.  208  ff.,  after  a  careful  and  independent  study  of  the 
parallel  passages,  reaches  the  same  conclusion  that  Joel  is  the  quoter  (comp. 
thevfntex^s  Joel  and  Amos,  pp.  19-23,  24  f.). 

The  style  of  Joel  is  bright  and  flowing ;  and  the  contrast,  which  is 
palpable,  with  Haggai  or  Malachi  is  no  doubt  felt  by  many  as  a  reason  against 
the  view  that  his  prophecy  dates  from  the  same  general  period  of  the  history. 
[293]  But  it  is  a  question  whether  our  knowledge  of  this  period  is  of  a 
character  authorizing  us  to  affirm  that  a  style  such  as  Joel's  could  not  have 
been  written  then  ;  at  least,  if  Zech.  12-14  dates  from  the  post-exilic  age,  it 
is  difficult  to  argue  that  Joel  cannot  date  from  it  likewise.  The  phraseology, 
viewed  as  a  whole,  can  hardly  be  cited  as  positively  favouring  the  later  date, 
though  it  is  true  that  it  includes  some  words  and  expressions  which  are  more 
common  in  the  later  than  in  the  earlier  literature  :  thus  i^  4^  dni  .  .  .  n  (the 
usual  form  is  dn  .  .  .  n)  ;  i^  2^'  *'  ministers  of  Jehovah"  (cf.  Jer.  33^^'-,  Isa. 
616,  I  Ch.  16"  2  Ch.  1310  29^1,  Ezr.  8",  Neh.  i<^'  ^O) ;  2^  420  nni  in  ;  2^ 
rhv  weapon  (Job  [Elihu],  Neh.  Chr.);  2"^  fjiD  ^«^(Arani.:  2  Ch.  20^^  Eccl. 
3"  72  1213]');  2(4)2  Jehovah's  litigating  {^zm)  with  His  enemies  (Jer.  2^ 
2531,  Ez.  17202035-363822^  Isa.  66^6);  3(4)  ^  Vy  -^dj  (2  Ch.  20");  3(4)10  non 
lance  ;  3(4) "  nnjn  cause  to  come  down  (Aram.). 


§  3.  Amos. 

Amos,  as  the  title  to  his  book  informs  us,  was  "  among  the 
shepherds  of  Tekoa,"  i.e.  he  belonged  to  a  settlement  of 
shepherds  who  had  their  home  at  Tekoa,  and  who,  as  the 
word  used  implies,  reared  a  special  breed  of  sheep,  of  small  and 
stunted  growth,  but  prized  on  account  of  their  wool.  From  7^^ 
we  learn  that  he  had  under  his  charge  herds  of  larger  cattle  as 
well ;  and  that  he  was  employed  besides  in  the  cultivation  of 
sycomore  trees.  Although  this  has  been  questioned,  the  Tekoa 
meant  is  no  doubt  the  place  of  that  name  about  1 2  miles  south 
of  Jerusalem  :  Amos,  therefore,  will  have  been  a  native  of  Judah, 
though  he  received  a  commission — being  taken,  as  he  describes 


314  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

it,  "  from  after  the  flock  "  (7^^) — to  go  and  prophesy  to  the 
people  of  Israel.  In  connexion  with  the  nature  of  prophecy, 
it  is  to  be  noticed  that  Amos  disclaims  {'j'^^)  being  a  prophet  by 
profession  or  education  :  he  is  no  "  son  of  a  prophet,"  i.e.  no 
member  of  a  prophetic  guild  (2  Ki.  4^  &c.) ;  his  inspiration  is 
independent  of  any  artificial  training.  The  year  of  Uzziah's 
reign,  in  which  the  "earthquake,"  mentioned  in  i^  (cf.  Zech. 
14^),  took  place,  is  not  known;  but  internal  evidence  points  to 
the  latter  part  of  Jeroboam  II.'s  reign,  offer  the  successes 
alluded  to  in  2  Ki.  142^,  i.e.  about  760-746  B.C.,  as  that  to  which 
Amos'  prophetic  ministry  belongs.  The  reign  of  Jeroboam  II., 
though  passed  by  briefly  in  the  historical  books  (2  Ki.  1423-29), 
was  the  culminating  point  in  the  history  of  the  Northern  king- 
dom. Jeroboam  had  been  successful  in  recovering  for  Israel 
territory  which  it  had  lost  (2  Ki.  142^) ;  and  the  allusions  in 
Amos  [294]  show  us  the  nation  reposing  in  opulence  and  ease 
(e.g.  61-^) ;  the  ritual  of  the  calf  worship  at  Beth-el,  Gilgal,  and 
elsewhere  was  splendidly  and  punctiliously  maintained  (4^*"- 
^21-23  yi3  314) .  general  satisfaction  reigned  :  the  proud  citizen 
of  Ephraim  felt  that  he  could  defy  any  adversary  (6^^).  Such 
was  the  condition  and  temper  of  the  people  when  Amos,  arriving 
at  the  great  national  sanctuary  of  Beth-el  as  a  stranger  (7^^'^'^), 
interrupted  the  rejoicings  there  with  his  forebodings  of  woe. 

The  book  falls  naturally  into  three  parts,  c.  1-2,  c.  3-6, 
c.  7-9,  each  dominated  by  the  same  fundamental  thoughts,  and 
the  whole  pervaded  by  a  unity  of  plan  which  leaves  no  reason- 
able doubt  that  the  arrangement  is  the  author's  own.  I.  The 
^rsl  part,  c.  1-2,  is  introductory.  Here,  after  the  fine  exordium 
(i2),  so  graphically  descriptive  of  Jehovah's  power,  Amos  takes 
a  survey  of  the  principal  nations  bordering  on  Israel, — Damascus, 
Gaza,  Tyre,  Edom,  Ammon,  Moab,  Judah, — with  the  object  of 
showing  that  as  none  of  these  will  escape  retribution  for  having 
broken  the  common  and  universally  regarded  dictates  of  morality; 
so  Israel,  for  similar  or  greater  sins  (2^"^),  aggravated,  indeed,  in 
its  case  by  ingratitude  (v.^-i2),  will  not  be  exempt  from  the  same 
law  of  righteous  government :  a  disaster  darkly  hinted  at  (v.^^"^^) 
will  undo  all  the  conquests  achieved  by  Jeroboam  II.  ! '  The 
enumeration  of  countries  is  evidently  intended  to  lead  up  to 
Israel,  and  is  arranged  skilfully :  the  Israelite  would  listen  with 
some  inward  satisfaction  whilst  his  neighbours'  faults,  with  the 


AMOS  315 

judgments  that  they  would  incur,  were  being  pointed  out ;  in  the 
end,  however,  he  is  measured  himself  by  exactly  the  same 
standard  that  is  applied  to  others,  and  is  threatened  with  retri- 
bution not  less  severe. 

II.  C.  3-6.  This  part  consists  of  three  discourses,  each 
introduced  by  the  emphatic  Hear  ye  this  word  (3^  4^  5^). 
Here  the  indictment  and  sentence  of  2^-'^^  are  further  justified 
and  expanded.  The  Israelites  argued  that  the  fact  of  Jehovah's 
having  chosen  the  nation  was  a  guarantee  of  its  safety.  Amos 
replies  :  That  is  not  the  case ;  you  have  mistaken  the  conditions 
of  His  choice :  for  that  very  reason  He  will  visit  your  iniquities 
upon  you  (31^-)  Nor,  he  continues,  does  the  prophet  say  this 
without  a  real  power  constraining  him :  for  does  any  effect  in 
nature  take  place  without  its  due  and  adequate  cause  ?  (v.^^^). 
Call  the  heathen  themselves  to  witness  whether  justice  rules  in 
[295]  Samaria  (v.^^-).  The  toils  will  ere  long  have  closed  about 
the  land  (v.^^-^^).  C.  4  begins  by  denouncing  the  thoughtless 
cruelty  and  frivolity  of  the  women  (v.^^^)  :  the  prophet  next  asks 
the  Israelites  ironically  whether  their  punctiliously  performed 
ritual  will  save  them  (v.^^-)  :  the  fivefold  warning  has  passed  un- 
heeded (v. 6-11)  :  prepare  thyself,  then,  for  judgment !  In  c.  5-6 
the  grounds  of  the  judgment  are  repeated  with  greater  emphasis 
(5^-  1^-  11^-  (y''^) :  the  infatuation  of  the  people  is  exposed  in 
desiring  the  "  Day  of  Jehovah,"  as  though  that  could  be  any- 
thing but  an  interposition  in  their  favour  (s^^-^^) ;  a  ritual  un- 
accompanied by  any  sense  of  moral  obligation  is  indignantly 
rejected  (5'^^"^^) ;  the  nature  of  the  coming  disaster  is  described 
more  distinctly  (exile,  5-^  [RV.  7narg?^  27  57)^  ^nd  the  enemy 
indicated,  though  not  named  (the  Assyrians),  which  should 
"  afflict  ^  Israel  over  the  entire  limits  of  the  territory  which 
Jeroboam  had  not  long  since  regained  (6I* :  see  2  Ki.  14^^). 

III.  C.  7-9,  consisting  of  a  series  of  visions,  with  an  historical 
interlude  {i^^'^'^\  and  an  epilogue  (9^*1^).  The  visions  reinforce, 
under  a  simple  but  effective  symbolism,  the  lesson  of  the  pre- 
vious discourses  :  in  the  first  two  (y^*^),  the  threatened  judgment 
is  interrupted  at  the  prophet's  intercession ;  the  third,  which 
spoke  without  any  concealment  or  ambiguity,  aroused  the  alarm 
and  opposition  of  Amaziah,  the  priest  of  the  golden  calf  at 
Beth-el,  and  is  the  occasion  of  the  historical  notice,  ^'^^-^'^.  The 
fourth  vision  is  the  text  of»a  fresh  and  more  detailed  denuncia- 


3l6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

tion  of  judgment  (c.  8) :  the  fifth  depicts  the  desolation  falling 
upon  the  people  as  they  are  assembled  for  worship  in  their  own 
temple,  and  emphasizes  the  hopelessness  of  every  effort  to  escape 
(9!-^).  The  prophecy  closes,  9^"^^,  with  brighter  anticipations 
for  a  more  distant  future.  Israel,  indeed,  for  its  sins  will  be 
dealt  with  as  any  other  nation  (vJ) :  but  only  the  sinners  will 
perish  utterly :  a  faithful  remnant  will  escape  (v.^-^^) ;  the  house 
of  David  will  be  restored  to  its  former  splendour  and  power,* 
and  the  blessings  of  unity  and  prosperity  will  be  shared  by  the 
entire  nation  (v.^^'^^). 

The  unity  of  plan  governing  the  arrangement  of  the  book  will  be  manifest : 
the  main  theme,  gradually  introduced  in  c.  1-2,  is  developed  with  increasing 
[296]  distinctness  in  the  chapters  which  follow,  till  it  gives  place  to  the 
outlook  upon  a  happier  future  at  the  close.  The  allusions  of  Amos  to  the 
social  condition  and  religious  life  of  the  Northern  kingdom  do  not  present 
such  a  dark  picture  as  that  drawn  by  Hosea  a  few  years  later  (c.  4-14), 
during  the  anarchy  and  misrule  which  prevailed  after  the  dynasty  of  Jehu  had 
fallen  :  nevertheless  the  amendment,  which  was  still  viewed  by  him  as  a 
possibility  (5^^*)>  never  came ;  and  almost  before  a  generation  had  passed 
away,  his  forebodings  of  invasion,  disaster,  and  exile  (2^"^^  3^^"^^  4^^  5^" 
i6f.  27  614  79. 17  32f.  ^1-4)  ^gj-g  amply  realized  by  Tiglath-Pileser,  Shalmaneser, 

and  Sargon  (2  Ki.  \^  17^-^),  Jtidah  is  alluded  to  by  Amos  only  incidentally  : 
24f.  3I  (u  tije  ^/^^^  f^jj^ily  »)  61  gii^ 

Amos  is  the  earliest  of  the  prophets  whose  writings  are 
extant  and  of  undisputed  date;  and  hence,  like  those  of  his 
younger  contemporary  Hosea,  his  writings  are  of  importance 
as  witnessing  to  the  religious  beliefs  current  in  the  eighth 
century  B.C.  It  is  clear,  for  instance,  that  he  recognised  (2*) 
an  authoritative  Divine  teaching  or  Tordh,  by  which,  however, 
like  Hosea  (4^  compared  with  41^-;  S^-  ^^^  cf.  6^),  he  appears  to 
have  understood  primarily  the  moral  precepts  of  Jehovah  (comp. 
^21-27^  where  he  rebukes  the  people  with  neglecting  the  moral 
demands  of  God,  and  trusting  to  sacrifice  to  indemnify  them). 
The  broad  moral  standard  by  which  he  judges  Israel  is  par- 
ticularly noticeable.  It  is  not  a  standard  peculiar  to  Israel,  it  is 
the  common  moral  standard  recognised  as  binding  by  it  and  by 
other  nations  alike.  Jehovah  is  God  of  the  whole  earth,  of 
other  nations  not  less  than  of  Israel  (c.  i ;  9^),  and  will  only  be 
Israel's  God  in  so  far  as  the  same  morality  is  practised  in  its 

*  V.^2  alludes  to  the  nations  conquered  by  David,  and  so  owned  by 
Jehovah  as  His  subjects  (see  p.  275,  No.  16)  :  2  Sa.  S^"",  Ps.  18^^. 


AMOS  317 

midst.  Jehovah  had  been  pleased  to  enter  into  a  special 
personal  relation  with  Israel :  this  fact,  to  which  the  common 
people  pointed  as  their  security  (5^*  ^«^),  in  the  eyes  of  Amos 
only  aggravates  their  guilt  (32),  Disregard  of  the  moral  law  is 
the  first  charge  which  he  brings  against  Israel  itself  (2^-^) ;  and 
his  indignation  against  every  form  of  moral  wrong  is  vehemently 
expressed  (comp.  e.g.  the  outburst  against  deceit  in  commercial 
dealings  8*-^ ;  notice  also  the  oath,  8''  4^  6^ :  each  time  elicited 
by  the  same  fault).  The  observances  of  religion  are  no  substi- 
tute for  honesty,  and  will  not  be  accepted  by  Jehovah  in  lieu  of 
righteousness  of  heart  (5^^*^'*). 

On  the  '*  Day  of  Jehovah "  (5^^'^°),  and  the  manner  in  which  Amos 
reverses  the  popular  conception  of  it,  see  W.  R.  Smith,  Proph.  p.  131  f., 
who  also  (p.  i2off.)  draws  out  suggestively  many  other  characteristics  of 
Amos'  teaching.  In  noticing  the  fortunes  and  deserts  of  the  nations  border- 
ing [297]  on  Palestine,  Amos  adopted  a  precedent  which  was  followed  after- 
wards by  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel.  Amos  was  a  man  naturally  shrewd 
and  observant :  alike  in  his  survey  of  foreign  nations  (comp.  also  6^  8^  9"^), 
and  in  his  allusions  to  Israelitish  life  and  manners,  he  reveals  a  width  of 
knowledge  and  precision  of  detail  which  are  remarkable. 

Jerome  (Pref.  to  Amos),  speaking  of  Amos  with  reference  to 
his  style,  describes  him  as  "  imperitus  sermone,  sed  non  scientia"; 
and,  though  the  context  suggests  that  he  is  merely  arguing  a 
priori  from  the  prophet's  antecedents,  it  has  hence  been  some- 
times the  custom  to  attribute  to  his  style  a  peculiar  homeliness 
and  "rusticity."  But  this  judgment  is  not  borne  out  by  the 
facts.  His  language,  with  three  or  four  insignificant  exceptions, 
is  pure,  his  style  classical  and  refined.  His  literary  power  is 
shown  in  the  regularity  of  structure,  which  often  characterizes 
his  periods,  as  1^-2^  4^*^!  (the  fivefold  refrain),  and  the  visions 
(yi-  4-  7  8^) ;  in  the  fine  climax  3^-^ ;  in  the  balanced  clauses,  the 
well-chosen  images,  the  effective  contrasts,  in  such  passages  as 
^15  ^2.  21-24  511  gio  g2-4 .  as  wcll  as  in  the  ease  with  which  he 
evidently  writes,  and  the  skill  with  which  (as  shown  above)  his 
theme  is  introduced  and  developed.  Anything  of  the  nature  of 
roughness  or  rusticity  is  wholly  absent  from  his  writings.  His 
regular,  flowing  sentences  form  a  remarkable  contrast  with  the 
short,  abrupt  clauses  which  Hosea  loves.  It  is  true,  in  the 
command  of  grand  and  picturesque  imagery  he  is  not  the  equal 
of  Isaiah ;   nevertheless  l^s   thought   is  often  finely  expressed 


31 8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

(i2  524  gs  ^5f.).  and  if,  as  compared  with  other  prophets, 
images  derived  from  rural  life  somewhat  preponderate,  they  are 
always  applied  by  him  aptly  {e.g.  3^-  ^  5^- 1^- 1^- 19  9^),  and  never 
strike  the  reader  as  occurring  too  frequently,  or  as  out  of  place. 

In  Amos,  as  in  Hosea,  (p.  306  f.),  there  are  passages  which  have  been 
supposed  by  recent  critics,  upon  similar  grounds,  to  be  later  additions  to 
the  original  text  of  the  prophecy.  Duhm  {Theol.  der  Proph.  1875,  p.  119) 
questioned  thus  2^-^  4^3  58-9  95-6  (^^  Stade,  G.  i.  571  «.) ;  Wellh.  {1892) 
rejects  in  addition  i^'i^,  314b  526  52  ge.  8. 11-12  98-15  .  cheyne  (in  W.  R.  Smith, 
/V^/A.2  1895,  p.  XV  f.;  on  526  98- w  ggg  ^jgQ  Expositor,  Jan.  1897,  p.  42  ff.) 
rejects  i^  24-«  4^3  58-9.26  gn-ia  95-6.8-15.  ^nd  G.  A.  Smith  (1896)  at  least 
suspects  i"-i2  (p.  129 f.),  2''-5  (p.  13s  f.),  413  58-9  95-6  ^p^  201  ff.),  5"-i5 
(p.  168  f.),  6-2  (p.  173,  n.  2),  813  (p.  185),  and  decidedly  rejects  98-15  (pp. 
190  ff.,  308  f.).  Of  these  passages,  o!^-^  4^3  58-9  95-6  ^g^g  defended  by  W.  R. 
Smith  in  1882  {Proph.  p.  398  f.),  and  by  Kuenen  in  1889  {Onderz.  §  71.  6). 
In  some  cases,  the  grounds  alleged  are  not  devoid  of  force  ;  but,  as  before,  in 
similar  instances,  there  is  the  same  doubt  whether  they  can  be  deemed  con- 
clusive. Space  forbids  any  fuller  discussion  here  ;  and  the  writer  must  be 
content  to  refer  to  what  he  has  said  in  Joel  and  Amos,  p.  117  ff.  (on  4^3  58-9 
95-«,  also,  cf.  L.  B.  Paton,/^ZzV.  1894,  p.  84 ff.). 


§  4.  Obadiah. 

The  short  prophecy  of  Obadiah  is  concerned  almost  entirely 
with  Edom.  V.^-^  the  prophet  declares  the  ruin  impending  on 
Edom  :  her  lofty  rock-hewn  dwellings  will  this  time  be  penetrated 
by  the  invader;  her  allies  will  abandon  her;  the  "wisdom" 
for  which  Edom  was  proverbial  will  fail  her  in  the  hour  of  her 
need.  V.^^^-^^  states  the  ground  of  the  preceding  denunciation, 
viz.  the  violence  and  outrage  of  which  Edom  had  been  [298] 
guilty  in  the  day  of  Jerusalem's  calamity ;  v.^^-u  j^g  ^^j^^g  th^j^ 
emphatically  desist  from  their  inhuman  delight ;  v.^^-^i  he  returns 
to  dwell  upon  the  retribution  which  awaits  them.  A  "  Day  of 
Jehovah "  is  near  upon  all  nations :  the  escaped  of  Judah, 
united  (as  it  appears)  with  the  restored  "  House  of  Joseph " 
(cf.  Jer.  3i5. 27  &c)^  ^nd  endued  with  irresistible  might,  will 
exterminate  the  "  House  of  Esau " ;  the  territory  of  Judah  will 
be  enlarged  on  all  sides,  the  inhabitants  of  the  South  possessing 
Edom,  and  Benjamin  overflowing  into  Gilead  ;  "  saviours  " — 
such  as  the  judges  (Jud.  2^^  3^- 1^) — will  defend  Zion  against  its 
foes,  and  Jehovah's  kingdom  will  be  estabUshed. 

For  determining  the  date  of  Obadiah  the  two  chief  criteria 


OBADIAH  319 

are  (i)  the  expressions  in  v.^^-^'*;  (2)  the  relation  of  Ob.  to 
Jeremiah's  prophecy  on  Edom,  4g'^-^'^.  (i)  In  v.^i-i^  Ob.  speaks 
of  a  day  of  "disaster,"  "calamity,"  and  "distress"  which  has 
befallen  Jerusalem,  on  which  "  foreigners  "  entered  the  city  and 
"  cast  lots  "  upon  it ;  and  when  the  Edomites  not  only  exulted 
at  the  humiliation  of  the  Jews,  but  actively  assisted  their  foes, 
and  sought  to  intercept  and  cut  off  the  fugitives.  These  ex- 
pressions are  most  naturally  referred  to  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem by  the  Chaldaeans  in  586,  and  to  the  hostile  temper 
evinced  then  by  the  Edomites,  which  (see  p.  226)  was  profoundly 
resented  by  the  Jews."^  (2)  Jer.  497-22  and  Ob.  display  such  a 
large  element  common  to  both  as  to  make  it  evident  either  that 
one  borrowed  from  the  other,  or  that  both  are  dependent  upon 
the  same  earlier  original :  comp.  Ob.^"* ;  v.^"^ ;  v.^  with  Jer.  491^-16  ^ 
y  9-ioa  .  y_7  (respectively).  There  are  reasons  for  supposing  the 
second  of  these  alternatives  to  be  the  correct  one.  For,  when 
the  two  texts  are  compared  carefully  together,  it  appears  that  the 
prophecy,  viewed  as  a  whole,  is  in  its  more  original  form  in  Ob,\ 
And  yet,  as  the  date  of  Jer.  49^^-  seems  [299]  fixed,  not  only  by 
46^^-  (B.C.  604),  but  by  internal  evidence  as  well,|  to  a  period 
prior  to  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldaeans,  the  pro- 
phecy of  Ob.,  if  it  alludes  to  the  conduct  of  the  Edomites  after 
that  event,  cannot  evidently  have  formed  the  model  for  Jer.; 
and  the  resemblances  between  the  two  prophecies  can  only  be 
explained  by  the  supposition  that  the  common  elements  have 
been  derived  by  both  from  a  prophecy  older  than  either,  which 
Ob.  has  incorporated  with  least  alteration,  while  Jer.  has  treated 
it  with  greater  freedom.  §  This  older  prophecy  will  consist  of 
Ob.^"^,  which  contains  no  allusion  to  the  special  circumstances  of 

*  So  Ewald,  Meyrick  (in  the  Speaker's  Comm.),  Kuenen,  Farrar,  &c. 

t  The  sequence  in  Ob.  is  better  :  thus  "  We  (I)  have  heard  tidings  from 
Jehovah  "  is  in  a  more  suitable  place  at  the  beginning,  as  in  Ob.,  than  in  the 
middle,  as  in  Jer.;  the  language  is  terser  and  more  forcible  (Jer.,  in  several 
instances,  appears  to  expand  the  text  of  Ob.  by  introducing  words) ;  and,  in 
particular,  the  parts  of  Jer.  which  have  no  parallel  in  Ob.  have  affinities  with 
Jer.'s  own  style,  showing  that  Jer.  took  materials  from  an  older  prophecy, 
which  he  embedded  in  elements  contributed  by  himself.  (This  is  shown  in 
detail  by  Caspari,  pp.  7-13,  whose  argument  is  generally  admitted  to  be 
conclusive,  e.g.  by  Graf,  yi?r.  p.  559  ff.). 

X  49^^  RV.  the  punishment  of  Jerusalem  is  %\JX\.  future, 

§  So  Ewald,  Prophets,  ii.  277  ff.;  Graf  {l.c.)\  Kuenen;  Briggs  {Mess. 
Proph.  p.  315  f.).     Meyrick,  p.  364,  appears  to  have  overlooked  Jer.  49^^ 


320  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

B.C.  586  :  *  in  Jer.  the  order  of  these  verses  is  changed,  and  vJ 
(Edom's  abandonment  by  its  allies, — an  allusion  apparently  to 
some  circumstance  of  the  time  when  the  original  prophecy  was 
written),  and  v.^,  are  omitted.  In  favour  of  this  supposition  it  is 
remarked,  that  though,  on  the  whole,  the  prophecy  is  in  its  more 
original  form  in  Ob.,  in  particular  instances  more  original 
elements  seem  to  have  been  preserved  by  Jer.  (49^- 1^^-  ^^  ["iD^f^DD], 
as  compared  with  Ob.^-  ^b.  3  [^nv^sn  omitted]). 

The  date  and  occasion  of  the  earlier  prophecy  must  remain  uncertain ; 
Ewald  {Hist.  iii.  159  f.)  conjectured  that  it  may  have  been  when  Elath,  the 
port  on  the  Red  Sea  which  had  been  occupied  by  the  Jews  under  Uzziah 
(2  Ki.  14^^^),  was  restored  by  Rezin  to  the  Edomites  {ib.  16^  RV.  marg. 
[DnN"?  for  DiN^,  and  D'onxi  for  D'onxi] :  cf.  2  Ch.  28^'). 

Other  scholars  (Delitzsch,  Keil,  von  Orelli,  Kirkpatrick)  have  sought  to 
explain  the  relation  of  Jer.  to  Ob.  more  simply  by  referring  the  prophecy  of 
Ob.  to  an  earlier  occasion  altogether,  viz.  to  the  plundering  incursion  of 
"Philistines  and  Arabians,"  who  apparently,  according  to  2  Ch.  21^^^-, 
penetrated  into  Jerusalem  in  the  reign  of  Jehoram  (B.C.  851-844  [Kamp- 
hausen]),  in  which  case,  of  course,  Jer.  would  borrow  from  it  directly.  The 
expressions,  however,  which  Ob.  uses  (notice  esp.  '■'■cast  lots  upon  Jeru- 
salem") appear  to  be  too  strong  to  be  referred  with  probability  to  this 
invasion,  which,  to  judge  from  the  silence  of  the  Book  of  Kings,  was  little 
more  than  a  predatory  incursion,  from  the  effects  of  which  Judah  speedily  [300] 
recovered  j  and  at  least  v.^^"^^  seems  to  display  the  tone  and  thought  of  a  much 
later  age  (the  exile  of  the  northern  tribes  is  presupposed  in  v.^^).  In  the 
taunting  speech  of  v.'*  notice  the  peculiar  (elegiac)  rhythm  (see  below,  under 
Lamentations),  and  compare  Jer.  38^^^ :  one  of  these  passages  must  have 
served  as  the  model  for  the  other. 

Kuenen  (§  72.  3-4)  and  Cornill  {Einl.^  §  30)  both  adopt  the  same  view  of 
Ob.^"*  which  is  given  in  the  text,  and  agree  that  v.^°"^^  refers  to  the  events 
of  B.C.  586 ;  but  they  argue  that  there  is  nothing  in  v.^^"^^  to  imply  that  the 
city  is  still  waste  and  uninhabited,  and  conclude  accordingly  that  the  author 
who  added  v.^'''^^,  and  so  gave  the  prophecy  its  present  form,  wrote  at  some 
date  after  the  return — probably  in  the  5th  cent.  b.  c.  A  further  clue  to  the 
date  has  been  sought  in  the  name  Sephdred  ("  Sephar^d  "  is  the  pausal  form) 
in  V.20.  This,  Cheyne  {Founders  of  O.T,  Crit.  311  f.)  and  Sayce  {Monu- 
ments, pp.  482-484)  agree,  must  be  the  (^parda  or  'Saparda  of  the  inscriptions, 
in  Bithynia  or  Galatia  (Sayce,  I.e.),  a  region  not  owned  by  the  Assyrians  or 
Babylonians,  but  first  held  by  Cyrus,  and  organized  by  Darius  Hystaspis  into 
a  satrapy  (cf.  Schrader,  KAT.^  ad  loc.).  This  fact  points  to  **a  com- 
paratively late  date "   (Sayce)  for  the  prophecy :    Cheyne  would  assign  it 

*  And  from  which  the  sequel  differs  also  in  representation  ;  in  v.^*'  Edom 
is  destroyed  by  the  nations  (v.^)  and  its  treacherous  allies ;  in  v.^°^-  it  falls 
with  other  nations  in  the  day  of  universal  retribution  (cf.  Is.  34^-  ^)  before  the 
victorious  Israelites. 


JONAH  321 

definitely  to  the  occasion  {c.  B.C.  350)  when  Artaxerxes  Ochus  transported 
many  Jews  into  Hyrcania  and  Babylonia  (above,  p.  222).  Wellh.  (p.  2045.) 
agrees  that  v.  ^""^^  looks  back  upon  the  events  of  B.C.  586  ;  but  he  thinks  that 
the  whole  of  v.^""  is  post-exilic,  the  occasion  of  the  prophecy  being  the 
expulsion  of  the  Edomites  from  their  ancient  home  early  in  the  5th  cent.  B.C. 
(cf.  Mai.,  i^'^)  by  the  Nabatsean  Arabs  (in  whose  possession  their  country 
appears,  in  B.C.  312  :  Schiirer,  GescL  des  Jud.  Volkes,  i.  612  [App.  ii.]) ;  v.^^-^i 
he  regards  as  an  appendix,  added  afterwards,  in  which  the  fate  of  Edom  is 
represented  as  an  episode  in  Jehovah's  judgment  on  the  heathen  generally. 

§  5.  Jonah. 

Jonah,  the  son  of  Amittai,  as  we  learn  from  2  Ki.  14^^,  was 
a  native  of  Gath-hepher,  in  the  tribe  of  Zebulun  (Josh.  19^^), 
who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II.,  and  predicted  to  that 
king  the  successful  issue  of  his  struggle  with  the  Syrians,  which 
ended  with  his  restoration  of  the  territory  of  Israel  to  its  ancient 
limits.  These  prophecies  must  have  been  delivered  in  the  early 
part  of  Jeroboam  II.'s  long  reign ;  it  would  have  been  interest- 
ing, had  they  been  preserved,  to  compare  them  with  the  pro- 
phecies of  Amos,  uttered  towards  the  close  of  the  same  reign, 
which  announced  how  Jeroboam's  successes  would  ere  long  be 
fatally  undone  (see  Am.  6^^).  The  Book  of  Jonah,  however 
(unlike  the  books  of  all  the  other  prophets),  consists  almost 
entirely  of  narrative,  being  devoted  to  the  description  of  a  par- 
ticular incident  in  the  prophet's  life.  The  story  is  too  well 
known  to  need  repetition  in  detail.  Jonah,  commissioned  to 
preach  at  Nineveh  Jehovah's  judgment  against  the  great  city, 
seeks  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  obeying  the  command,  fearing 
(as  appears  from  4^)  that  Jehovah  might  in  the  end  be  moved  to 
have  mercy  upon  the  Ninevites,  so  that  his  predictions  of  judg- 
ment would  be  frustrated.  Accordingly,  he  takes  ship  at  Joppa, 
with  the  view  of  escaping  to  Tarshish  (Tartessus  in  Spain).  A 
violent  storm  overtakes  the  ship :  the  sailors,  deeming  that  one 
of  those  on  board  is  the  cause  of  it,  cast  lots  to  discover  who  it 
is :  the  lot  falls  upon  Jonah,  who  consents  to  be  cast  into  the 
sea.  Thereupon  the  sea  becomes  calm.  Jonah  is  swallowed  by 
a  great  fish,  which,  after  three  days,  casts  him  forth,  uninjured, 
upon  the  land.  Again  the  prophet  receives  the  commission  to 
preach  at  Nineveh.  This  time  he  proceeds  thither :  but  at  his 
preaching  the  Ninevites  repent,  and  Jehovah  rescinds  the  decree 
which  He  had  passed  againg;  them.     Displeased  at  the  seeming 


322  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

failure  of  his  mission,  [301]  Jonah  sits  down  outside  the  city, 
and  asks  to  be  allowed  to  die ;  but  a  gourd  quickly  springing 
up  and  sheltering  him  from  the  sun,  and  as  quickly  dying  and 
leaving  him  exposed  to  its  rays,  by  exciting  his  sympathy,  is  made 
the  means  of  justifying  in  his  eyes  Jehovah's  merciful  change  of 
purpose  with  respect  to  Nineveh. 

Both  in  form  and  contents  the  Book  of  Jonah  resembles  the 
biographical  narratives  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  (i  Ki.  17-19,  2  Ki. 
4-6,  &c.),  though  it  is  pervaded  by  a  more  distinctly  didactic 
aim.  It  cannot,  however,  have  been  written  until  long  after  the 
lifetime  of  Jonah  himself. 

This  appears  (i)  from  the  style,  which  has  several  Aramaisms,  or  other 
marks  of  a  later  age  :  as  1"  nriJD  ;  i«  nvvnn  to  think  (  =  Heb.  at^n  Ps.  40^8) . 
cf.  njnry  Ps.  146*;  and  in  Aram.,  Dan.  6^  and  the  Targums  ;  i'- ^^  ^^lo 
V  for  n^K — esp.  in  the  compound  form  in  which  it  occurs  in  i'-  ^^ .  jS  ^^ 
title  "God  of  heaven,"  as  in  Neh.  i"  and  other  post-exilic  writings  (see 
below,  under  Ezra  and  Nehemiah) ;  i^-  pnty ;  7>  ^-"^^  njp  as  Dan.  i'*>- " 
I  Ch.  92*,  and  in  Aram.;  3^0  3^  as  in  Aram.,  Ezr.  6^^  ^'^ ;  '?Dy  to  labour  410 
(in  ordinary  Hebrew  yr) :  also  i^  'd"?  nt^Na  (cf.  p.  475,  «.),  if  the.  clause 
"  for  whose  cause  this  evil  is  upon  us "  be  genuine  j  but  it  is  omitted  in 
Codd.  B  K  of  LXX,  and  is  regarded  bjr  some  modern  scholars  as  a  gloss 
explanatory  of  "thvfi  in  v.*^.  The  diction  is,  however,  purer  generally  than 
that  of  Esther  or  the  Chronicles.  (2)  From  the  Psalm  in  c.  2,  which  consists 
largely  of  reminiscences  of  other  Psalms  (in  the  manner  of  Ps.  142,  143, 
144I-"),  many  of  them  not  of  early  origin  (comp.  v.^  Ps.  i8*- "  120^;  v.^ 
Ps.  18^  42'  ;  v.*  Ps.  3122  Lam.  3" ;  v.^*  Ps.  iS^  Ii63  69^ ;  v.^  Ps.  30^ ;  v.' 
Ps.  142*  i8«  ;  V.8  Ps.  3i«;  v.»  Ps.  $0^^  ii6"'-  f) :  a  Psalm  of  Jonah's  own 
age  would  certainly  have  been  more  original,  as  it  would  also  have  shown  a 
more  antique  colouring.  (3)  From  the  general  thought  and  tenor  of  the 
book,  which  presupposes  the  teaching  of  the  great  prophets  (comp.  esp.  3^" 
with  Jer.  i8'^*-)«  (4)  The  non-mention  of  the  name  of  the  Assyrian  king,  who 
plays  such  a  prominent  part  in  c.  3,  may  be  taken  as  an  indication  that  it  was 
not  known  to  the  author  of  the  book.  The  title  '*  king  of  Nineveh  "  (3*)  is 
one,  remarks  Sayce  {Monuments^  p.  487),  which  could  never  have  been 
applied  to  him  while  the  Assyrian  empire  was  still  in  existence. 

Some  of  the  linguistic  features  might  (possibly)  be  compatible 
with  a  pre-exilic  origin  in  northern  Israel  (though  they  are  more 
pronounced  than  those  referred  to,  p.  i88/«.):  but,  taken  as  a 
whole,  they  can  only  be  consistently  explained  by  the  supposition 
that  the  book  is  a  work  of  the  post-exilic  period,  to  which  the 
other  considerations  adduced  point  with  some  cogency.  A  date 
in  the  5th  cent.  b.c.  will  probably  not  be  far  wide  of  the  truth.* 
*  Like  other  late  writings,  the  narrative  itself  is  also  dependent  in  parts 


JONAH  323 

[302]  The  aim  of  the  book.  Although  it  is  apparent  that  the 
book  is  written  with  a  didactic  purpose,  opinions  have  differed 
as  to  what  this  purpose  precisely  was.  According  to  Ewald,  its 
main  purpose  is  to  show  that  only  true  fear  and  repentance  can 
bring  salvation  from  Jehovah, — a  truth  which  is  exemplified,  first 
in  the  case  of  the  foreign  sailors  (i^*),  then  in  that  of  Jonah  him- 
self (c.  2),  and  lastly  in  that  of  the  Ninevites  (3^"^),  and  which,  in 
the  last  resort,  rests  upon  the  Divine  love  (310  4I1).  According 
to  Riehm,  its  aim  is  partly  to  teach  that  it  is  wrong  in  a  prophet, 
as  it  is  also  useless,  to  attempt  to  evade  a  duty  once  imposed 
upon  him  by  God,  partly  to  develop  and  emphasize  the  teaching 
of  Jer.  iS'"^-,  that  prophecy  viz.  is  conditional-^  and  to  show  that 
even  when  a  Divinely-inspired  judgment  has  been  uttered  by  a 
prophet,  it  may  yet  be  possible  by  repentance  to  avert  its  fulfil- 
ment ;  and,  if  this  be  done,  objection  must  not  be  taken  that 
God's  word  is  made  of  none  effect.  But  though  these,  and  other 
lessons,  are,  no  doubt,  included  in  the  book,  the  climax  in  c.  4 
is  an  indication  that  the  thought  which  is  most  prominent  in  the  / 
author's  mind  is  a  different  one.  The  real  design  of  the  narrative^ 
is  to  teach,  in  opposition  to  the  narrow,  exclusive  view,  which 
was  too  apt  to  be  popular  with  the  Jews,  that  God's  purposes  of 
grace  are  not  limited  to  Israel  alone,  but  that  they  are  open  to 
the  heathen  as  well,  if  only  they  abandon  their  sinful  courses, 
and  turn  to  Him  in  true  penitence.  It  is  true,  the  great  prophets 
had  often  taught  the  future  reception  of  the  heathen  into  the 
kingdom  of  God :  but  their  predominant  theme  had  been  the 
denunciation  of  judgment;  and  the  Israelites  themselves  had 
suffered  so  much  at  the  hands  of  foreign  oppressors  that  they 
came  to  look  upon  the  heathen  as  their  natural  foes,  and  were 
impatient  when  they  saw  the  judgments  uttered  against  them 
unfulfilled.  Jonah  appears  as  the  representative  of  the  popular 
Israelitish  creed.  He  resists  at  the  outset  the  commission  to 
preach  to  Nineveh  at  all :  and  when  his  preaching  there  has 
been  successful  in  a  manner  which  he  did  not  anticipate,  he 
murmurs  because  the  sentence  which  he  had  been  commanded 
to  pronounce  is  revoked.  That  repentance  might  avert  punish- 
ment had  often  been  taught  with  reference  to  [303]  Israel ;  and 

upon  models:  comp.  i^^,  Jer.  26^^;  3^^  Jer.  18"  26*;  3**,  Joel  2";  3^**, 
Ex.  32i2b;  3iob^  Ex.  32^4;  42^,  Joel  2^^^,  Ex.  34«»>  (but  in  Ex.  without 
r\^'^  h^  onii) ;  43»-  8b^  I  Ki.  I9^^• 


324  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Jeremiah  lays  down  the  same  truth  with  reference  to  the  nations 
generally  in  iS''^-.  The  aim  of  the  book  is  thus  to  supply  a 
a  practical  illustration  of  JeremiaJCs  teaching :  and  in  the  rebuke 
with  which  the  book  closes,  the  exclusive  spirit  of  the  author's 
own  contemporaries  stands  condemned.  "  In  no  book  of  the 
OT.,"  remarks  Bleek,  "  is  the  all-embracing  fatherly  love  of  God, 
which  has  no  respect  for  person  or  nation,  but  is  moved  to 
mercy  on  all  who  turn  to  Him,  exhibited  with  equal  impres- 
siveness,  or  in  a  manner  so  nearly  approaching  the  spirit  of 
Christianity." 

On  the  historical  character  of  the  narrative  opinions  have  differed  widely. 
Quite  irrespectively  of  the  miraculous  features  in  the  narrative,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  there  are  indications  that  it  is  not  strictly  historical.  The 
sudden  conversion,  on  such  a  large  scale  as  (without  pressing  single  expres- 
sions) is  evidently  implied,  of  a  great  heathen  population,  is  contrary  to 
analogy ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  imagine  a  monarch  of  the  type  depicted  in  the 
Assyrian  inscriptions  behaving  as  the  king  of  Nineveh  is  represented  as 
acting  in  presence  of  the  Hebrew  prophet.  It  is  remarkable  also  that  the 
conversion  of  Nineveh,  if  it  took  place  upon  the  scale  described,  should  have 
produced  so  little  permanent  effect  ;  for  the  Assyrians  are  uniformly  repre- 
sented in  the  OT.  as  idolaters.  But,  in  fact,  the  structure  of  the  narrative 
shows  that  the  didactic  purpose  of  the  book  is  the  author's  chief  aim.  He 
introduces  just  those  details  that  have  a  bearing  upon  this,  while  omitting 
others  which,  had  his  interest  been  in  the  history  as  such,  might  naturally 
have  been  mentioned  ;  e.g.  details  as  to  the  spot  at  which  Jonah  was  cast  on 
to  the  land,  and  particulars  as  to  the  special  sins  of  which  the  Ninevites  were 
guilty. 

No  doubt  the  materials  of  the  narrative  were  supplied  by 
tradition ;  and  these  the  author  cast  into  a  literary  form  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  set  forcibly  before  his  readers  the  truths  which 
he  desired  them  to  take  to  heart.  The  details  are  artistically 
arranged.  The  scene  is  laid  far  off,  in  the  chief  city  of  the  great 
empire  which  had  for  long  been  Israel's  formidable  oppressor. 
Jonah,  commissioned  to  proceed  thither,  seeks,  with  dramatic 
propriety,  to  escape  to  the  furthest  parts  known  to  the  Hebrews 
in  the  opposite  direction.  The  ready  homage  done  by  the 
heathen  sailors  to  the  prophet's  God  is  a  significant  omen  of 
what  is  to  follow.  Jonah  is  represented  (like  those  less  spiritual 
of  his  [304]  fellow-countrymen  of  whom  he  is  the  type)  as 
wayward,  unspiritually-minded,  deficient  in  insight;  he  does  at 
last  what  he  is  commanded  to  do,  but  he  does  it  with  so  litde 
perception  of  a  prophet's  mission  that  he  is  disappointed  with  a 


MIC  AH  325 

result  at  which  he  ought  clearly  to  have  rejoiced  :  he  has  Elijah's 
despondency  (i  Ki.  19*),  without  Elijah's  excuse.  It  is  in  con- 
sistency with  the  prophet's  character  that  in  c.  4  he  is  led 
indirectly  to  make  the  confession  from  which  the  main  lesson 
of  the  book  is  immediately  deduced,  by  his  love  of  self  being 
painfully  touched ;  for  his  compassion  upon  the  gourd  is  elicited 
only  by  the  scorching  effect  of  the  sun's  rays  upon  his  own 
person.  We  learn  nothing  respecting  the  after-history  either  of 
Nineveh  or  of  the  prophet :  the  author,  having  pointed  the  moral 
of  his  story,  has  no  occasion  to  pursue  the  narrative  further. 

The  Psalm  2^"^  is  not  strictly  appropriate  to  Jonah's  situation  at  the  time  ; 
for  it  is  not  a  petition  for  deliverance  to  come,  but  a  thanksgiving  for  deliver- 
ance already  accomplished  (like  Ps.  30,  for  instance).  Hence,  no  doubt,  the 
Book  of  Jonah  was  not  its  original  place  ;  but  it  was  taken  by  the  author  from 
some  prior  source.*  The  expressions  in  v.^'  "•  ^  &c.  may  have  been  intended 
originally  in  a  figurative  sense  (as  in  the  Psalms  cited  above,  from  which  they 
are  mostly  borrowed),  but  they  may  also  have  been  meant  literally  (see  v.^''-  ^, 
which  are  not  among  the  phrases  borrowed),  and  have  formed  part  of  a  Psalm 
composed  originally  as  a  thanksgiving  for  deliverance  from  shipwreck,  and 
placed  by  the  author  in  Jonah's  mouth  on  account  of  the  apparent  suitability 
of  some  of  the  expressions  to  his  situation. 

The  allegorical  view  of  the  book  is  supported  by  Kleinert  (in  Lange's 
Bibelwerk),  and  in  this  country  by  Professor  Cheyne  and  C.  H.  H.  Wright 
[above,  p.  299].  According  to  this  view,  Jonah  does  not  merely  represent 
the  unspiritual  Israelites,  he  symbolizes  Israel  as  a  nation,  and  the  narrative 
is  an  allegory  of  Israel's  history.  Israel,  as  a  nation,  was  entrusted  with  a 
prophetical  commission  to  be  a  witness  and  upholder  of  Divine  truth  ;  but 
Israel  shrank  from  executing  this  commission,  and  often  apostatized  :  it  was 
in  consequence  "swallowed  up"  by  the  world-power  Babylon  (see  esp.  Jer. 
51^),  as  Jonah  was  swallowed  by  the  fish  ;  in  exile,  however,  like  Jonah 
(c.  2),  it  sought  its  Lord,  and  thus  was  afterwards  disgorged  uninjured  (cf.  ib. 
v.^) ;  after  the  return  from  exile,  there  were  many  who  were  disappointed 
that  the  judgments  uttered  by  the  prophets  did  not  at  once  take  effect,  and 
that  the  cities  of  the  nations  still  stood  secure,  just  as  Jonah  was  disappointed 
that  the  judgment  pronounced  against  Nineveh  had  been  averted.  Comp. 
F.  W.  Farrar,  The  Bible y  its  Meaning  and  Supremacy  (1897),  p.  233  ff. 


[305]       §6.    MiCAH 

Micah  was  a  younger  contemporary  of  Isaiah's.    This  appears 
partly  from  i^,  which  was  evidently  uttered  prior  to  the  fall  of 

*  Cheyne  {Origin  of  the  Psalter,  p.  io6f.)  and  Budde  {ZATW.  1892, 
p.  42)  suppose  that  the  Psalm  was  introduced,  not  by  the  author  of  the  Book, 
but  by  a  later  hand.  • 


326  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Samaria  in  722,  partly  from  the  interesting  notice  in  Jer.  26i''^-, 
from  which  we  learn  that  3^^  was  spoken  during  the  reign  of 
Hezekiah.  While  Isaiah's  home,  however,  was  the  capital, 
Micah  was  a  native  of  a  small  town  in  the  maritime  plain, 
Moresheth,  a  dependency  ot  Gath  (i^- 1^).  As  has  been  observed, 
the  difference  of  position  and  surroundings  is  marked  in  the 
writings  of  the  two  prophets.  Isaiah  writes  as  one  acquainted 
with  the  society  and  manners  of  the  capital ;  Micah  speaks  as  a 
"man  of  the  people,"  who  sympathized  with  the  peasantry  in 
their  sufferings,  and  he  attacks,  not  indeed  with  greater  boldness 
than  Isaiah,  but  with  greater  directness  and  in  more  scathing 
terms  (see  especially  32-*),  the  wrongs  to  which  they  were 
exposed  at  the  hands  of  the  nobles  and  rich  proprietors  of 
Judah.  Further,  while  Isaiah  evir;ces  a  keen  interest  in  the 
political  movements  of  the  time,  Micah  appears  almost  exclusively 
as  an  ethical  and  religious  teacher :  he  mentions,  indeed,  the 
Assyrians,  but  as  a  mere  foe,  not  as  a  power  which  might  tempt 
his  countrymen  to  embark  upon  a  perilous  political  enterprise, 
and  he  raises  no  warning  voice  against  the  danger  to  Judah  of 
Egyptian  influence. 

The  Book  of  Micah  falls  naturally  into  two  parts,  c.  1-5  and 
c.  6-7. 

I.  In  this  part  there  is  again  a  division  at  the  end  of  c.  3  : 
in  c.  1-3  the  predominant  tone  is  one  of  reproof  and  denuncia- 
tion ;  in  c.  4-5  it  is  one  of  promise.  The  prophet  begins  (i^'*)  by 
describing,  in  impressive  imagery,  the  approaching  manifestation 
of  Jehovah  for  judgment,  on  account  (v.^)  of  the  transgression  of 
the  two  kingdoms,  which  is  centred  in  their  respective  capitals, 
Samaria  and  Jerusalem.  In  the  first  instance,  v.^^'',  Micah  de- 
clares the  impending  ruin  of  Samaria :  the  evil  does  not,  how- 
ever, rest  there ;  he  sees  it  (v.^)  advancing  upon  Jerusalem  as 
well,  and  utters  his  wail  of  lament  as  the  vision  of  disaster  meets 
his  eye.  His  sympathy  is  in  particular  attracted  by  the  district 
in  which  his  own  home  lay;  and  he  describes,  in  a  series  of 
characteristic  paronomasiae,  the  fate  of  [306]  different  places 
situated  in  it,  v.^-^^.  7}-^'^  the  nature  of  the  people's  sin,  and  its 
punishment,  are  both  more  distinctly  indicated.  The  people's 
sin  is  the  high-handed  conduct  of  its  great  men,  who  eject  their 
poorer  neighbours  from  lands  and  homes,  in  order  that  their 
own  possessions  may  become  the  larger.     The  punishment  is 


MICAH  327 

in  correspondence  with  the  sin :  ere  long  the  nation  will  see 
heathen  conquerors  dividing  amongst  themselves  the  inheritance 
of  Jehovah,  2'^-^.  The  people  attempt  to  stop  the  prophet's 
unwelcome  harangue.  He  replies,  It  is  not  impatience  on 
Jehovah's  part  that  prompts  Him  thus  to  threaten;  neither  is 
punishment  His  chosen  work :  as  long  as  His  people  "  walk 
uprightly,"  He  responds  to  them  with  friendly  words  and  acts, 
v.^-'' ;  the  cause  of  His  present  unwonted  attitude  lies  in  you, 
who  plunder  mercilessly  the  unsuspicious  and  the  unprotected : 
as  a  just  retribution  for  the  expulsion  of  others,  you,  the  ag- 
gressors, shall  be  expelled  yourselves,  v.^^^^.  V.^i  Micah  returns 
to  the  thought  of  v.^  :  the  only  prophets  to  whom  the  people  will 
listen  are  those  who  hold  out  alluring,  but  deceitful,  promises  of 
material  enjoyment  and  prosperity  (cf.  Isa.  30^^). 

At  this  point  there  is  an  abrupt  transition,  and  v.^^f.  consists 
of  a  prophecy  of  the  restoration  of  Israel.  Assembled  as  a 
thronging  multitude  at  one  centre,  as  sheep  in  a  fold,  the 
Israelites  prepare  to  re-enter  their  ancient  home.  The  "  breaker 
up "  ^  advances  before  them,  forcing  the  gates  of  the  prison  in 
which  they  are  confined;  the  people  follow,  marching  forth 
triumphantly  through  the  open  way  :  their  king,  with  Jehovah  at 
his  side  (Ps.  iio^),  heads  the  victorious  procession  (Ex.  i'^^^  \ 
Isa.  52^2).  The  scene  in  these  two  verses  is  finely  conceived; 
and  the  past  tenses  represent  it  forcibly  and  vividly. 

C.  3  is  parallel  in  thought  to  2^-^'^ ;  but  the  offences  of  the 
great  men  are  depicted  in  more  glaring  colours ;  and  the  punish- 
ment is  announced  with  greater  distinctness  and  finality.  Judges, 
priests,  and  prophets  are  alike  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  heartless 
avarice  and  cupidity ;  and  yet  (v.^^^)  they  rely  upon  Jehovah  to 
defend  them  against  calamity  (cf.  Jer.  7^).  And  the  prophet 
closes  with  the  startling  announcement  that  on  their  account,  on 
[307]  account,  viz.,  of  the  misconduct  of  its  great  men,  the  capital 
itself  would  be  completely  ruined  (3^2)^ 

In  c.  1-3  the  promise  of  restoration,  2^^^-,  interrupts  the  connexion,  and 
occasions  difficulty.  Such  promises  occur,  no  doubt,  in  the  prophets  after  an 
announcement  of  disaster  {e.g.  Hos.  i^'>-2^ ;  Isa.  4^"*) ;  but  here  the  promise  is 

*  I.e.  either  a  leader,  or  a  detachment  of  men,  whose  duty  it  was  to  break 
up  obstacles  opposing  the  progress  of  an  army.  See  more  fully  the  Expositor, 
Apr.  1887,  p.  266  ffi,  where  it  is  shown  that  the  statement  of  Bp.  Pearson  and 
others,  that  the  Jews  understoodithis  term  of  the  Messiah,  is  an  error. 


328  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

associated  closely  with  a  denunciation  of  sin,  so  that  between  v.^^  and  v." 
there  is  no  point  of  connexion  whatever.  Ewald  felt  the  difficulty  of  oP^-  so 
strongly  that  (like  Ibn  Ezra  before  him)  he  supposed  the  verses  placed  in  the 
mouth  of  the  false  prophets,  as  an  illustration  of  their  deceptive  promises  of 
security  (to  be  construed  then  with  v.^^ :  "he  shall  even  be  a  prophet  of  this 
people  (saying),  I  will  surely  assemble,"  &c.;  comp.  Isa.  5^^,  Jer.  23^').  The 
contents  of  the  two  verses  are,  however,  too  characteristic,  and  the  thought  is 
too  elaborately  drawn  out,  for  this  view  to  be  probable  ;  moreover,  as  Caspari 
(p.  123)  observes,  thty  presuppose  disaster,  if  not  exile,  which  itself  would  not 
be  granted  by  the  false  prophets  (see  3^^).  The  ordinary  interpretation  must 
thus  be  acquiesced  in  ;  though  it  must  be  granted  that  the  verses  stand  in  no 
logical  connexion  with  2^'^^.  But  their  contents  afford  no  sufficient  ground 
for  attributing  them  to  an  exilic  (Stade,  Kuen. )  or  (Wellh.)  post-exilic  hand. 
The  idea  of  a  scattering  or  exile  is  implied  in  i^^  2'^' ^  2>^^ ;  the  idea  of  the 
preservation  of  a  "  remnant "  had  been  promulgated  more  than  a  generation 
before  by  Amos  (9^"^;  comp,  also  Hos.  i^o- "  iii°'ii);  and  the  general 
thought  of  the  passage  is  similar  to  that  of  4^'\  The  verses  can  scarcely, 
however,  be  in  their  original  context :  either  they  belong  to  another  place  in 
the  existing  Book  of  Micah  (Steiner  would  place  them  after  4^),  or — which 
may  be  a  preferable  alternative — the  existing  Book  of  Micah  consists  only  of 
a  collection  of  excerpts,  in  some  cases  fragmentary  excerpts,  from  the  entire 
series  of  the  prophet's  discourses,  and  the  context  in  which  2^2{.  originally 
stood  has  not  been  preserved  to  us. 

The  picture  of  disaster  and  ruin  with  which  c.  1-3  closes,  is 
followed  (in  the  manner  of  the  other  prophets,  especially  Isaiah) 
by  a  vision  of  restoration.  Zion,  no  longer  ruined  and  deserted, 
is  pictured  by  the  prophet  as  invested  with  even  greater  glory 
than  before ;  it  has  become  the  spiritual  metropolis  of  the  entire 
earth ;  pilgrims  flock  to  it  from  all  quarters ;  a  "  federation  of 
the  world  "  has  been  established  under  the  suzerainty  of  the  God 
of  Israel,  4^"^.  In  that  day  the  banished  and  suffering  Israelites 
will  be  restored ;  and  Jehovah  will  reign  over  them  in  Zion  for 
ever,  v.^^-.  V.^  the  prophet  proceeds  to  contemplate  the  ultimate 
revival  of  the  kingdom  of  David;  but  v.^^-  he  returns  to  the 
present  (or  immediate  future),  and  dwells  on  the  period  of  distress 
which  must  be  passed  through  before  that  revival  can  be  consum- 
mated. ''''Now,  why  dost  thou  cry  out  aloud?"  he  exclaims; 
for  he  hears  in  imagination  the  wail  of  despair  and  [308]  pain 
rising  from  the  capital  at  the  approach  of  the  foe  (the  Assyrian), 
v.^ ;  he  takes  up,  v.^^,  the  figure  used  at  the  end  of  v.^ :  the 
painful  process  must  continue  till  the  new  birth  has  been 
achieved ;  the  nation  must  leave  the  city,  dwell  in  the  field,  and 
journey  even  to  Babylon ;  there  will  it  be  delivered  and  rescued 


MICAH  329 

from  its  foes.  But  now — i.e.  as  v.^,  in  the  present  (or  immediate 
future) — many  nations  are  assembled  against  Zion,  eager  to  see 
her  prostrate  in  the  dust;  they  know  not,  however,  Jehovah's 
purpose ;  He  has  assembled  them  only  that  they  may  be 
gathered  themselves  "  as  the  sheaves  into  the  floor,"  and  there 
"threshed"  by  the  triumphant  daughter  of  Zion  herself,  v.^^"^^. 
And  yet,  now^  there  is  a  siege  imminent ;  and  humiliation  awaits 
the  chief  magistrate  of  Israel  (the  king) :  the  ruler  who  is  to  be 
his  people's  deliverer  will  arise  from  another  quarter,  from  the 
insignificant  town  of  Bethlehem ;  and  Israel  will  be  "  given  up  " 
— i.e.  abandoned  to  its  foes — until  he  appears  and  reunites  the 
scattered  nation,  5^-^  (Heb.  4^'*-5^).  Then  will  Israel  dwell 
securely :  when  danger  threatens,  capable  men  will  be  at  hand,  in 
more  than  sufficient  numbers  ("  seven  .  .  .  eight ")  to  ward  it  off; 
when  the  Assyrian  essays  to  invade  the  territory  of  Judah,  under 
the  leadership  of  its  ideal  king  he  will  be  triumphantly  repelled, 
v.*"^.  Upon  those  of  the  nations  who  are  disposed  to  welcome 
it,  the  "  remnant  of  Jacob "  will  exert  an  influence  like  that  of 
the  softly-falling,  beneficent  dew ;  towards  those  who  resist  it,  it 
will  be  as  a  fierce,  destructive  lion,  vJ-^.  Finally,  Micah  points 
to  the  inward  notes  of  the  nation's  changed  state,  destruction 
of  warlike  implements,  which  will  be  no  longer  needed,  and  of 
idolatry,  in  which  it  will  no  longer  find  its  delight,  v.^^-^^. 

In  c.  4-5  the  connexion  of  thought  is  so  incomplete  that  again  the  ques- 
tion arises  whether  the  text  is  in  its  original  integrity.  The  two  chief  sources 
of  difficulty  are  the  clause  in  4^^,  And  shalt  come  even  to  Babylon,  and  4^^"^^. 
In  the  abstract,  to  be  sure,  the  mention  of  Babylon  would  not  be  inexplic- 
able :  as  Mic.  (5^*  ^,  cf.  i^)  views  the  Assyrians  as  the  power  which  the  Jews 
have  to  dread,  Babylon  would  be  named  by  him,  not  as  the  place  to  which, 
some  120  years  afterwards,  Judah  was  actually  exiled,  but  as  a  principal 
city  of  the  Assyrian  empire,  with  which  recently,  it  is  probable,  Judah  had 
had  dealings  (Isa.  39),  and  to  which,  in  accordance  with  the  Assyrian  custom 
(2  Ki.  15^),  Micah  pictured  the  people  as  exiled  by  them  (cf.  also  Isa. 
39^'*).  But  the  clause  does  not  harmonize  with  the  context  in  which  it 
actually  stands  :  exile  to  Babylon  is  inconsistent  with  the  victory  promised  to 
them  in  4""^'  (if  these  verses  be  Micah's)  as  well  as  with  the  general  tenor  of 
5^"^;  redemption  in  Babylon  (v.^**  "there")  is  not  less  inconsistent  with 
the  context,  besides  being  a  singular  and  improbable  idea  in  itself.  But 
with  this  clause  omitted,  v.^^  yields  at  once  a  clear  and  consistent  sense :  it 
then  describes  how  the  inhabitants,  having  been  compelled  to  surrender  their 
capital  to  the  foe,  encam.p  in  the  fields  on  the  road  for  exile,  when  Jehovah 
interposes  suddenly  on  their  behalf,  and  there  delivers  them).  No  doubt,  the 
clause  in  question  is  a  gloss,  wlltten  originally  on  the  margin  with  the  view 


330  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

of  making  the  prophecy  more  definite,  and  introduced  afterwards  by  error  into 
the  text.  V.^^"^^,  if  Micah's,  must  depict  the  manner  in  which  the  deliver- 
ance promised  in  v.^"  is  effected,  viz.  by  the  nation  being  supernaturally 
strengthened  in  order  to  vanquish  its  foes  (so  Kuenen,  in  his  defence  of  the 
integrity  of  Micah  4-5 — except  the  Babylon-clause  in  4^*' — in  the  ThT.  1872, 
p.  299  f.).  It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  there  are  parts  in  the  two 
pictures  which  it  is  very  difficult  to  reconcile.  ''According  to  v.^**  Zion  shall 
be  captured  by  the  enemy,  and  this  agrees  with  3^^.  But  in  the  following 
verses  the  besieging  hosts  of  many  nations  are  broken  beneath  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem"  (W.  R.  Smith,  Proph?-  p.  428).  Accordingly,  W.  R.  Smith 
rejects  4^^*^^  as  a  later  insertion  in  the  text  of  Micah,  as  does  also  Nowack, 
ZA  TW.  1884,  p.  285  f.  The  reasons  for  this  conclusion  are  forcible  :  but  it 
ought  at  the  same  time  to  be  remembered  that  the  prophets,  in  their  im- 
aginative pictures  of  the  future,  are  not  always  perfectly  consistent  (contrast, 
e.g.  Isa.  3^^'*  with  Isa.  29^'^),  and  that  4^^"^^  may  not  have  been  uttered  at 
the  same  time  as  4^"^°  (and  still  less  at  the  same  time  as  3^^),  and  may  con- 
sequently reflect  a  new  phase  in  Micah's  conception  of  his  nation's  future.  * 

Recent  critics  have,  however,  as  in  the  case  of  Hosea  and  Amos,  and 
upon  similar  grounds,  gone  considerably  further  in  the  rejection  of  parts,  or 
even  of  the  whole,  of  Micah  4-5.  Thus  Stade  {ZATW.  1881,  p.  165  ff".;  cf. 
1883,  p.  I  ff".,  1884,  p.  291  ff".)  treats  4I-3  (both  here  and  in  Isa.  22-*:  above, 
p.  230)  *•  ^^'^^  5^"*'  '"^^  as  a  post-exilic  addition,  designed  to  supplement  the 
dark  picture  of  3^^  with  an  outlook  of  hope,  in  which,  upon  the  assumption 
that  it  was  really  Micah's  work,  were  inserted  at  a  yet  later  date  4''"'^^  5^"^. 
Kuenen  (§  74.  4-9)  criticizes  this  view,  admitting  that  the  historical  back- 
ground is  not  the  same  throughout  the  two  chapters,  but  contending  that 
parts  still  presuppose  the  existence  of  the  monarchy  :  accordingly,  he  assigns 
to  an  exilic  or  post-exilic  hand  only  4^'^  (as  presupposing  the  Babylonian 
exile),  ^°  (the  Babylon-clause),  ^^"^^  (which  he  now  owns  "has  the  Assyrian 
period  far  behind  it,"  and  recalls  the  defeat  of  ideal  foes  in  Ez.  38-39,  Zech. 
12.  14),  and  perhaps  the  allusion  to  "pillars"  and  "  Asherahs"  in  5^^-  '^^  (so 
Wildeboer,  §  10,  p.  181).  Wellh.  (in  his  Minor  Prophets)  regards  c.  4-5  as 
an  appendix  attached  to  3^2  by  g.  later  hand,  including,  however,  in  5^°'^'*,  and 
possibly  also  in  4^-^<*  (except  the  Babylon-clause)  5^,  words  of  Micah.  Cheyne 
(W.  R.  Smith,  Proph.^  p.  xxiii)  appears  to  agree  with  Wellh. 

[310]  II.  C.  6-7.  (i.)  6^-76.  Here  the  standpoint  changes. 
It  is  no  longer  the  leaders  only,  as  in  c.  1-3,  whose  misconduct 
the  prophet  denounces,  the  people  as  a  whole  are  addressed, 
and  the  entire  nation  is  represented  as  corrupt,  not  "a  good 

*  Caspari  (p.  190),  Keil,  and  Kirkpatrick  (pp.  216,  229)  escape  the  con- 
tradiction between  /^'^-'^^  and  4^'-  by  taking  nnyi,  4^^,  in  the  sense  oi  And  then, 
{i.e.  after  the  deliverance  of  4^",  when  the  nations  who  presume  to  assail 
Israel  will  be  triumphantly  dispersed).  But  according  to  usage  nnyi  would 
denote  only  either  the  present,  or  the  immediate  future,  as  contrasted  with 
the  more  distant  future  indicated  at  the  end  of  v.^**. 


MICAH  331 

man"  can  be  found  in  it  (7^"^).  The  prophecy  is  conceived 
dramatically,  and  may  be  headed  (comp.  Ewald)  Jehovah  and 
Israel  in  controversy :  Jehovah,  represented  by  the  prophet, 
is  plaintiff;  Israel  is  defendant.  V.i^-  is  the  exordium :  v.^-^ 
Jehovah  states  His  case:  what  has  He  done  to  merit  Israel's 
ingratitude  and  neglect?  V.^-^.  The  people,  admitting  its  sin, 
inquires  how  its  God  can  be  propitiated?  will  thousands  of 
sacrifices,  will  even  a  man's  first-born  son,  be  sufificient  to  satisfy 
His  demands?  V.^.  The  prophet  gives  the  answer:  Jehovah 
demands  not  material  offerings,  but  justice,  mercy,  humility. 
V.9-16.  Jehovah  speaks,  addressing  primarily  the  capital,  denounc- 
ing with  indignation  the  injustice,  oppression,  and  violence 
rampant  in  it,  and  threatening  condign  punishment,  in  the  shape 
of  invasion,  desolation,  and  disgrace.  7^'^.  T?ie  prophet  is  the 
speaker:  he  describes — with  a  passing  glance  at  the  day  of 
retribution,  v."*^ — the  desperate  condition  of  the  nation, — anarchy, 
persecution,  universal  corruption  of  justice,  the  ties  of  society 
dissolved,  even  friendship  and  wedded  love  no  longer  to  be 
trusted — "a  man's  enemies  are  the  men  of  his  own  house." 

The  social  condition  thus  depicted  is  darker  than  that  which  is  either 
described  or  implied  in  any  other  part  of  the  book.  In  their  connexion 
with  c.  6,  the  verses  7^"*  may  be  taken  as  exhibiting  anew  the  necessity  of 
the  judgment  held  out  in  6^^'^^  against  a  people  which  will  listen  neither 
to  the  admonition  of  6^,  nor  to  the  denunciation  of  6^"^^. 

(2.)  'f''^^.  Here,  though  the  literary  form  is  still  that  of  a 
dramatic  dialogue,  both  the  subject  and  the  point  of  view  are 
different.  V.''"^^  may  be  headed  Israel  and  the  prophet :  v.^^^-*^ 
The  prophet  and  his  God.  N!^-^^  the  community  speaks, — not, 
however,  the  corrupt  community  of  the  present,  as  described  in 
v.i-6,  but  the  penitent  community  of  the  future :  the  day  of 
distress,  v.*^,  is  supposed  to  have  arrived :  the  suffering  and 
humiliation  (here  described  as  "darkness")  involved  in  [311] 
it  have  brought  the  nation  to  a  sense  of  its  guilt;  hence  it  is 
able  to  assert  its  confidence  in  the  approach  of  a  brighter  future, 
and  to  triumph  over  its  adversary's  fall.  V.^^-i^.  The  prophet 
supposes  himself  to  reply :  he  re-echoes  the  nation's  hopes  :  the 
ruined  fence  of  the  vineyard  (Isa.  ^''^)  will  be  rebuilt,  and  the 
banished  Israelites  will  return,  though,  he  adds,  before  this 
promise  can  be  realised,  judgment  must  take  its  course,  and 
"  the  land  "  become  desolate (cf  6^6^). 


332  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

V.i*.  The  prophet^  turning  now  to  Jehovah,  supplicates,  in 
the  name  of  the  penitent  people,  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise 
of  v.ii^-.  V.i^.  Jehovah  gives  His  reply,  short  but  pregnant : 
at  the  restoration,  the  wonders  of  the  Exodus  will  be  re-enacted. 
V.i^'^''  the  words  glide  insensibly  into  those  of  the  prophet :  the 
effects  of  the  spectacle  upon  the  nations  of  the  world,  their  terror 
and  prostration,  are  powerfully  depicted.  The  prophecy  closes 
with  a  lyric  passage,  v.^^^^o,  celebrating  the  Divine  attributes  of 
mercy,  compassion,  and  faithfulness,  as  manifested  in  the  deliver- 
ance promised  in  the  preceding  verses. 

C.  6-7  were  assigned  by  Ewald  to  an  anonymous  prophet 
writing  in  the  reign  of  Manasseh.  The  hope  and  buoyancy 
which  Isaiah  kindled,  and  which  left  its  impress  upon  the  pages 
of  Micah,  c.  1-5,  have  given  way,  he  remarks,  in  c.  6-7  to 
despondency  and  sadness :  Micah  declaims  against  the  leaders 
of  the  nation  only,  in  c.  6-7  (as  was  already  observed  above) 
the  corruption  has  extended  to  the  entire  people;  and  6^^  ("the 
statutes  of  Omri,  and  all  the  works  of  the  house  of  Ahab") 
points  directly  to  the  age  of  Manasseh  as  that  in  which  the  pro- 
phecy was  written.  It  is  true  there  is  no  chronological  difficulty 
in  supposing  that  Micah  himself  may  have  survived  at  least  the 
commencement  of  the  heathen  reaction  which  marked  the  reign 
of  Manasseh :  but  the  difference  in  form  and  style  between 
c.  6-7  and  c.  1-5  is  such,  Ewald  urges,  as  to  be  scarcely  com- 
patible with  the  opinion  that  both  are  by  the  same  author.  C. 
6-7  is  dramatic  in  structure ;  the  prophecy  is  distributed  between 
different  interlocutors  in  a  manner  which  is  far  from  common  in 
the  prophets,  and  is  altogether  alien  from  c.  1-5  :  the  "echoes  of 
Isaiah's  lofty  eloquence  "  are  here  no  longer  audible ;  the  elegiac 
tone  of  c.  6-7  already  approaches  closely  to  that  of  Jeremiah : 
the  linguistic  features  which  mark  c.  1-5  are  also  absent. 

Wellhausen  (in  Bleek's  jEm/.,  ed.  4,  1878,  p.  425  f.)  advanced 
a  step  [312]  beyond  Ewald,  accepting  Ewald's  judgment  so  far 
as  related  to  6^-7^,  but  calling  attention  to  the  sharp  contrast 
subsisting  between  6^-7 '^  and  ^''--^ — 

**  7^'*  consists  of  a  bitter  lamentation  uttered  by  Zion  over  the  corruption 
of  her  children ;  and  the  day  of  retribution,  though  ready,  is  yet  future,  v.^. 
But  with  v.*  the  thread  of  the  thought  is  broken,  and  the  contents  of  v.'"^^ 
are  of  a  wholly  different  character.  Zion,  indeed,  is  still  the  speaker ;  but 
here  she  has  already  been  overpowered  by  her  foe,  the  heathen  world,  which 


MICAII  333 

is  persuaded  that  by  its  victory  over  Israel  it  has  at  the  same  time  vanquished 
Jehovah,  v.^".  The  city  has  fallen,  its  walls  are  destroyed,  its  inhabitants 
pine  away  in  darkness,  i.e.  in  the  darkness  of  captivity,  v.^-  ^i.  Nevertheless, 
Zion  is  still  confident,  and  though  she  may  have  to  wait  long,  she  does  not 
question  her  final  triumph  over  the  foe,  v,'*  **•  '^^'^'  i^.  She  endures  patiently 
the  punishment  merited  by  her  past  sins,  assured  that  when  she  has  atoned 
for  them,  God  will  take  up  her  cause,  and  lead  her  to  victory,  v.^.  Then 
the  leaf  turns :  Zion  rules  over  the  heathen,  and  these  humbly  proffer  her 
their  homage  at  Jerusalem.*  Thus  the  situation  in  7'^"-*'  is  quite  different 
from  that  in  7^*^.  What  v^zs  present  there,  viz.  moral  disorder  and  confiision 
in  the  existing  Jewish  state,  is  here  past ;  what  is  there  future^  viz.  the 
retribution  of  v.'*'',  has  here  come  to  pass,  and  has  been  continuing  for  some 
time.  What  in  v.^'^  was  still  unthought  of,  viz.  the  consolation  of  the  people, 
tempted  in  their  trouble  to  mistrust  Jehovah,  is  in  v.'^'^o  the  main  theme. 
Between  v.^  and  v.^  there  yawns  a  century.  On  the  other  hand,  there  pre- 
vails a  remarkable  similarity  between  'j'^'-^  and  Isa.  40-66. " 

Accordingly  Wellhausen's  conclusion  is  that  7^-20  was  added 
to  6^-76  by  a  prophet  writing  during  the  Babylonian  captivity  f 
(or,  as  he  prefers  to  suppose  now,  after  the  return). | 

Ewald's  date  for  6^-76  is  exceedingly  probable;  though  we 
cannot  affirm  with  equal  confidence  that  Micah  is  not  the  author. 
With  such  a  small  basis  as  c.  1-5  to  argue  from,  we  are  hardly 
entitled  to  pronounce  the  dramatic  form  of  6^^-  inconsistent 
with  Micah's  authorship.  At  the  same  time,  there  is  a  difference 
of  tone  and  manner  in  6^-76,  as  compared  with  c.  1-5,  which, 
so  far  as  it  goes,  tell  against,  rather  than  in  favour  of,  identity 
of  author :  instead  of  Micah's  sharp  and  forceful  sentences,  we 
have  here  a  strain  of  reproachful  tenderness  and  regret  (see  esp. 
53.5  yi) .  and,  as  Kuenen  remarks  (§  74.  n),  the  prophecy  does 
not,  as  would  be  natural  if  the  author  were  the  [313]  same, 
carry  on,  or  develop,  lines  of  thought  contained  in  c.  1-5.  The 
point  is  one  on  which  it  is  not  possible  to  pronounce  confidently ; 
but  internal  evidence,  it  must  be  owned,  tends  to  support  Ewald's 
conclusion. 

As  regards  f-"^^  Wellh.'s  characterisation  of  the  passage,  and 
exposition   of  the   argument,   are   both   eminently   just.      The 

*  Wellh.  here  interprets  v.^^  (with  Keil  and  others)  of  the  heathen  hasten- 
ing to  join  themselves  to  Israel  (as  Isa.  45"  &c.),  not  of  the  scattered  Israelites 
returning  (though  in  his  Minor  Prophets  he  adopts  the  latter  explanation). 
And  in  v.^'  he  takes  X^iir\,  also  as  Keil,  of  the  earth.  The  view  adopted  in 
the  text  (p.  331)  is  that  of  Caspari,  Hitzig,  and  Ewald. 

t  So  also  Stade  ;  Kuenen  (§  74.  14). 

X  So  Giesebrecht,  Beitrdge  (i8fD),  p.  216  f.  ;  Comill. 


334  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

question  remains  whether  the  inferences  which  he  deduces  from 
them  follow. 

It  is  true  that  a  century  or  more  elapsed  in  fact  between  the  period  alluded 
to  in  v.^  and  the  period  supposed  to  have  commenced  in  v.' :  but  we  can 
hardly  measure  the  prophet's  representations  by  the  actual  history  ;  to  him, 
as  to  other  prophets,  future  events  may  have  seemed  nearer  than  they  were 
shown  by  the  result  to  be  :  both  Isaiah  and  Micah,  for  example,  pictured  the 
Messianic  age  as  immediately  succeeding  the  downfall  of  the  Assyrian.  The 
prophet  who  is  here  speaking  may  similarly  have  pictured  calamity  working 
its  penitential  effect  upon  the  nation  much  sooner  than  the  course  of  history 
actually  brought  about.  The  contradiction  with  7^"^  is  really  confined  to 
v.'''"^*' :  the  transition  must  be  admitted  to  be  abrupt ;  but  these  verses  may 
fairly  be  regarded  as  an  ideal  confession  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  people, 
whilst  lying  under  the  judgment  which  the  prophet  imagines  (implicitly)  to 
have  passed  over  it :  comp.  Jer.  322b-25^  j-j^g  confession  supposed  to  be  spoken 
by  the  penitent  nation  in  response  to  the  prophet's  invitation,  v.  22a.  V."^- 
may  be  treated  as  consolations  spoken  from  the  prophet's  standpoint,  after 
the  manner  of  Zeph.  3^^-.  As  regards  the  resemblances  with  Isa.  40-66,  it 
is  true  again  that  the  thought  is  often  similar  ;  *  but  there  are  no  unambiguous 
references  to  the  Babylonian  exile,  such  as  are  frequent  both  in  Isa.  40-66 
and  in  other  prophecies  belonging  to  the  same  period.  Thus  Jer.  50^^  is 
remarkably  parallel  with  v.^*;  but  it  is  preceded  (v."'-)  by  the  express 
mention  both  of  Babylon  and  of  its  king,  Nebuchadnezzar,  unlike  anything 
to  be  found  in  Mic.  7'"^°,  where,  indeed,  even  the  word  return  does  not 
occur,  t  It  is  not  clear,  therefore,  that  the  expressions  here,  which  seem  to 
imply  that  a  state  of  exile  is  in  the  prophet's  mind  (as  v.^^  "a  day  to  build  up 
thy  fences  "),  are  more  than  parts  of  the  imaginative  picture  drawn  by  him  of 
the  calamity  which  he  sees  to  be  impending.     Comp.  Zeph.  31^-20, 

Elhorst  (above,  p.  300)  defends  Micah's  authorship  of  the  entire  book 
(except  4^-5^  5^),  escaping  the  diflSculties  which  it  presents  in  parts  by  an 
ingenious  but  complicated  theory  that  the  original  order  of  the  prophecies 
had  been  disarranged  by  a  series  of  careless  copyists. 


[314]    §  7.  Nahum. 

The  theme  of  the  prophecy  of  Nahum  is  the  fall  of  Nineveh. 
In  a  noble  exordium,  i^-^,  Nahum  depicts  the  appearance  of 
Jehovah  in  judgment,  and  its  effects  upon  the  physical  universe ; 
then,  after  briefly  commemorating,  v.''',  His  faithfulness  towards 

•  Comp.  78b.  9b  Isa.  42W  62lb._79a  4224.  25  645^—710  4926-  26  5l23._7n  58I2 

&c.— 712  436^  49i2._7i4  6317b  5^9  ^^g.  10  Qgr.  ^o^^].— 7"  41^8  43i6f.  482i._7i6f. 

45'^  54^^-7^«-^"  43^  44^  54«^;  55^^ 

t  The  mention  of  Assyria  in  Mic.  7^2  rather  than  Babylon,  and  the  name 
Mazor  for  Egypt  (only  besides  in  Isaiah,  19*  37^  [  =  2  Ki.  19^]),  do  not 
favour  the  exilic  (or  post-exilic)  date  of  7'"2°. 


NAHUM  335 

those  who  are  His  true  servants,  he  proceeds  to  describe  the  fall 
and  irretrievable  destruction  destined  to  overtake  the  Assyrian 
capital,  v.^-12%  and  the  exultation  which  the  news  of  the  oppres- 
sor's fall  will  produce  in  Judah,  v.^^^-^^.*  In  c.  2  he  depicts  in 
forcible  and  vivid  language  the  assault  upon  Nineveh,  the 
entrance  effected  by  her  foes,  the  scene  of  carnage  and  tumult 
in  the  streets,  the  flight  of  her  inhabitants,  the  treasures  plundered 
by  the  captors,  the  city  which  hitherto  had  been  the  home  of 
brave  intrepid  warriors  ("  the  den  of  lions,"  v.^^-^^^  deserted  and 
silent.  In  c.  3  the  theme  of  c.  2  is  further  developed  and  con- 
firmed. The  cruelty,  the  avarice  (v.^),  the  crafty  and  insidious 
policy  (v.'*)  of  the  Assyrians,  directed  only  to  secure  their  own 
aggrandisement,  is  the  cause  of  Nineveh's  ruin  :  and  again 
Nahum  sees  in  imagination  the  chariots  and  horsemen  of  the 
victor  forcing  a  path  through  the  streets,  and  spreading  carnage 
as  they  go  (v.^-^).  For  Jehovah  is  against  Nineveh  (v.^^-), 
and  in  the  day  of  her  desolation  none  will  be  there  to  comfort 
her  (v.^) :  as  little  will  she  be  able  to  avert  her  doom  as  was 
No-amon  (Thebes,  in  Upper  Egypt),  in  spite  of  the  waters  that 
encircled  her,  and  the  countless  hosts  of  her  defenders  (v.^-^i). 
Nineveh's  fortresses  will  give  way  :  her  men  will  be  as  women  : 
in  vain  will  she  prepare  herself  to  endure  a  siege  :  the  vast 
multitude  of  her  inhabitants  will  vanish  as  locusts  :  amid  the 
rejoicings  of  all  who  have  suffered  at  her  hands  the  proud  empire 
of  Nineveh  will  pass  for  ever  away. 

Respecting  the  person  of  Nahum  nothing  is  known  beyond  the  statement 
of  the  title  that  he  was  an  Elkoshite.  A  place  bearing  the  name  of  Alkushy 
containing  a  grave  which  is  shown  as  that  of  Nahum,  exists  at  the  present 
day  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mosul  (the  ancient  Nineveh) ;  but  the  tradition 
connecting  this  locality  with  the  prophet  cannot  be  traced  back  beyond  the 
1 6th  cent.  Far  more  ancient  and  credible  is  the  tradition  recorded  by 
Jerome  in  his  commentary  on  Nahum,  that  the  prophet  was  the  native  of  a 
[315]  village  in  Galilee,  which  in  Jerome's  time  bore  the  name  of  Elkesi.  If 
Nahum  were  of  Galilsean  origin,  certain  slight  peculiarities  of  his  diction 
might  be  explained  as  provincialisms. 

As  regards  the  date  of  Nahum's  prophecy,  the  terminus  a  quo 
is  the  capture  of  Thebes  in  Egypt  (alluded  to  in  3^"^^)  by 
Asshurbanipal,  shortly  after  664 ;  f    the  terminus  ad  quepi,  the 

*  V.8-1^  is  addressed  to  the  people  or  city  of  Nineveh,  v.^^**-  ^^  to  Judah 
or  Jerusalem,  v.^^  to  Nineveh  again,  and  v.^*^  (expressly)  to  Judah. 
t  See  Schrader,  KAT.'^  p.  450  f.  « 


336  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

destruction  of  Nineveh  by  the  "  Ummanmanda  "  (at  the  invita- 
tion of  the  Babylonians)  *  in  607.  Within  these  hmits  it  is 
difficult  to  fix  the  date  more  precisely.  On  the  one  hand,  the 
freshness  of  the  allusion  to  the  fate  of  Thebes,  and  the  vigour 
of  style  (which  resembles  that  of  Isaiah  rather  than  Zephaniah's 
or  Jeremiah's),  may  suggest  that  it  belongs  to  the  earlier  years  of 
this  period ;  on  the  other  hand,  as  the  fall  of  Nineveh  is  con- 
templated as  imminent  {e.g.  i^^  "And  now^^^  &c.),  and  the 
Assyrians  are  represented  as  powerless  to  avert  the  fate  which 
threatens  them,  it  may  be  thought  to  belong  to  the  period  of  the 
decadence  of  the  Assyrian  power,  which  followed  the  brilliant 
reign  of  Asshurbanipal  (b.c.  668-626). 

Kuenen  (§  75.  9,  10)  suggests  that  the  immediate  occasion  of  the  prophecy 
may  have  been  the  attack  made  upon  Nineveh  by  Cyaxares,  king  of  Media 
(Hdt.  i.  103),  c.  623  B.C.,  which,  though  it  proved  abortive,  may  have  turned 
the  prophet's  thoughts  towards  the  city,  and  the  destiny  which  he  saw  to  be 
in  store  for  it.  The  terms  of  i^^*  ^'*  ^^  2^^  ""^  seem  to  point  to  some  recent 
invasion,  or  act  of  tyranny,  on  the  part  of  the  Assyrians,  not  recorded  in  the 
historical  books.  The  determination  of  the  terminus  a  quo  makes  it  im- 
probable that  these  verses  allude  to  the  invasion  of  Sennacherib,  nearly  40 
years  before  (B.C.  701);  and,  of  course,  altogether  excludes  a  date  immedi- 
ately after  Sennacherib's  retreat  (adopted  formerly  by  some  commentators). 
Prof.  A.  R.  S.  Kennedy  {Good  Words,  Nov.  1891,  p.  743),  and  Winckler 
(Alttest.  Unterss.  1892,  p.  124),  argue  in  favour  of  a  date  {c,  645  B.C.)  soon 
after  the  rebellion  of  Shamash-shumukin  {KAT.^  368-370),  for  complicity 
with  which,  it  is  conjectured,  Manasseh  was  taken  captive  to  Babylon  (2  Ch. 
33II)  by  Asshurbanipal.  Prof.  Davidson  (pp.  14-18)  criticises  this  and  other 
views,  and  decides  in  favour  oi  c.  608  B.C. 

Nahum's  poetry  is  fine.  Of  all  the  prophets  he  is  the  one 
who  in  dignity  and  force  approaches  most  nearly  to  Isaiah. 
His  descriptions  are  singularly  picturesque  and  vivid  (notice 
especially  o.^'^-  ^^  32-3)  :  his  imagery  is  effective  and  striking  {e.g. 
giif.  ^17. 18^  .  thg  thought  is  always  expressed  compactly ;  the 
parallelism  is  regular  :  there  is  no  trace  of  that  prolixity  of  style 
which  becomes  soon  afterwards  a  characteristic  of  the  prophets 
of  the  Chaldaean  period.  "  The  Book  of  Nahum  is  less  directly 
spiritual  than  the  prophecies  of  Hosea,  Isaiah,  and  Micah  :  yet 
it  forcibly  brings  before  us  God's  moral  government  of  the  world, 
and  the  duty  of  trust  in  Him  as  the  Avenger  of  wrong-doers,  the 
sole  source  of  security  and  peace  to  those  who  love  Him"  (Farrar). 

*  See  Davidson,  p.  137  f.,  with  the  references  (esp.  Messerschmidt,  pp. 
JO-12). 


HABAKKUK  337 

In  Nah.  1^-2^  (Heb.^)  traces  of  an  acrostich  (below,  p.  ;^67  f.)  seem  to  be 
discernible ;  and  attempts  have  recently  been  made  to  restore,  though  not 
without  violence,  the  supposed  original  alphabetical  arrangement  of  half- 
verses ;  see  Gunkel,  ZATW.  1893,  p.  223  ff.;  Bickell,  Sitzungsberichte  der 
kaiserl.  Akad.  der  Wiss.  in  Wieii  (phil.-hist.  Classe),  vol.  131,  V.  p.  iff.; 
Q,\x\^^\  Schdpfung  u.  Chaos,  1895,  p.  102  f.;  and  the  criticisms  of  Davidson, 
p.  19  f. 

[316]    §  8.  Habakkuk. 

Habakkuk  prophesied  towards  the  beginning  of  the  Chaldaean 
supremacy.  His  prophecy  is  constructed  dramatically,  in  the 
form  of  a  dialogue  between  himself  and  Jehovah  (comp.  Mic. 
6-7  ;  Jer.  14-15).  The  prophet  begins,  i^-*,  by  expostulating 
with  Jehovah  on  account  of  the  violence  and  injustice  which 
prevails  unchecked  in  the  land.  V.^-^^  Jehovah  answers  that  the 
instrument  of  judgment  is  near  at  hand — the  Challdaeans,  "  that 
bitter  and  hasty  nation,  which  march  through  the  breadth  of 
the  earth  to  possess  dwelling-places  that  are  not  theirs,"  whose 
advance  is  swift  and  terrible,  and  whose  attack  the  strongest 
fortresses  are  powerless  to  resist.  But  the  prophet  is  now  per- 
plexed by  a  difficulty  from  the  opposite  direction  :  will  Jehovah, 
who  has  ordained  the  power  of  the  Chaldaeans  as  an  instrument 
of  judgment  (comp.  Is.  lo^^-),  permit  the  proud,  idolatrous 
nation  to  destroy  the  righteous  with  the  guilty,  and  to  trample 
inhumanly,  not  upon  Israel  only,  but  upon  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth?  v.^^-i^,  Habakkuk  places  himself  in  imagination  upon 
his  prophetic  watch-tower  (cf.  Is.  21^),  and  waits  expectantly 
for  an  answer  that  may  satisfy  his  "  complaint,"  or  impeachment, 
touching  the  righteous  government  of  God,  2^.  Jehovah's 
answer,  the  significance  of  which  is  betokened  by  the  terms 
in  which  it  is  introduced  (v.^-  ^),  is  this  :  The  soul  of  the  Chal- 
dcean  is  elated  with  pride ;  but  the  righteous  shall  live  by  his 
faithfulness  *  (v.*).  The  different  characters  of  the  Chaldaean 
and  of  the  righteous  carry  in  them  their  different  destinies.  The 
pride  of  the  former,  it  is  implied  in  particular,  will  prove  in  the 
end  his  ruin  ;  and  this  the  prophet,  after  dwelling  somewhat 
more  fully  (v.^)  on  the  ambitious  aims  of  the  Chaldaean,  develops 
at  length,  v.^-^o,  in  the  form  of  a  taunting  proverb  fyi^X^)^  which  he 
imagines,  with  dramatic  vividness  and  propriety,  to  be  pronounced 
*  T.e,  moral  steadfastness  and  integrity ;  see  2  Ki.  12**,  Jer.  5^  9'. 


338  IJTERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

against  him  by  the  nations  whom  he  has  oppressed.  The  "  pro- 
verb "  consists  of  a  series  of  five  "  Woes  "  (cf.  Is.  5^^-;  also  Jer. 
22^^),  denouncing  in  succession  the  rapacious  violence  of  the  Chal- 
daeans,  the  suicidal  policy  pursued  by  them  in  establishing  their 
dominion,  the  dishonesty  and  cruelty  by  which  the  magnificence 
of  their  cities  was  maintained,  the  barbarous  delight  with  which 
they  reduced  to  a  state  of  helplessness  the  nations  that  fell  under 
their  sway,  their  irrational  idolatry.  At  the  close  of  the  last 
strophe  the  [317]  prophet  passes  by  contrast  from  the  con- 
templation of  the  dumb  and  helpless  idol  to  the  thought  of  the 
living  God,  enthroned  on  high,  before  Whom  the  earth  must 
stand  in  awe.     V.^o  leads  on  to  the  theophany  in  c.  3. 

The  explanation  of  c.  i ,  given  above,  is  the  usual  one ;  but  there  are 
scholars  who  nevertheless  do  not  deem  it  satisfactory.  The  great  difficulty 
which  has  been  found  in  the  ch.  is  that,  whereas  in  i'^-^  the  establishment  of 
the  power  of  the  Chaldaeans  appears  to  lie  in  the  future,  elsewhere  (esp.  i^3-i6 
28a.  10.  i7j  jhg  prophet  describes  their  treatment  of  conquered  nations,  and 
reflects  upon  the  moral  problems  to  which  it  gave  rise,  in  a  manner  which 
seems  to  imply  that  he  and  his  countrymen  were  already  perfectly  familiar 
with  it.  Other  difficulties  which  have  been  felt  are  :  the  inconsistency  of 
emphasizing  (l""^)  the  injustice  prevalent  zn  Israel,  in  a  prophecy  the  main 
theme  of  which  is  to  set  forth  the  injustice  which  Israel  suffers,  and  to 
announce  judgment  upon  its  authors  ;  and  the  different  sense  which  this 
explanation  postulates  for  the  complaint  in  i^  and  2^,  and  for  the  "wicked" 
and  the  "righteous,"  respectively,  in  i^  and  i^^.  Giesebrecht  {Beitrdge,  p. 
197  f.)  and  Wellh.  infer  upon  these  grounds  that  i^'^^  is  an  older,  in- 
dependent prophecy,  written  before  the  rest  of  c.  1-2,  and  not  now  in  its 
original  place,  that  i^^  is  the  true  sequel  of  i^,  and  that  i^"^  describes  the 
tyranny  of  the  Chaldceans  (v."'),  and  its  consequences  in  the  relaxation  of  law 
and  religion  (v.^^-  ^)  in  Judah  itself.  It  is  true,  i^'^^  does  seem  to  presuppose 
a  different  historical  situation  from  the  sequel,  and,  with  i^-^  (as  ordinarily 
understood),  may  well  have  been  written  down  by  Hab.  at  an  earlier  date : 
the  book  as  a  whole  is  "the  fruit  of  religious  reflection,"  and  exhibits  con- 
clusions which  doubtless  were  reached  by  the  prophet  not  at  once,  but  only 
"after  a  prolonged  mental  struggle"  (Kirkpatrick,  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets, 
p.  268) ;  so  that  in  such  a  supposition  there  would  be  nothing  unreasonable. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  other  difficulties  men- 
tioned are  sufficiently  serious  to  justify  the  conclusions  founded  upon  them ; 
the  sense  proposed  for  i^"*  is,  in  particular,  far  from  natural.  Kuenen,  §  'j'}. 
5,  6,  and  Davidson,  p.  48,  seek  to  harmonize  i^"^^  with  its  context  by  treat- 
ing it  as  not  in  reality  a  prediction,  but  only  as  an  explanation,  cast  in  a 
dramatic  form,  of  the  appearance  of  the  Chaldaeans  as  the  instruments  of 
Providence,  though  the  last-named  scholar  owns,  pp.  49  f.,  55,  that  this  is 
not  a  satisfactory  hypothesis.  On  Budde's  too  ingenious  development  of  the 
view  of  Giesebr.  and  Wellh.,  see  Davidson,  pp.  50-55.     Against  the  opinion 


HABAKKUK  339 

(Stade,  ZATIV.  1884,  p.  I54ff.;  Kuen.  §§  76.  4-7  ;  77-  9)  that  much  of  29-2« 
is  inapplicable  to  the  Chaldseans,  and  that  2*^-8  was  the  original  close  of 
Hab.'s  prophecy,  see  Wellh.  p.  163  fF.,  and  Davidson,  p.  55  ff. 

C.  3  consists  of  a  lyric  ode,  which,  for  sublimity  of  poetic 
conception  and  splendour  of  diction,  ranks  with  the  finest  (Ex. 
1 5 ;  Jud.  5)  which  Hebrew  poetry  has  produced.  In  this  ode 
the  prophet  represents  God  as  appearing  Himself  in  judgment, 
and  executing  vengeance  on  His  nation's  foes  :  he  longs  (v. 2)  to 
see  the  work  of  judgment  completed,  yet  prays  that  Jehovah  in 
wrath  will  remember  mercy.  V.3-7  depicts  the  theophany  and  its 
effects.  God  approaches — as  Dt.  33^,  Jud.  5^ — from  the  direc- 
tion of  Edom  (Teman  :  cf.  Jer.  49^0) :  the  light  of  His  appearing 
illumines  the  heavens ;  the  earth  quakes,  and  nations  flee  in  con- 
sternation. V.^-i^  the  prophet  states  the  motive  of  the  theophany. 
Was  Jehovah,  he  poetically  asks,  wroth  with  seas  or  rivers,  that 
He  thus  came  forth  riding  in  His  chariots  of  salvation?  and 
once  again  he  depicts,  in  majestic  imagery,  the  progress  of 
Jehovah  through  the  earth,  v.^-^^^  The  answer  to  the  inquiry 
follows,  v.^^^- :  Jehovah's  appearance  was  for  the  salvation  of  His 
people,  to  annihilate  those  who  sought  to  scatter  it,  and  whose 
delight  it  was  to  destroy  insidiously  the  helpless  people  of  God. 
The  poet  closes,  v.^^-^^,  by  describing  the  effect  which  the  con- 
templation of  Jehovah's  approaching  manifestation  produced  in 
his  own  heart :  suspense  and  fear  on  the  one  side,  but  on  the 
other  a  calm  and  joyous  confidence  in  the  God  who,  he  is  per- 
suaded, will  ensure  His  people's  salvation. 

The  title  of  Hab.  3,  and  the  musical  notes  (v. 3-  ^-  ^^-  ^^),  both  of  which 
resemble  closely  those  in  the  Psalter,  suggest  the  inference  that  this  ode  was 
excerpted  from  a  liturgical  collection,  and  placed  here  by  a  compiler  (Kuenen, 
§  76.  8  ;  Cheyne,  Origin  of  the  Psalter,  p.  157  ;  Comill,  §  34.  3  ;  Wellh. ;  al.). 
The  same  critics  consider  further  that  the  ode  was  originally  an  independent 
poem,  unconnected  with  the  Book  of  Hab.  :  to  the  circumstances  of  Hab.'s 
own  age,  so  clearly  reflected  in  i2-2^,  there  are  here  no  allusions ;  the  com- 
munity is  the  speaker  (v.^^*^^' ^^),  it  trusts  that  Jehovah  will  interpose  on  its 
behalf,  but  the  descriptions  are  general,  there  is  no  specific  reference  to  the 
Chaldseans,  it  complains  in  part  of  other  needs  (v."),  and  encourages  itself 
upon  other  grounds,  and  in  another  way,  than  the  prophet  who  speaks  in  i^- 
2^.  There  is  force  in  these  arguments  ;  and  we  may  agree  with  Prof.  David- 
son (p.  58  f. ),  that  the  conclusion  to  which  they  point  may  not  improbably  be 
correct.     Of  v.i<>-"  there  are  evident  reminiscences  in  Ps.  77i6-i»  (Heb.i^-so). 

Internal  evidence  makes  it  tolerably  clear  that  Habakkuk 
prophesied  during  the  reign  cf  Jehoiakim  (b.c.  608-597);  but 


340  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

the  precise  period  of  his  reign  is  difficult  to  fix.  The  descrip- 
tions in  I  MO- 14-16  25b.  6bff'.  ggg^i  to  show  that  the  prophet  is 
writing  at  a  time  when  the  character  and  aims  of  the  Chaldseans 
were  becoming  patent,  and  conquests  had  been  gained  by  them 
(2^*) ;  but  we  are  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  particulars 
of  their  movements  to  say  confidently  to  what  stage  in  their 
career  the  descriptions  relate.  Most  probably,  however,  Hab. 
wrote  shortly  before  600.  Nabopolassar  had  made  Babylon  the 
seat  of  an  independent  monarchy  in  625  ;  in  607,  with  the  help 
of  the  Ummanmanda  (p.  336),  Nineveh  had  been  destroyed ;  in 
604  Nabopolassar's  son,  Nebuchadnezzar,  had  gained  a  brilliant 
victory  over  Pharaoh  Necho  at  Carchemish,  the  natural  result 
of  which,  as  Jeremiah  at  once  saw  (p.  248),  could  only  be  that 
the  whole  of  W.  Asia  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Chaldaeans. 
What,  however,  the  Chaldaeans  were  doing  during  the  three 
following  years,  we  do  not  know ;  perhaps  they  were  obtaining 
the  successes  which  gave  them  the  character  that  Habakkuk 
attributes  to  them.  They  invaded  Judah  for  the  first  time  in 
601  or  600  (2  Ki.  24I).  The  familiarity  shown  by  the  prophet 
with  their  treatment  of  subject  nations,  and  the  reflections  which 
their  threatened  interference  in  Judah  arouses  in  his  mind,  point 
to  the  latter  part  of  this  period  rather  than  to  the  former. 

[318]  The  different  point  of  view  in  Hab.,  as  compared  with  Jeremiah, 
should  be  observed.  "Jeremiah  emphasizes  throughout  his  people's  sin,  and 
consequently  regards  the  Chaldseans  almost  exclusively  as  the  instrument  of 
punishment:  Habakkuk,  though  not  blind  to  Judah 's  transgressions  (i^"*), 
is  more  deeply  impressed  by  the  violence  and  tyranny  of  the  Chaldaeans,  and 
hence  treats  their  chastisements  as  the  first  claim  on  Jehovah's  righteousness  " 
(Kuen.  §  77.  8.     Comp.  Cheyne,  Jeremiah,  p.  133;  Farrar,  p.  161  ff.). 

Jeremiah  teaches  that  wickedness  in  God's  own  people  is  doomed : 
Habakkuk  declares  that  wickedness  in  the  Chaldaeans  is  doomed  likewise. 


§  9.  Zephaniah. 

Respecting  Zephaniah's  personality,  nothing  is  known  beyond 
what  is  recorded  in  the  title  to  his  book.  He  is  there  described 
as  the  descendant,  in  the  fourth  generation,  of  "  Hezekiah,"  and 
as  having  prophesied  during  the  reign  of  Josiah.  Hezekiah  is 
not  a  very  common  Israelitish  name;  and  it  is  supposed  by 
some  that  the  Hezekiah  meant  is  the  king  of  that  name,  so  that 


ZEPHANIAH  341 

the  prophet  would  be  a  great-grandson  of  a  brother  of  Manasseh. 
[319]  From  the  allusions  to  the  condition  of  morals  and  religion 
in  Judah  in  i*-^-  ^-  ^'  ^^^  3^"^-  '^,  it  may  be  inferred  with  tolerable  cer- 
tainty that  the  period  of  Josiah's  reign  during  which  Zephaniah 
wrote  was  prior  to  the  great  reformation  of  his  eighteenth  year 
(B.C.  621),  in  which  the  idolatry  attacked  by  the  prophet  was 
put  down  (comp.  e.g.  i^-^  with  2  Ki.  2$^'^-^^). 

Zephaniah's  prophecy  may  be  divided  into  three  parts:  I. 
the  menace,  c.  i ;  II.  the  admonition,  2^-f ;  III.  the  promise, 
38-20. 

I.  C.  I.  Zephaniah  opens  his  prophecy  with  an  announce- 
ment of  destruction,  conceived  apparently — to  judge  from  the 
universality  of  its  terms  (i2.3. is  ["earth,"  not  "land"]) — as  em- 
bracing the  entire  world,  v.^^-,  but  directed  in  particular  against 
the  idolaters  and  apostates  in  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  v.*-^.  Let 
the  earth  be  silent !  for  a  "  Day  of  Jehovah  "  (p.  208)  is  at  hand, 
a  day  of  sacrifice,  in  which  the  victims  are  the  Jewish  people, 
and  those  invited  to  partake  in  the  offering  are  the  heathen 
nations  "sanctified"  (see  i  Sa.  16^)  for  the  occasion,  v.''.  Three 
classes  are  named  as  those  upon  whom  the  judgment  will  light 
with  greatest  severity,  court  officials,  who  either  aped  foreign 
fashions  or  were  foreigners  themselves,  and  who  were  addicted 
to  corruption  and  intrigue ;  the  merchants  resident  in  Jerusalem ; 
and  Jews  sunk  in  irreligious  indifferentism,  v.^-^^.  V.^^-i^  the 
prophet  develops  the  figure  of  the  "  Day  of  Jehovah,"  describ- 
ing the  darkness  and  terror  which  are  to  accompany  it,  and  the 
fruitlessness  of  the  efforts  made  to  escape  from  it. 

II.  2^-3''.  Here  Zephaniah  urges  his  people  to  repent,  v.^-^, 
and  thus  to  escape  the  threatened  doom,  which  will  engulph,  he 
declares,  in  succession  the  Philistines,  v.""-^,  Moab  and  Ammon, 
v.8-^1,  Ethiopia,  v.12,  and  even  Nineveh,  the  proud  Assyrian 
capital,  itself,  v.^^-is.  From  Nineveh  the  prophet  turns  again  to 
address  Jerusalem,  and  describes  afresh  the  sins  rampant  in  her, 
especially  the  sins  of  her  judges  and  great  men,  [320]  and 
her  refusal  to  take  warning  from  the  example  of  her  neigh- 
bours, 3^"^. 

III.  3^--^.  Let  the  faithful  in  Jerusalem,  then,  wait  patiently 
until  the  approaching  judgment  (cf.  i^-  ^-  ^^)  is  accomplished,  v.^, 
the  issue  of  which  will  be  that  the  peoples  who  survive  it  will 
serve  Jehovah  "with  one  c(5hsent,"  and  that  the  purged  and 


342  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

purified  "  remnant  of  Israel "  will  cleave  to  God  in  sincerity  of 
heart,  and,  trusting  in  Him,  will  dwell  in  safety  upon  their  own 
land,  v.9-^l  With  his  eye  fixed  on  this  blissful  future,  the  pro- 
phet, in  jubilant  tones,  bids  his  people  rejoice  thankfully  in  the 
restoration  of  Jehovah's  favourable  presence  in  their  midst,  in 
the  removal  of  the  reproach  and  sorrow  at  present  resting  upon 
them,  and  in  the  honourable  position  which  they  will  then  hold 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  v.^^-^o. 

Though  Zephaniah  predicts  the  destruction  of  Nineveh  (2^^"^^),  he  makes 
no  allusion  to  the  agents  by  whom  it  was  brought  about,  the  Chaldceans,  who 
indeed  at  the  time  when  the  prophet  wrote,  while  Asshurbanipal  was  still 
sitting  on  the  throne  of  Assyria,  or  had  but  recently  (626)  died,  had  not  yet 
appeared  as  an  independent  power.  The  early  years  of  the  reign  of  Josiah 
coincided,  however,  with  the  great  irruption  of  Scythian  hordes  into  Asia 
recorded  by  Herodotus  (above,  p.  252  f.);  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  the 
prophet's  language,  and  especially  his  description  of  the  approaching  Day  of 
Jehovah,  may  reflect  the  impression  which  the  news  of  these  formidable  hosts, 
advancing  in  the  distance  and  carrying  desolation  with  them,  produced  in 
Judah  (comp.  I^'^-  '•'•  ^^-  ^^-  "^  from  which  it  appears  that  Zephaniah  pictures 
some  invading  foe  as  the  agent  in  the  coming  disaster). 

The  authenticity  of  several  parts  of  c.  2-3  has  been  questioned  by  recent 
critics.  Stade  ( G.  i.  644  n. )  doubted  2^'^-  ^^,  and  remarked  that  parts  of  c.  3 
expressed  the  ideas  and  hopes  of  a  later  age  than  that  of  Zeph.  Kuenen 
(§  78.  5-8)  defended  2^'^- 1^,  but  allowed — on  account,  chiefly,  of  the  great 


!l3_ 


was  a 


supplement,  dating  probably  from  shortly  after  B.C.  536.  Wellh.  rejects 
2^'^i ;  and  treats  c.  3  as  an  appendix  added  subsequently  in  two  stages,  first 
V.1-'  (cf.  Mic.  71-6),  and  then  v. 8-20  (cf.  Mic.  7'-20).  Budde  {Stud.  u.  Krit. 
1893,  p.  393  ff.)  argues  that  2I-3  ■^-^-  7-8.  6. 11-13  forms  a  well-connected  whole, 
in  harmony  with  Zeph.  's  historical  situation,  and  forming  an  excellent  sequel 
to  c.  I  :  2'*"^'^  he  rejects,  as  inconsistent  with  c.  i  (Israel  no  longer  the  per- 
petrator of  wrong,  but  the  victim  of  wrong,  for  which  it  is  now  to  receive 
compensation) ;  3^'-  interrupts  the  connexion  of  v.^  with  v.^^ ;  and  3^'*"-*'  is  a 
later  lyrical  epilogue  to  3I1-13.  Cornill  [Einl.^  §  35.  3)  agrees  with  Budde. 
There  is  certainly  no  sufiicient  reason  for  questioning  2^'^  3^'^^  :  the  exhorta- 
tion in  2^'^,  and  the  promise  addressed  to  the  "remnant"  in  3^^"^^  are  (to  a 
prophet)  the  necessary  complements  of  the  denunciation  in  c.  i  (in  3^''  'i'iD-na 
is  obscure,  and  probably  corrupt).  As  regards  2^"^^,  there  is  nothing  surpris- 
ing in  a  specification  of  particular  nations  upon  whom  the  judgment  (i2. 3.  i8j 
is  to  alight;  and  the  promises  are  addressed  not  to  the  sinful  Judah  of  c.  i, 
but  to  the  "remnant,"  who  are  naturally  pictured  by  the  prophet  (cf.  3^2f.)  ^g 
free  from  all  sinful  propensities  (see  further  Davidson,  p.  loi  f. ).  Only  2^^ 
seems  to  be  really  out  of  place.  314-20  ^lay  be  more  doubtful  {ib.  p.  103  f.) : 
its  buoyant  tone  forms  a  marked  contrast  to  the  sombre,  quiet  strain  of  3"'^^ 
and  the  period  of  Israel's  judgment  seems  to  be  past  (cf.  v.^^).  Still,  the 
picture  is,  of  course,  an  imaginative  one ;  and  the  question  remains  whether 


HAGGAI  343 

it  is  sufficiently  clear  that  it  was  beyond  the  power  of  Zephaniah's  imagination 
to  construct  it.     Cf.  pp.  306,  307,  and  334  (on  Mic.  f'-^). 

Some  interesting  remarks  on  the  prophetic  representation  of  Zephaniah 
may  be  found  in  the  article  of  W.  R.  Smith  in  the  Encycl.  Brit.^  s.v. 


§  10.  Haggai. 

Sixteen  years  had  elapsed  since  the  return  of  the  Jewish 
exiles  from  Babylon,  and  no  effort — or  at  least  no  successful 
effort — had  been  made  to  rebuild  the  national  sanctuary.  In 
the  second  year  of  Darius  (b.c.  520),  the  prophets  Haggai  and 
Zechariah  (cf.  Ezr.  4^*  5!-  ^)  came  forward,  reproaching  the  people 
with  their  neglect,  and  exhorting  them  to  apply  themselves  in 
earnest  to  the  task,  with  the  result  that  four  years  afterwards 
(i^.  6^*- 1^)  the  work  was  completed. 

The  prophecy  of  Haggai  consists  of  four  sections,  arranged 
chronologically : — 

(i.)  C.  I.  In  the  2nd  year  of  Darius,  the  first  day  of  the  6th 
[321]  month,  Haggai  appeals  publicly  to  the  people  no  longer 
to  postpone  the  work  of  rebuilding  the  Temple :  their  neglect 
was  not  due  to  want  of  means,  for  they  had  built  ceiled  houses 
for  themselves,  and  it  had  been  followed,  he  points  out,  by 
failure  of  crops  and  drought,  indicative  of  the  Divine  displeasure. 
His  words  produced  such  an  effect  upon  those  who  heard  them, 
that  on  the  24th  day  of  the  same  month  the  people,  headed  by 
Zerubbabel  and  the  high  priest  Joshua,  began  the  work. 

(2.)  2^-^.  On  the  2ist  day  of  the  7th  month,  the  prophet 
addresses  words  of  encouragement  to  those  who  might  have 
seen  the  Temple  of  Solomon,  and  compared  the  structure  now 
rising  from  the  ground  unfavourably  with  it :  the  later  glory  of 
the  Temple  will  exceed  its  former  glory,  by  reason,  viz.,  of  the 
munificence  of  the  Gentiles,  who  will  offer  their  costliest 
treasures  for  its  adornment  (v.''  RV. ;  cf.  Isa.  6o^^-  ^1^) ;  and  the 
blessing  of  peace  is  solemnly  bestowed  upon  it. 

(3.)  210-19.  On  the  24th  day  of  the  9th  month,  Haggai,  by 
means  of  replies  elicited  from  the  priests  on  two  questions 
respecting  ceremonial  uncleanness,"^  teaches  the  people,  that,  so 
long  as  the  Temple  continues  unbuilt,  they  are  as  men  who 
are  unclean :  their  offerings  are  unacceptable ;  and  hence  the 
*  See  the  explanation  o^the  passage  in  Farrar,  p.  193. 


344  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

late  unfruitful  seasons.  From  the  present  day,  however,  on 
which  the  foundation  of  the  Temple  was  laid  (v.^^^-),  Jehovah 
promises  to  bless  them. 

(4.)  220--^  On  the  same  day,  Haggai  encourages  Zerubbabel, 
the  civil  head  of  the  restored  community,  and  representative  of 
David's  line  (i  Ch.  3^^),  with  the  assurance  that  in  the  approach- 
ing overthrow  of  the  thrones  and  kingdoms  of  the  heathen  (cf. 
v.^^-),  he  will  receive  special  tokens  of  the  Divine  favour  and 
protection.* 

The  style  of  Haggai,  though  not  devoid  of  force,  is,  com- 
paratively speaking,  simple  and  unornate.  His  aim  was  a 
practical  one,  and  he  goes  directly  to  the  point.  He  lacks  the 
imagination  and  poetical  power  possessed  by  most  of  the  pro- 
phets ;  but  his  style  is  not  that  of  pure  prose :  his  thoughts,  for 
instance,  not  unfrequently  shape  themselves  into  parallel  clauses 
such  as  are  usual  in  Hebrew  poetry. 


[322]     §  II.  Zechariah. 

The  Book  of  Zechariah  falls  into  two  parts,  clearly  distin- 
guished from  each  other  by  their  contents  and  character,  c.  1-8 
and  c.  9-14.  There  is  no  question  that  c.  1-8  are  the  work 
of  the  Zechariah  whose  name  they  bear;  but  the  authorship 
and  date  of  c.  9-14  are  disputed,  and  will  be  considered  subse- 
quently. 

Zechariah,  the  son  of  Berechiah,  the  son  of  Iddo,  prophesied, 
according  to  i^-^  and  7^  in  the  2nd  and  4th  years  of  Darius 
Hystaspis  (b.c.  520  and  518).  He  was  thus  a  contemporary  of 
Haggai's,  and  is  unquestionably  identical  with  the  Zechariah, 
son  of  Iddo,  who  is  named  in  Ezra  5^  6^^  as  co-operating  with 
Haggai  in  his  efforts  to  induce  the  people  to  prosecute  the  work 
of  rebuilding  the  Temple. 

I.  C.  1-8.  This  part  of  the  book  consists  of  three  distinct 
prophecies:  (i)  i^"^,  introductory;  (2)  I'^-c.  6;  (3)  c.  7-8. 

(i.)  1 1-6.  A  brief  but  earnest  exhortation  to  repent,  which 
Zechariah  is  directed  to  address  to  his  fellow-countrymen,  based 
upon  the  consequences  which  their  forefathers  had  experienced 

*  See  Jer.  22-^ :  the  honourable  position  from  which  Jehoiachin  is  there 
degraded,  is  here  bestowed  afresh  upon  Zerubbabel. 


ZECHARIAH  345 

when  they  neglected  the  warnings  of  the  "former  prophets." 
The  8th  month  of  the  2nd  year  of  Darius  would  fall  between  the 
date  of  Hag.  2^-^  and  that  of  Hag.  2^0-1^. 

(2.)  1^-6®  (24th  day  of  the  nth  month  of  the  same  year), 
comprising  eig/if  symbolical  visions,  with  an  appendix,  6^-'^^,  the 
whole  being  designed  for  the  encouragement  of  the  Jews,  and 
especially  of  Zerubbabel  and  Joshua,  respectively  the  civil  and 
religious  heads  of  the  community,  in  the  work  of  rebuilding  the 
Temple.  The  significant  features  of  each  vision  are  pointed  out 
to  the  prophet  by  an  angel. 

(a)  1^-^'^.  The  Divine  horses,  which  are  Jehovah's  messengers 
upon  earth  (i^^^;  cf.  Job  i''),  report  that  there  is  no  movement 
among  the  nations  (Hag.  2^^-  21^-),  no  sign  of  the  approach  of  the 
Messianic  crisis :  70  years  have  passed  (b.c.  586-520),  and  still 
Jerusalem  lies  under  the  Divine  displeasure !  Jehovah  replies 
with  the  assurance  that  the  Temple  shall  now  be  rebuilt,  and  the 
prosperity  of  His  people  be  no  longer  delayed. 

(d)  1 18-21  [Heb.  2!-^].  Four  horns,  symbolising  the  [323] 
nations  opposed  to  Israel,  have  their  strength  broken  by  four 
smiths. 

(c)  C.  2.  An  angel  with  a  measuring  line  goes  forth  to  lay 
out  the  site  of  the  new  Jerusalem  :  it  is  to  have  no  walls,  for  its 
population  will  be  unlimited,  and  Jehovah  will  be  its  defence. 
Judgment  is  about  to  break  upon  Babylon;  let  those  still  in 
exile,  then,  hasten  to  escape :  ere  long  many  nations  will  join 
themselves  to  Israel :  already  Jehovah  is  stirring  in  His  holy 
habitation.* 

(d)  C.  3.  Joshua,  the  high  priest,  appears,  standing  before 
Jehovah,  laden  with  the  sins  of  the  people :  he  is  accused  by 
Satan,  but  is  acquitted,  and  given  rule  over  the  Temple,  with 
the  right  of  priestly  access  to  Jehovah,  v.i-^  After  this  he 
receives  the  further  promise  of  the  advent  of  the  Messiah  (v.^^  : 
see'Jer.  23^  33^^),  and  the  restoration  of  national  felicity,  v.^'i^. 

(e)  C.  4.  The  vision  of  the  golden  candlestick  and  the  two 
olive-trees,  symbolising  the  restored  community  (the  candlestick), 
receiving  its  supply  of  Divine  grace  (the  oil)  through  the  two 
channels  of  the  spiritual  and  temporal  power  (the  olive-branches, 

*  Former  prophecies  are  here  reaffirmed :  see  Isa.  542^-  6oi^^-  ^^  14^,  Ez. 
439,  Isa.  14I  666.  Similarly  with  i^s-  n  cf.  Isa.  528"-  9b  -312 .  ^jth  8^  Isa 
6520 ;  with  8"-,  Isa.  43^,  Ez.  3624*28  .  ^jth  822^,  Isa.  45^^  &c. 


346  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

v.^2,  or  "sons  of  oil,"  i.e.  anointed  ones,  v.^^,  viz.  Joshua  and 
Zenibbabel),  v.^-^-  ^^-^^.  V.^-^^^  contains  an  encouragement  ad- 
dressed to  Zerubbabel,  who,  it  is  said,  will  find  the  obstacles 
before  him  disappear,  and,  in  spite  of  mockers  (v.^^),  will  himself 
finish  the  Temple  which  he  has  now  begun. 

(/)  5^"*-  ^  ^•^l^j  inscribed  with  curses,  flies  over  the  Holy 
Land,  as  a  token  that  in  future  the  curse  for  crime  will  of  itself 
light  upon  the  criminal. 

(^)  5^'^^'  Israel's  guilt,  personified  as  a  woman,  is  cast  into 
an  ephah-measure,  and,  covered  by  its  heavy  lid,  is  transported 
to  Babylonia,  where  for  the  future  it  is  to  remain. 

(yh)  61-8.  Four  chariots,  with  variously  coloured  horses,  ap- 
pear, for  the  purpose  of  executing  God's  judgments  in  different 
quarters  of  the  earth.  That  which  goes  northwards  is  charged 
in  particular  to  "  quiet  His  spirit "  {i.e.  to  satisfy  His  anger :  cf. 
Ez.  5^^  1 6^2)  on  the  north  country,  i.e.  on  Babylonia. 

[324]  6®-^^  (historical  appendix).  The  prophet  is  commanded 
to  take  of  the  gold  and  silver  which  some  of  the  exiles  had  sent 
as  offerings  for  the  Temple,  and  to  make  therewith  crowns  {or  a 
crown)  for  the  high  priest  Joshua  :  /^  at  the  same  time,  he  repeats 
(3^)  the  promise  of  the  Messiah,  who  will  rule  successfully,  and 
complete  the  building  of  the  Temple. 

(3.)  C.  7-8  (4th  day  of  the  9th  month  of  the  4th  year  of 
Darius).  C.  7.  Zechariah,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  put  to  him 
by  the  men  of  Beth-el,  whether  the  fast  of  the  5  th  month  (which 
had  been  kept  during  the  exile  in  memory  of  the  destruction  of 
the  Temple,  Jer.  5212-14)  should  still  be  observed,  declares  that 
Jehovah  demands  no  fasts,  but  only  the  observance  of  His  moral 
commands,  which  their  forefathers,  to  their  cost,  had  neglected 
(cf.  Isa.  58^-^2).  In  c.  8  he  draws  a  picture  of  the  Messianic 
future,  when  the  nation  will  be  prosperous  and  the  land  yield 
its  fruit,  when  the  fast  days  f  will  become  seasons  of  gladness, 
and  the  heathen  will  press  forward  to  share  the  blessings  of  the 
Jews. 

II.  C.  9-14.  These  chapters  contain  two  distinct  prophecies: 

*  So  in  the  existing  text ;  but  v.^^**  speaks  so  clearly  oi  two  persons  that 
many  modern  scholars  are  of  opinion  that  the  text  has  been  altered,  and  that, 
as  it  originally  stood,  Zenibbabel  was  crowned,  either  as  well  as  (Ew.  Hitz. 
Marti),  or  (Wellh.  Rothstein)  instead  of,  Joshua  (with  v."*  com  p.  then  4^). 

t  v." :  see  Jer.  5261- 12-14  ^ji-s  ^^^^ 


ZECHARIAH  347 

(i)  c.  9-11,  with  which,  it  is  probable,  i^"^-^  should  be  connected; 
(2)  12I-136  c.  14. 

(i.)  In  c.  9  the  prophet  announces  a  judgment  about  to  fall 
upon  Damascus,  Hamath,  Tyre,  and  Sidon,  and  upon  the  chief 
cities  of  the  Philistines  in  the  South ;  a  remnant  of  the  Philis- 
tines is  converted,  and  Jehovah  encamps  about  His  sanctuary  as 
a  protector,  v.^"^.  The  advent  of  the  Messiah,  as  prince  of 
peace,  follows,  v.^-^^;  the  Israelites  in  captivity  are  invited  to 
return  to  their  own  country,  where  Jehovah,  after  having  en- 
abled them  to  contend  victoriously  with  their  foes  (the  Greeks, 
v.13),  will  further  bless  and  defend  them,  v.^-i'''. 

[325]  C.  10.  The  people  are  exhorted  by  the  prophet  to  seek 
help  from  Jehovah,  not  from  teraphim  and  diviners,  through  whose 
baleful  influence  it  is  that  they  fall  a  prey  to  unworthy  rulers,"^ 
v^^'.  But  Jehovah  will  remove  these  unworthy  rulers;  and 
Judah,  under  new  leaders,  after  His  own  heart  (v>)  f  will  signally 
discomfit  its  foes,  v.^-^;  the  banished  Ephraimites  will  return; 
Egypt  and  Assyria  will  both  be  humiliated;  and  the  restored 
nation  will  walk  in  obedience  to  its  God,  vJ-'^^. 

C.  II.  A  storm  of  war  bursts  over  the  North  and  East  of  the 
land,  filling  the  people's  unworthy  rulers  with  consternation, 
v.^-^.X  An  allegory  follows,  in  which  the  prophet,  representing 
Jehovah,  takes  charge  of  the  people,  whom  their  own  selfish 
and  grasping  rulers  had  neglected  and  betrayed ;  but  they  resent 
his  authority,  so  he  casts  them  off  in  disdain,  v.^-^^^ :  when  he 
proceeds  to  demand  the  wages  for  his  services,  they  offer  him  a 
paltry  sum — the  price  of  an  ordinary  slave  (Ex.  21^2^^  which  he 
flings  contemptuously  into  the  treasury  (RV.  marg.),  after  which 
he  declares  symbolically  that  the  brotherhood  between  Judah 
and  Israel  is  at  an  end,  v.^*. 

The  people  having  thus  openly  rejected  the  Divine  guidance, 
the  prophet  now  assumes  the  garb  and  character  of  a  "  foolish 
shepherd,"  to  represent  the  manner  in  which  Jehovah  will  permit 
them  (or,  perhaps,  has  already  permitted  them)  to  be  treated  by 

*  Figured  as  "shepherds"  :  see  p.  351,  «.,  at  the  end. 

t  So  Stade,  ZATJV.  1881,  p.  21  n.  {him  being  Jehovah).  But  Wellh.  and 
Kirkpatrick  {Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,  p.  454)  think  the  reference  is  to  native 
rulers  {him  being  Judah),  taking  the  place  of  foreign  oppressors  (cf.  Jer.  30^^^). 

X  Cf.  Stade,  p.  25,  7iote  2.  Stade  himself,  however,  Wellh.,  and  Kirkp. 
(P«  455)>  understand  these  verses  as  a  symbolical  description  of  the  fall  of 
heathen  nations  and  princes.        • 


348  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

their  next  ruler,  v.^^^-,  who  will  meet,  however,  eventually  with  a 
just  retribution,  v.^^.  The  (unworthy)  shepherd  will  be  smitten 
by  the  sword,  and  his  flock  will  be  dispersed :  two-thirds  will 
perish  immediately ;  the  remainder,  purified  by  further  trial,  will 
constitute  the  faithful  people  of  God,  1 3^-^. 

The  section,  13'"",  where  it  stands,  is  disconnected  both  with  what  pre- 
cedes and  with  what  follows :  with  c.  1 1  it  is  evidently  connected  by  the 
similarity  of  the  figure ;  and,  containing  as  it  does  a  promise,  it  forms  a 
suitable  sequel  to  ii^*^".  The  suggestion  that  it  forms  the  conclusion  to 
c.  II  is  due  to  Ewald,  and  has  been  treated  as  probable  by  many  critics 
(Reuss,  Wellh.,  Stade,  Cheyne,  Kuenen). 

The  date  of  this  prophecy  is  difficult  to  determine ;  and,  in 
fact,  the  internal  evidence  points  in  different  directions.  On 
the  one  hand,  there  are  indications  which  seem  to  show  that  the 
prophecy  is  pre-exilic.  The  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes  is  spoken 
of  in  terms  implying  apparently  that  it  j//// exists  (9^^  [326]  1 1^*) ; 
Assyria  and  Egypt  are  mentioned  side  by  side  (lo^o- 1^),  just  as 
in  Hosea  (Hos.  7^^  9^  ii^^  12^);  the  teraphim  and  diviners  in 
lo^^-  point  to  a  date  prior  to  the  exile  rather  than  to  one  after 
it ;  the  nations  threatened  in  ^-'^  are  those  prominent  at  the 
same  time  (cf.  Am.  i^-^-  ^).  The  period  to  which,  by  those  who 
acknowledge  the  force  of  these  arguments,  c.  9  is  assigned,  is 
towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  IL,  prior  to  the 
anarchy  which  broke  out  after  his  death,  and  to  Tiglath-Pileser's 
conquest  of  Damascus  in  B.C.  732.  C.  10  is  placed  somewhat 
later :  v.^^  presupposes — not,  indeed,  the  exile  of  the  ten  tribes 
in  722,  but — the  deportation  of  the  inhabitants  of  N.  and  N.E. 
Israel  by  Tiglath-Pileser  in  734  (2  Ki.  15^^ — observe  that  the 
districts  to  be  repeopled  are  Lebanon  and  Gilead) ;  ii^-^  (some- 
what earlier  than  c.  10)  is  a  prediction  of  the  same  invasion  of 
the  Assyrian  king ;  ii^-^'' is  understood  as  a  symbolical  descrip- 
tion of  the  rejection  of  Jehovah  by  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes 
in  the  troubles  which  followed  the  death  of  Jeroboam  IL,*  and 
of  His  consequent  abandonment  of  them  (v.^^  ;  cf.  2  Ki.  151^- 
20.  29)^  v.i^"^''  being  aimed  at  the  existing  king  of  Ephraim,  prob- 
ably Pekah,  under  whom  the  previously  amicable  relations 
between  Israel  and  Judah  ceased.     Upon  this  view,  the  author 

*  The  '*  three  shepherds  "  of  v.^  are  supposed  to  be  Zechariah,  Shallum, 
who  reigned  for  one  month,  and  some,  usurper  who  attempted  to  succeed 
Shallum,  but  who  in  the  brief  narrative  of  2  Kings  is  unnoticed. 


ZECHARIAH  349 

is  an  early  contemporary  of  Isaiah,  and  probably  a  native  of  the 
kingdom  of  Judah."*^ 

On  the  other  hand,  the  prophecy  also  contains  passages 
which  appear  to  imply  a  post-exilic  date  ;  9"^-  and  lo^-^  seem  to 
presuppose  the  captivity  at  least  of  Ephraim  (notice  especially 
'*  cast  them  off"  in  lo^) ;  and  in  gi^the  Greeks  ("  Javan,"  i.e.  the 
'lafovcs)  are  mentioned,  not  as  a  distant,  unimportant  people, 
such  as  they  would  be  in  the  8th  century  B.C.,  and  even  in  the 
days  of  Zechariah  {c.  520),  but  as  a  world-^oi^tx,  and  as  Israel's 
most  formidable  antagonist,  the  victory  over  whom  (which  is 
achieved  only  by  special  Divine  aid)  inaugurates  the  Messianic 
age.  This  position,  however,  was  only  attained  by  the  Greeks 
after  the  overthrow  of  the  Persian  empire  at  Issus  by  Alexander 
the  Great,  B.C.  333. 

[327]  The  double  nature  of  the  allusions  in  this  prophecy 
has  greatly  perplexed  commentators,  and  obliged  them  to  resort 
sometimes  to  forced  interpretations.  Nevertheless,  on  the  whole, 
a  post-exilic  date  for  the  prophecy  is  the  most  probable.  Not  only 
is  the  manner  in  which  the  Greeks  are  mentioned  in  9^^  a  grave 
obstacle  to  a  date  before  B.C.  722,  but  the  portrait  of  the  Messianic 
king  seems  to  be  original  in  Isaiah,  so  that  it  is  very  doubtful 
whether  9^^-  can  be  rightly  treated  as  prior  to  Isaiah :  moreover, 
the  style  of  representation  often  differs  perceptibly  from  that  of 
the  pre-exilic  prophets  ;  and  inasmuch  as  there  are  clear  indica- 
tions in  some  parts  (as  911-12  ii4-i7^  ^^at  the  writer  for  some 
reason  intentionally  veils  his  meaning,  and  speaks  allegorically,  a 
presumption  arises  that  he  may  do  the  same  elsewhere.  Hence 
it  is  not  impossible  that  the  author  may  use  "  Ephraim "  and 
"the  house  of  Joseph"  as  symbolical  designations  of  the 
Israelites  still  in  exile  (the  Diaspora) — whose  return  was  antici- 
pated by  the  prophets  long  after  B.C.  722  (Jer.  312-18  314^-,  Ez. 
^yieff.) — and  "Assyria,"  the  name  of  the  power  which  carried 
Ephraim  into  exile,  for  Israel's  present  oppressors,  whether  the 
Persians  (cf.  Ezr.  62-),  or — if  the  prophecy  were  written  later — 
the  kingdom  of  the  Seleucidae.  Upon  this  view  of  the  prophecy, 
it  is  in  part  a  re-affirmation,  in  a  form  adapted  to  the  circum- 
stances  of  the   time,    of  older  promises  of  victory  over  foes, 

*  So  Abp.  Newcome  and  others,  Ewald,  Bleek,  Hitzig  (slightly  earlier), 
Reuss,  von  Orelli,  Briggs  {Mess.  Proph.  p.  183  ff.),  H.  Schultz  {Old  Test 
Theol.  i.  70),  Riehm  {Einl.  ii.  p.  I56f.). 


350  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

restoration  of  exiles,  and  the  advent  of  the  Messianic  age ;  * 
but,  in  its  most  characteristic  parts  (lo^- ^  ii^,  and  especially 
1 1'*"^''),  it  is  a  promise  of  deliverance  from  the  "  shepherds,"  i.e. 
native  rulers  (?  high  priests),  who  misgovern  Israel,  and  from  the 
"  traffickers  of  the  flock,"  f  i.e.  foreign  powers  (presumably  the 
Seleucidae  or  the  Ptolemies),  whose  dealings  with  Israel  are 
prompted  solely  by  the  thought  of  their  own  aggrandizement 
(so  Wellh.).  The  date  of  the  prophecy  will  not  (on  account  of 
9^^)  be  earlier  than  b.c.  333.+     Stade  places  it  c.  280  B.C.  § 

11*'^*  (and  perhaps  li"*  ^*  as  well)  is  to  be  understood,  in  all  probability, 
not  as  a  prediction,  but  as  a  symbolical  description  of  events  which  had 
already  taken  place,  the  significance  of  which  it  is  the  object  of  the  allegory 
to  point  out.  These  would  be  most  naturally  understood  as  events  which 
had  happened  recently  when  the  prophet  wrote  ;  but  in  our  imperfect  know- 
ledge of  much  of  the  post-exilic  period  we  are  unable  to  say  definitely 
whether  this  view  is  correct  or  not.  Upon  any  view  of  the  prophecy  there 
is  much  in  it  which  is  obscure,  and  much  which  may  be  differently  interpreted 
(as  io'»"*  I  ii-»- -*«■•)•  The  "three  shepherds,"  cut  off  "in  one  day"  (iiS), 
have  often,  for  instance,  been  supposed  to  denote  the  three  leading  classes 
of  kings,  priests,  and  prophets,  the  reference — according  to  Bred,  and  Kuiper 
(p.  29) — being  to  the  violent  interruption  of  the  national  life  occasioned  by 
the  catastrophe  of  B.C.  586.  The  obscurity  of  the  allusions  is  much  greater 
than  is  usual  in  pre-exilic  prophecies,  and  is  a  point  in  which  the  prophecy 

*  Hence,  probably,  the  pre-exilic  colouring  which  it  in  parts  presents. 
Kuiper  (p.  145)  and  Eckardt  (p.  loi  f.),  however,  both  agree  with  Cheyne 
{,JQR.  1888,  p.  82)  and  Kuenen  (§  81.  10),  that  there  are  grounds  for  sup- 
posing actual  fragments  of  pre-exilic  prophecies  to  have  been  incorporated 
by  the  author  in  parts  of  his  work. 

t  iN'in  'jyjs  (ii'-"  LXX;  Stade,  p.  26^.;  Kirkp.  p.  404??.;  Wellh.). 

X  Kirkp.  indeed  dates  it  "60-70  years  after  the  Return"  (p,  451)  ;  but 
he  is  obliged  for  this  purpose  to  reject  the  words  against  thy  sons,  O  Greece y 
as  a  gloss  (p.  472  f.). 

§  In  320  Ptolemy  Lagi  surprised  Jerusalem  on  a  Sabbath  ;  and  Josephus 
speaks  of  many  Judahites  taken  captive  by  him  afterwards  to  Egypt  (cf. 
Ewald,  Hist.  v.  226) ;  and  shortly  afterwards  invading  armies  passed  through 
Palestine  more  than  once,  viz.  under  Eumenes  in  318,  Antigonus  in  315-314, 
Seleucus  in  301  and  295,  and  Antiochus  in  281.  One  of  the  last  three 
occasions  might,  Stade  thinks  {ZATW.  1882,  pp.  302,  304),  have  suggested 
the  terms  of  9^"^  Kuiper  (p.  158  ff.)  places  c.  9-10  immediately  after  the 
battle  of  Issus  (b.c  333),  supposing  g^'^  (as  also  11^"^)  to  have  been  written 
in  anticipation  of  the  advance  of  Alexander  upon  Egypt  (in  the  course  of 
which  he  besieged  and  took  Tyre  and  Gaza),  B.C.  332,  and  understanding 
the  two  chapters  generally  as  giving  expression  to  the  hopes  of  restoration 
raised  by  Alexander's  successes ;  c.  1 1  was  written  later,  after  these  hopes 
had  been  disappointed. 


ZECHARIAH  35 1 

resembles  Isa.  24-27.     For  diviners  (10")  in  the  post-exilic  age,  cf.  Mai.  3**. 
Comp.  further  Wellh.  Minor  Prophets,  p.  180  fif.  ;  Kirkp.  pp.  443-447,  452- 

458,  459-467- 

Hengstenberg,  Stade,  and  others  seek  to  support  the  same  conclusion  as 
to  the  date  of  Zech.  9-1 1,  by  pointing  to  passages  in  which  the  author  is 
dependent  upon  earlier  prophecies  (esp.  those  of  Jer.  and  Ez.).*  But  the 
argument  is  of  doubtful  cogency  ;  and  that  Stade,  in  particular,  has  greatly 
overstated  it,  is  generally  allowed  (Kuen.  §  81.  7  ;  Kirkp.  p.  441  ;  Kuiper, 
pp.  1 1 6- 1 20):  in  some  cases  the  expressions  quoted  as  parallel  are  not  so 
similar,  or  of  such  an  exceptional  character,  that  one  must  necessarily  have 
been  borrowed  from  the  other ;  and,  where  the  resemblance  is  greater,  it  is 
often  uncertain  (comp.  above,  p.  312  f.)  which  of  two  similar  passages  has 
formed  the  model  for  the  other,  until  it  has  been  shown,  upon  independent 
grounds,  which  of  the  passages  was  first  written. 

(2.)  12^-13^.  In  c.  12  the  prophet  sees  an  assembly  of 
nations,  including  Judah^  advancing  against  Jerusalem,  \2^-^  \ 
but  their  forces  are  smitten  with  a  sudden  panic,  v.^,  and  the 
[329]  chieftains  of  Judah,  perceiving  that  Jehovah  fights  for 
Jerusalem,  turn  their  arms  against  the  other  nations,  v.^^- ; 
Jehovah,  however,  saves  Judah  first,  in  order  that  the  capital, 
elated  by  deliverance,  may  not  triumph  over  it,  v.''-^.  After  this, 
Jehovah  pours  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  capital  (who  seem  to 
be  represented  as  guilty  of  some  murder)  a  "  spirit  of  grace  and 
supplication  " ;  they  mourn  in  consequence  long  and  bitterly, 
expressing  thereby  their  penitence,  v.^^"^*.  Henceforth  a  fountain 
of  purification  from  sin  is  permanently  opened  (nnw  •  • .  n^l^)  in 
Jerusalem ;  idols  are  cut  off ;  and  prophets  (who  appear  to  be 
represented  in  an  unfavourable  light)  cease,  either  being  repudi- 
ated by  their  friends  or  disowning  their  vocation,  13^'^. 

C.  14.  Another  assault  upon  Jerusalem  is  here  described. 
The  nations  this  time  capture  the  city,  and  half  of  its  population 
is  taken  into  captivity,  v.^^- ;  Jehovah  next  appears  in  order  to 
rescue  the  remainder;  He  stands  upon  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
which  is  rent  in  sunder  beneath  Him,  and  thiough  the  chasm 
the  fugitives  escape,  v.^-^.  Thereupon  the  Messianic  age  com- 
mences :  two  streams  issue  forth  from  Jerusalem,  E.  and  W.,  to 

*  Comp.  Q^i*-*,  Ez.  283-  4-  8b. —95^  Zcph.  24.— 9^^-',  Am.  i'-^.— 910,  Mic. 
^lof.  _gi2b^  Isa.  61'.— io3,  Jer.  232b,  Ez.  34"  (the  he -goats).— 10^,  Mic. 
7^°.- 10^^ (riders  on  horses),  Ez.  38^^ — lo^^,  Jer.  232^—10^*,  Jer.  31". — lo^"*, 
Hos.  II".— Iolo^  Mic.  7i4b._ii3a,  Jer.  2^^.—i\^^,  Jer.  I2«  (the  "pride  of 
Jordan").— 1 1^^  Jer.  128  ("flock.  .  .  slaughter  ").—ii  5%  Jer.  50'*.— Ii^- 1«, 
Ez.  344.  For  the  figure  of  the  shepherd  and  the  sheep,  see  also  p.  275, 
No.  I,  Mic.  5*,  Zeph.  3^'',  Ez.  i^y)assim),  and  Isa.  56". 


352  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

water  the  land,  which  becomes  a  plain,  with  the  exception  of 
Jerusalem  (cf.  Isa.  2 2),  which  is  rebuilt  to  its  former  limits  (cf. 
Jer.  3i^*^')>  v.®"^^  v.12-15  the  prophet  reverts  to  the  period  of 
V.8  in  order  to  describe  more  fully  the  dispersion  of  the  invaders, 
in  which  Judah  is  specially  named  as  taking  part  (y.i*  RV. 
marg.).  The  nations  who  escape  do  homage  to  Israel's  God, 
and  come  annually  to  worship  Him  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles ; 
if  they  neglect  to  do  this,  Jehovah  withholds  from  them  their 
rain,  while  the  Egyptians  (whose  country  was  not  dependent 
upon  rain  for  its  fertility)  are  punished  in  another  manner, 
y  16-19 .  and  all  Jerusalem  is  consecrated  to  His  service,  v.^of-. 

By  many  critics*  this  prophecy  has  been  assigned  to  a  prophet  living 
shortly  before  the  close  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  under  either  Jehoiakim, 
Jehoiachin,  or  Zedekiah.  That  the  Northern  kingdom  no  longer  existed  may 
be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  though  the  subject  of  the  prophecy  is  said 
(12*)  to  be  Israel,  Judah  alone  is  mentioned,  and  is  regarded  as  constituting 
the  entire  people  of  God ;  the  promise,  too,  in  14^^,  includes  Geba,  the  most 
northernly  border  town  of  Judah,  but  takes  no  notice  of  the  territory  of  the 
ten  tribes.  That,  further,  it  was  written  subsequently  to  the  death  of  King 
[330]  Josiah  at  Megiddo  (B.C.  609),  appears  from  12^^,  if  it  may  be  assumed 
(as  is  commonly  done)  that  by  the  "mourning  of  Hadadrimmon  in  the  valley 
of  Megiddo  "  is  meant  the  lamentation  over  the  death  of  that  king,  alluded  to 
in  2  Ki.  23»^-  2  Ch.  3522-25.  And  the  mention  of  the  "House  of  David  " 
(12''  ^°-  ^^  13^)  appears  to  indicate  a  time  when  Judah  was  still  ruled  by  kings. 
The  idolatry  noticed  in  132,  and  the  description  of  the  prophets  in  13-'^, 
would  agree  with  the  same  date  (Jer.  23^^*  &c.).  The  references  in  122^'  i^^' 
are  supposed  accordingly  to  be  to  the  approaching  attack  of  the  Chaldseans, 
to  their  capture  of  Jerusalem  in  586,  and  to  the  escape,  after  severe  trials,  of 
a  fraction  of  the  inhabitants. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  these  reasons  are  conclusive.  The 
prophecy  is  very  different  in  character  from  the  contemporary 
prophecies  of  Zephaniah  and  Jeremiah  (see  esp.  14^"^) ;  and 
the  passages  quoted,  though  sufficient  to  make  it  probable  that 
it  was  written  after  the  end  of  the  Northern  kingdom  in  722  and 
the  death  of  Josiah  in  609,  do  not  show  with  equal  clearness 
that  it  was  written  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  586. 
The  lamentation  for  Josiah  remained,  as  2  Ch.  3522-26  shows,  in 
the  memory  of  the  people,  long  after  the  generation  which  wit- 
nessed it  had  died  out.  The  terms  in  which  the  "House  of 
David "  is  alluded  to  do  not  necessarily  imply  that  it  was  the 
ruling  family,  though  it  is  true  that  a  pre-emirience  is  attached  to 

•  Abp.  Newcome,  Knobcl,  Schrader,  Bleek,  Ewald,  Riehm,  von  Orelli. 


ZECHARIAH  353 

it  (i2''-8  13I):  it  is  mentioned  side  by  side  with  other  families 
(i 212-14);  and  from  i  Ch.  317-24^  Ezr.  82  we  know  that  the  de- 
scendants of  David  were  reckoned  as  a  distinct  family  as  late  as 
the  time  of  the  Chronicler.  Other  indications  favour  the  post- 
exilic  date.  The  independent  position  assigned  to  the  "  House 
of  Levi,"  as  a  whole,  beside  the  "  House  of  David,"  is  unlike  the 
representations  of  the  earlier  period  {e.g.  those  of  Jeremiah,  who 
only  names  the  priests  as  a  class,  and  ranks  them  after  the 
king's  "princes,"  i^^  226  ^9  8^  131^  &c.);  on  the  other  hand,  it 
would  harmonize  with  post-exilic  relations,  when  the  family  of 
David  was  reduced  in  prestige,  and  the  tribe  of  Levi  was  con- 
solidated. The  allusions  in  132-^  are  obscure;  but  prophets 
generally  (not  false  prophets  only)  seem  to  be  regarded  with 
disfavour,  and  we  are  reminded  of  the  age  in  which  Shemaiah, 
Noadiah,  and  "the  rest  of  the  prophets,"  conspired  against 
Nehemiah  (Neh.  6^^-^^).  Sorcerers  are  alluded  to  in  Mai.  3^. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  in  the  prophecy  is  the 
opposition  between  Judah  and  Jerusalem  [331]  (12^,  cf.  141*'*), 
of  which  there  is  no  trace  in  pre-exilic  writings,  but  which  might 
arise  in  later  times,  when  the  central  importance  of  the  Temple 
had  increased,  when  Jews  of  the  Diaspora  would  turn  their  eyes 
naturally  to  Jerusalem,  so  that  in  comparison  with  it  the  country 
districts  might  be  depreciated,  and  might  readily  be  looked  down 
upon  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  capital.  It  is  to  be  observed 
that  the  "  House  of  David "  and  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem 
are  repeatedly  spoken  of  as  associated  together  (i27-8  j^i)^ 

As  regards  the  occasion  of  the  prophecy  it  is  impossible  to  do  more  than 
speculate.  It  is  conceivable  that  in  the  post-exilic  period  where  our  history 
is  a  blank  (B.C.  518-458  ;  432-300),  the  family  of  David  assumed  importance 
in  Jerusalem,  and  supplied  some  of  the  leading  judges  and  administrators,  and 
that  they  had  been  implicated  with  the  people  of  the  capital  in  some  deed 
of  blood  (12^"'^^),  on  the  ground  of  which  the  prophet  depicts  Jehovah's 
appearance  in  judgment.  In  the  heathen  invaders  of  12^^'  i/^'  he  perhaps 
has  not  in  view  any  actual  expected  foe,  but  pictures  an  imaginary  assault  of 
nations,  like  Ezekiel  (c.  38-39 1),  from  which  he  represents  Jerusalem,  though 

*  In  1 2^  it  may  be  assumed  that  Judah  fights  against  Jerusalem  by  com- 
pulsion; cf.  v.^^''''^. 

t  Traits  suggested  by  earlier  prophecies  are  perhaps :  I2\  Isa.  51^^ — v.^ 
(the  cup  of  reeling),  Isa.  $i^.—\.*,  Dt.  2828.— v.<n»,  I4"^  Joel  320.— v. »,  Ez. 
394-24  _i3i^  Y,z,  3625. _v. 2,  Hos.  2".— 146,  Am.  ii._v.«-'-9,  Isa.  2423.— v.8, 
Ez.  47iff-,  Joel  3l8^— v.io,  Jer.  3i3«'-— v.",  Jer.  258,  Isa.  4328  (the  herem  or 
"ban").— v.  12.  w  Ez.  38-1-  '^.■^w,^\  Isa.  66=3.— v. 20'.  Jer.  ^i^,  Joel  3". 


354  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

not  without  severe  losses,  as  delivered.  In  other  features  also  the  prophecy 
appears  to  be  one  of  those  (cf.  Isa.  24-27)  in  which  not  merely  \h^  figurative, 
but  the  imaginative  element  is  larger  than  is  generally  the  case,  especially  in 
the  pre-exilic  prophets.  But  even  when  allowance  has  been  made  for  this, 
many  details  in  the  prophecy  remain  perplexing  ;  and  probably  no  entirely 
satisfactory  explanation  of  it  is  now  attainable.  * 

That  the  author  of  Zech.  1-8  should  be  also  the  author  of 
either  c.  9-1 1  or  c.  12-14  is  hardly  possible.  Zechariah  uses  a 
different  phraseology,  evinces  different  interests,  and  moves  in  a 
different  circle  of  ideas  from  those  which  prevail  in  c.  9-14. 

Thus  Zech.  is  peculiarly  fond  of  the  confirmatory  formula,  "Thus  saith 
the  Lord"  (i3.4.  i4.  le.  17  28  3?  512  &c.) ;  "came  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto 
.  .  .  "  i'  4^  6^  7^-  ''•  ^  8^-  ^^  ;  in  c.  9-14  we  have  the  former  only  in  11'',  the 
latter  not  at  all :  the  parenthetic  *'  Saith  the  [332]  Lord  "  is  also  much  more 
frequent  in  c.  1-8  than  in  c.  9-14 ;  on  the  other  hand,  "in  that  day,"  which 
is  specially  frequent  in  c.  12-14  (i2S- "•«•  8*^>.  »•  "  131.2.4^^  144.6.8.9.13.20. 
21),  occurs  thrice  only  in  c.  1-8  (2^^  3^**  6^*^),  and  only  twice  in  c.  9-1 1  (9^' 
11^1).  In  c.  9-14  (except  in  the  narrative  part  of  c.  11)  poetic  imagery  and 
form  prevail  (the  verses,  as  in  the  prophets  generally,  being  composed  largely 
of  parallel  clauses) :  in  c.  1-8  the  style  is  unpoetical,  and  parallelism  is  un- 
common. 

That  c.  1-8  consists  largely  of  visions,  of  which  there  are 
none  in  c.  9-14,  might  not  itself  be  incompatible  with  identity 
of  author  (cf.  Am.  1-6  and  7-9) ;  but  the  dominant  ideas  and 
representations  of  c.  1-8  are  very  different  from  those  of  either 
c.  9-1 1  or  c.  12-14.  In  c.  1-8,  the  lifetime  of  the  author  and 
the  objects  of  his  interest — the  Temple  and  the  affairs  of  the 
restored  community — are  very  manifest ;  but  the  circumstances 
and  interests  of  the  author,  whether  of  c.  9-1 1  or  of  c.  12-14, 
whatever  obscurity  may  hang  over  particular  passages,  are  cer- 
tainly very  different.  Zechariah's  pictures  of  the  Messiah  and 
the  Messianic  age  are  coloured  quite  differently  from  those  of 
c.  9-1 1  or  c.  12-14  (contrast  3^  6i"^^-  with  9^^-,  and  c.  8  with  the 
representation  in  c.  14) :  the  prospects  of  the  nation  are  also 
represented  differently  (contrast  i^i  28-11  ^li.  y^\^  ^2'^'s.  i42f. .  ^nd 
observe  that  in  c.  12-14  the  return  of  Jewish  exiles  is  not  one 
of  the  events  which  the  prophet  looks  forward  to). 

Similarities  between  c.  1-8  and  c.  9-14  are  few,  and  insignificant  as 
compared  with  the  features  of  difference.     The  only  noteworthy  one  is  the 

*  The  post-exilic  date  of  c.  12-14  is  accepted  by  most  critics,  except  those 
named  p.  352,  tiote. 


MALACHI  355 

phrase  ae'Dl  nayo,  7"  9^  (but  see  Ez.  35') :  T3V.T  =  /^  remove  3^  13^  (in  differ- 
ent connexions)  occurs  too  often  to  be  characteristic  of  a  single  writer  (2  Sa. 
121324I0,  Job72i:  I'Ki.  1512,  2  Ch.  158,  Eccl.  ii^O);  "daughter  of  Zion," 
2I0  g9^  is  usg(j  constantly  by  the  prophets ;  and  the  mention  of  Israel  beside 
Tudah  in  i^^  8^3,  as  in  q^^  ('«  Ephraim  "),  lo^  ("  the  house  of  Joseph  "),  and 
1 1^,  forms  a  slender  argument  in  favour  of  the  unity  of  authorship,  in  view  of 
the  frequency  with  which  the  prophets,  even  after  the  fall  of  the  northern 
kingdom,  refer  to  both  divisions  of  the  people,  and  include  both  in  their  pro- 
mises of  restoration  (cf.  p.  291). 

The  position  of  c.  9-1 1,  12-14  is  probably  to  be  attributed 
to  the  compiler  who  united  the  writings  of  the  "  Minor  Prophets  " 
into  a  volume. 

[333]  This  appears  to  follow  from  a  comparison  of  the  titles  to  Zech.  9-1 1, 
12-14  and  Malachi.     We  have,  namely — 

Zech.    9I  imn  pNi  ni.T  nan  ncd 

12^   ^Nne"  hv  mn*  nnn  nb-d 

Mai.      i^   "rNnty'  "^n  m.n'  nnn  Ntrn 

As  the  combination  m.n'  "sy^  ^■vr^  is  a  little  remarkable,  and  does  not  occur 
besides,  it  is  natural  to  seek  some  common  explanation  for  the  similarity  of 
the  three  titles.  In  9^,  now,  these  words  form  an  integral  part  of  the  sentence 
that  follows ;  in  the  other  two  cases  they  belong  entirely  to  the  title.  It  is 
a  plausible  conjecture  therefore  that,  the  three  prophecies  now  known  as 
"Zech."  9-1 1,  12-14  and  "  Malachi "  coming  to  the  compiler's  hands  with 
no  authors'  names  prefixed,  he  attached  the  first  of  these  at  the  point  which 
his  volume  had  reached,  viz.  the  end  of  Zech.  8,  arranging  the  other  two  so 
as  to  follow  this,  and  framing  titles  for  them  (Zech.  12^  and  Mai.  i^)  on  the 
model  of  the  opening  words  of  Zech.  9^ 


§  12.  Malachi. 

The  prophecy  of  Malachi  may  be  divided  for  convenience 
into  six  parts  or  paragraphs. 

(i.)  i2-5  (Exordium).  The  love  of  Jehovah  towards  Israel 
(which  was  questioned  by  some  of  Malachi's  contemporaries)  is 
manifest  in  the  contrasted  lots  of  Israel  and  Edom :  in  vain 
may  Esau's  descendants  expect  a  restoration  of  their  ruined 
country. 

(2.)  1^-2^.  Israel,  however,  is  unmindful  of  this  love,  and 
does  not  render  to  Jehovah  the  honour  and  reverence  which  are 
His  due.  Especially  the  priests  are  neglectful  of  their  duties, 
allowing  inferior  or  unclean  offerings  to  be  presented  upon  the 
altar:  the  service  of  Jehovah  is  in  consequence  brought  into 
contempt,  for  which   they  ^re  threatened,   2^-^^  with   condign 


356  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

punishment :  Jehovah  will  send  a  curse  upon  them,  and  make 
them  contemptible  before  all  the  people. 

(3.)  210-1C.  A  denunciation  of  those  who  had  divorced  their 
own  wives  and  contracted  marriages  with  foreign  women. 

(4.)  2^^-3^.  To  those  who  questioned  the  Divine  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  and  argued  that  righteousness  secured  no 
greater  favour  in  God's  sight  than  unrighteousness,  the  prophet 
announces  the  approach  of  a  day  of  judgment,  when  Jehovah 
will  appear  "suddenly"  for  the  purpose  of  purifying  His  un- 
worthy priests,  besides  declaring  Himself  as  a  "  swift  witness " 
against  the  guilty  members  of  His  nation  generally. 

[334]  (S-)  3^'^^'  "^^^  neglect  of  the  people  in  paying  tithes  and 
other  dues  has  been  visited  by  Jehovah  with  drought,  locusts, 
and  failure  of  crops ;  but  a  blessing  is  promised  upon  the  land 
if  in  the  future  these  obligations  are  conscientiously  discharged. 

(6.)  3^^-4^  The  people  complain  that  "it  is  vain  to  serve 
God " ;  no  distinction  is  made  between  the  evil  and  the  good : 
the  day  is  coming,  replies  the  prophet,  when  Jehovah  will  own 
those  that  are  His,  and  silence  the  murmurers,  313-18.  the 
workers  of  wickedness  will  be  punished,  and  the  righteous 
triumph  over  their  fall,  4^-^.  The  prophecy  concludes  with 
an  exhortation  to  obey  the  requirements  of  the  Mosaic  Law,  and 
with  a  promise  of  the  advent  of  Elijah  the  prophet,  to  move 
the  people  to  repentance  against  the  day  of  Jehovah,,  and  thus 
to  avert,  or  mitigate,  the  curse  which  otherwise  must  smite  the 
earth,  4*-^ 

Respecting  the  person  of  Malachi  nothing  is  known.  The  name  does  not 
occur  elsewhere  ;  and  it  has  even  been  questioned  whether  it  be  the  personal 
name  of  the  prophet.  Already  the  LXX  have  strangely,  in  i^,  iv  x^'-P^ 
iyy^Xov  airrovlt.e.  idn!?d  for  '3N^d)  ;  and  the  Targum  has,  "by  the  hand  of 
Malachi  [or,  of  my  messenger],  wAose  name  is  called  Ezra  the  scribe.^'  The 
same  tradition  is  mentioned  by  Jerome  (who  accepts  it)  and  other  writers. 
But  had  Ezra  been  the  author  of  the  prophecy,  it  is  difficult  to  think  that  his 
authorship  would  have  been  thus  concealed.  From  the  similarity  of  the  title, 
in  form,  to  Zech.  9I  I2\  it  is  probable  (p.  355)  that  it  was  framed  by  the 
compiler  of  the  volume  of  the  twelve  prophets ;  and  this,  taken  in  conjunction 
with  the  somewhat  prominent  recurrence  of  the  same  word  in  3^,  has  led 
some  modern  scholars  to  the  conjecture  that  the  prophecy,  when  it  came  to  the 
compiler's  hands,  had  no  author's  name  prefixed,  and  that  he  derived  the  name 
from  3I,  '3n'?d  being  there  understood  by  him  either  as  an  actual  designation 
of  the  author,  or  as  a  term  descriptive  of  his  office,  and  so  capable  of  being 
applied  to  him  symbolically  (Ewald,  Kuenen,  Reuss,  Stade,  Wellh.). 


MALACHI  357 

It  is  evident  that  the  prophecy  of  Malachi  belongs  to  the 
period  after  the  Captivity,  when  Judah  was  a  Persian  province 
("thy  governor"  ^nn^  i^:  cf.  Hag.  i^  Neh.  5^*  12I6  &c.),  when 
the  Temple  had  been  rebuilt  (i^^  3^),  and  public  worship  was 
again  carried  on  in  it.  The  three  abuses  which  he  mainly 
attacks  are  the  degeneracy  of  the  priesthood,  intermarriage  with 
foreign  women,  and  the  remissness  of  the  people  in  the  payment 
of  sacred  dues.  These  abuses,  especially  the  second  and  third, 
are  mentioned  prominently  in  the  memoirs  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah, 
and  are  what  those  reformers  set  themselves  [335]  strenuously 
to  correct  (see  Ezra  9^  iqS.  16-44^  Neh.  io30.32ff.  134flf.15flf.23ff.28f.). 
It  may  reasonably  be  inferred  therefore  that  the  prophecy  dates 
from  the  age  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 

The  only  question  open  is  whether  its  author  wrote  de/ore  the  arrival  of 
Ezra  in  Judah,  B.C.  458  (Herzfeld,  Bleek,  Reuss,  Stade),  or  somewhat  later, 
viz.  either  shortly  before  or  during  Nehemiah's  second  visit  there  (Neh.  13®^' )> 
B.C.  432  (Schrader,  Kohler,  Keil,  von  Orelli,  Kuenen).  On  the  whole,  the 
period  of  Nehemiah's  absence  at  the  Persian  Court  is  the  most  probable  :  the 
terms  of  i^  make  it  a  little  unlikely  that  Nehemiah  himself  was  "governor" 
at  the  time  when  Malachi  wrote. 

The  situation  in  Judah  at  the  time  when  Malachi  prophesied 
was  one  of  depression  and  discontent.  The  expectations  which 
earlier  prophets  had  aroused  had  not  been  fulfilled ;  the  restora- 
tion from  Babylon  had  brought  with  it  none  of  the  ideal  glories 
promised  by  the  second  Isaiah :  bad  harvests  increased  the  dis- 
appointment: hence  many  among  the  people  began  to  doubt 
the  Divine  justice ;  Jehovah,  they  argued,  could  no  longer  be  the 
Holy  God,  for  He  was  heedless  of  His  people's  necessity,  and 
permitted  sin  to  continue  unpunished;  to  what  purpose,  there- 
fore, should  they  concern  themselves  with  His  service  ?  A  spirit 
of  religious  indifference  and  moral  laxity  began  thus  to  prevail 
among  the  people.  The  same  temper  appears  even  among  the 
priests :  they  perform  their  offices  perfunctorily ;  they  express 
by  their  actions,  if  not  by  their  words,  their  contempt  for  the 
service  in  which  they  are  engaged.  And  the  mixed  marriages 
which  were  now  the  fashion  threatened  to  obliterate  altogether 
the  distinctive  character  of  the  nation.  Malachi  seeks  to  recall 
his  people  to  religious  and  moral  earnestness :  he  insists  on  the 
importance  of  maintaining  the  purity  of  the  public  worship  of 
God,  and  the  distinctive  character  of  the  nation.     His  book  is 


358  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

remarkable  among  the  writings  of  the  prophets  on  account  of  the 
interest  which  it  evinces  in  ritual  observances,  and  the  grave  light 
in  which  it  views  ritual  laxity.  The  explanation  is  to  be  found 
in  the  circumstances  of  the  time.  Israel's  preservation  as  the 
people  of  God  could  only  be  effectually  secured  by  a  strict 
observance  of  the  ceremonial  obligations  laid  upon  it,  and  by  its 
holding  firmly  aloof  from  the  disintegrating  influences  to  which 
unrestricted  intercourse  with  its  neighbours  would  inevitably 
expose  it.  Malachi  judged  the  times  as  the  reformers  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah  judged  them.  But  he  is  no  formalist ;  his  book  [336] 
breathes  the  genuine  prophetic  spirit:  ceremonial  observances 
are  of  value  in  his  eyes  only  as  securing  spiritual  service ;  moral 
offences  are  warmly  reprobated  by  him  (3^) ;  and  from  the 
thought  of  the  brotherhood  of  all  Israelites,  under  one  Father, 
he  deduces  the  social  duties  which  they  owe-  to  one  another,  and 
the  wrongfulness  of  the  selfish  system  of  divorce  prevalent  in 
his  day. 

The  style  of  Malachi  is  more  prosaic  than  that  of  the  prophets 
generally:  he  has  several  peculiarities  of  expression  (Kohler, 
p.  26);  and  his  diction  betrays  marks  of  lateness,  though  not  so 
numerous  or  pronounced  as  Esther,  Chronicles,  and  Ecclesiastes.* 
He  adopts  also  a  novel  literary  form :  first  he  states  briefly  the 
truth  which  he  desires  to  enforce,  then  follows  the  contradiction 
or  objection  which  it  is  supposed  to  provoke,  finally  there  comes 
the  prophet's  reply,  reasserting  and  substantiating  his  original 
proposition  (iSf.eff.  ^izi.n  ^7.  8.  isff.^.  Thus  "in  place  of  the 
rhetorical  development  of  a  subject,  usual  with  the  earlier  pro- 
phets, there  appears  in  Malachi  a  dialectic  treatment  by  means 
of  question  and  answer.  We  have  here  the  first  traces  of  that 
method  of  exposition  which,  in  the  schools  that  arose  about  this 
time,  became  ultimately  the  prevalent  one"  (Kohler,  p.  26,  after 
Ewald). 

*  E.g.  ^NJ  to  defile,  i'^-  ^^ .  ^^^  ,33  ^^ .  ^^d  the  inelegant  syntax  of  2", 
which  is  quite  in  the  style  of  the  Chronicler. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  PSALMS. 

Literature.— H.  Ewald  in  the  Dickterdes  AB.s,"^  1866  (translated  :  also  the 
basis  of  l^he  Psalms  chronologically  arranged,  by  Pour  Friends,  1867) ;  Justus 
Olshausen  (in  the  Kgf.  Exeg.  Handb.),  1853 ;  H.  Hupfeld,  Die  Fsalmen, 
1855-62,2  revised  by  W.  Nowack,  1888;  F.  Hitzig,  Die  Fsalmen,  1863,  1865  ; 
F.  Delitzsch,  1867,  ^  1883  (translated  :  Hodder  &  Stoughton,  1887-89),  ^(post- 
humous)  1894;  J.  J.  S.  Perowne,  The  Book  of  Psalms :  a  new  transl.  with 
Introd.  and  Notes,  1864-68,  ^  1886  ;  W.  Kay,  The  Psalms  with  Notes, ^  1874 ; 
H.  Gratz,  Krit.  Komm.  zu  den  Psalmen,  1882-83  (alters  the  text  much  too 
freely) ;  T.  K.  Cheyne,  The  Book  of  Psalms :  a  new  transl.  with  Comm.  1888 
(on  the  text,  see  esp.  pp.  369-406) ;  The  Historical  Origin  and  Religious 
Ideas  of  the  Psalter  {\he  "Bampton  Lectures  "for  1889),  1891  ;  Aids  to  the 
Devout  Study  of  Criticism,  1892,  p.  129  ff.  (chiefly  sermon-studies  on  Ps.  8, 
16,  24,  26,  28,  32,  51,  6:^,  68,  86,  87,  113-118);  A.  F.  Kirkpatrick,  in  the 
Camb.  Bible  for  Schools,  1891  (Bk.  i.),  1895  (Bks.  ii.-iii.);  F.  Baethgen  (in 
Nowack's  " Handkommentar "),  1892;  J.  Wellhausen  (in  Haupt's  SBOT.), 
1896.  See  also  Lagarde,  Orientalia,  ii.  (1880)  p.  I3ff.;  R.  W.  Church 
(Dean  of  St.  Paul's)  in  The  Gifts  of  Civilisation,  1880,  p.  391  ff.;  W.  R. 
Smith,  OZ/C.^Lect.  vii.;  M.  Kopfstein,  Die  Asaph- Pss.  untersucht,  1881  ; 
A.  Neubauer,  On  the  Titles  of  the  Psalms  according  to  early  Jewish  Authorities, 
in  Studia  Biblica,  ii.  p.  i  ff,  (Oxford,  1890) ;  Montefiore,  '*  Mystic  Passages  in 
the  Psalms,  "/(?i?.  Jan.  1889,  p.  143  ff".,  and  review  of  Cheyne's  Orig.  of  Ps., 
Oct.  1891,  p.  129 fif.;  A.  Rahlfs,  'jy  und  ijy  in  den  Pss.,  1892;  B.  Stade, 
"Die  Mess.  Hoffhungim  Psalter,"  Z.  /  Theol.  u.  Kirche,  1892,  p.  369 ff.; 
W.  T.  Davison,  The  Praises  of  Isr.,  an  Introd.  to  the  Study  of  the  Pss., 
1893,  2 1897  ;  G.  Beer,  Individual-  u.  Gevieindepsalmen,  1894 ;  W.  Diehl, 
Erkldrung  von  Ps.  47,  1894;  B.  Jacob,  "Beitrage  zu  einer  Einl.  in  die  Pss." 
(on  Selah,  the  titles,  &c.),  ZATW.  1896,  pp.  129 ff.,  265  ff".,  1897,  p.  48ft". 

The  Book  of  Psalms  (in  most  German  MSS.,"^  which  are 
followed  in  the  printed  editions  of  the  Hebrew  Bible)  opens  the 
third  division  of  the  Hebrew  Canon,  the  D''nin3,  or  writings 
(also  sometimes  ^:npT\  uriD,  'Aytdypa^a). 

Hebrew  Poetry. \ — Hebrew  poetry  reaches  back  to  the  most 

*  In  Spanish  MSS.,  as  in  Massoretic  lists,  it  is  preceded  by  Chronicles. 

t  See  Rob.    Lowth,   De  sa^ta  poesi  Hebrceorum  prcelectiones  acadeinicce 

.360 


36o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

[338]  ancient  recollections  of  the  Israelites  (Gen.  49,  Nu.  2ii7f. 
27-30^  Jud.  5,  &c.) ;  probably,  as  with  other  nations,  it  was  the 
form  in  which  their  earliest  literary  efforts  found  expression. 
Many  poetical  pieces  are  preserved  in  the  historical  books ;  and 
the  Books  of  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Job  (the  Dialogue),  Song  of 
Songs,  and  Lamentations  are  entirely  poetical.  The  line  between 
poetry  and  elevated  prose  being,  moreover,  less  sharply  drawn 
in  Hebrew  than  in  Western  languages,  the  prophets  not  un- 
frequently  rise  into  a  lyric  or  elegiac  strain  ;  and  even  the  author 
of  Ecclesiastes  is  led  sometimes,  by  the  moralizing  character  of 
his  discourse,  to  cast  his  thoughts  into  the  form  of  gnomic 
poetry. 

Of  the  two  forms  of  poetry  in  which  the  greatest  masterpieces 
of  the  Aryan  races  have  been  cast,  the  epos  and  the  drama,  the 
former  is  entirely  unrepresented  in  Hebrew  literature,  the  latter 
is  represented  only  in  a  rudimentary  and  imperfect  form.  As 
will  be  shown  in  its  proper  place,  the  Song  of  Songs  is  of  the 
nature  of  a  drama ;  and  the  Book  of  Job  may  be  styled  a  dramatic^ 
poem.  But  the  genius  of  the  ancient  Israelite  was  pre-eminently 
subjective ;  the  Hebrew  poet  did  not  readily  accommodate  him- 
self to  the  presentation,  in  a  poetical  form,  of  the  thoughts  and 
emotions  of  others,  such  as  the  epos  and  the  drama  both  require ; 
it  was  his  own  thoughts  and  emotions  for  which  he  sought 
spontaneously  to  find  forms  of  expression.  Hence  Hebrew 
poetry  is  almost  exclusively  /yn'c  and  gnomic. 

In  lyric  poetry,  the  poet  gives  vent  to  his  personal  emotions 
or  experiences — his  joys  or  sorrows,  his  cares  or  complaints,  his 
aspirations  or  his  despair ;  or  he  reproduces  in  words  the  impres- 
sions which  nature  or  history  may  have  made  upon  him.  The 
character  of  lyric  poetry,  it  is  evident,  may  vary  widely  according 
to  the  subject,  and  according  to  the  circumstances  and  mood  of 
the  poet  himself.  Gnomic  poetry  consists  of  observations  on 
human  life  and  society,  or  generalizations  respecting  conduct  and 
character.     But  the  line  between  these  two  forms  cannot  always 

(Oxon.  1753;  transl.  by  G.  Gregory  1847);  J.  G.  von  Herder,  Vom  Geist 
dtr  Ebr.  Poeste,  1782-83  (reprinted,  Gotha,  1890) ;  H.  Ewald,  Die  Dichter 
des  AB.s,  i.  i  ("  Allgemeines  uber  die  hebr.  Dichtkunst,  und  liber  das 
Psalmenbuch " ;  only  pp.  239-292,  209-233  translated,  in  the  translation  of 
the  Psalms,  i.  p.  iff.,  ii.  p.  328  ff.);  Kuenen,  Onderzoek,^  \\\.  1(1893),  i-59. 
with  the  references. 


HEBREW  POETRY  361 

be  drawn  strictly:  lyric  poetry,  for  instance,  may  assume  a 
parenetic  tone,  giving  rise  to  an  intermediate  form  which  may 
be  called  didactic  {e.g.  Ps.  15,  25,  37  ;  Pr.  1-9) ;  or  again,  a  poem 
which  is,  on  the  whole,  didactic  may  rise  in  parts  into  a  lyric 
strain  (Job  29-31,  38-39;  Pr.  Si^ff-). 

Most  of  the  Hebrew  poetry  that  has  been  preserved  is  of  a  religious  type  : 
but  poetry  is  the  expression  of  a  national  character ;  and  no  doubt  other  [339] 
sides  of  the  national  life— (f.^.  deeds  of  warriors,  incidents  of  domestic  interest, 
love,  wine,  marriages,  and  deaths — were  fully  represented  in  it.  Examples 
of  poems,  or  poetic  sayings,  in  the  OT.  of  a  purely  secular  character  are 
Gen.  4^^*  (Lamech's  song  of  triumph  over  the  invention  of  metal  weapons), 
Nu.  2 1  "'-27-30^  Jud.  15!^  I  Sa.  18',  and  even  David's  two  elegies,  2  Sa. 
1 19-27  ^ssf..  Allusions  to  songs  accompanying  banquets  or  other  festal 
occasions  occur  in  Gen.  31^,  2  Sa.  1985,  Am.  6^,  Isa.  5^2  1510  24^,  Job  21I2, 
Ps.  6912  (cf.  Job  3o9,  Lam.  s^^-  ^)  78^3,  Lam.  5^^  Eccl.  2^ :  of.  also  Isa.  23^^ 
Ter.  3822b. 

Poetry  is  distinguished  from  prose  partly  by  the  character  of 
the  thoughts  of  which  it  is  the  exponent, — which  in  Hebrew 
poetry,  as  a  rule,  either  express  or  spring  out  of  an  emotion, — 
partly  by  its  diction  (the  choice  and  order  of  words),  but  especi- 
ally by  its  rhythm.  The  onward  movement  of  emotion  is  not 
entirely  irregular  or  unrestrained ;  it  is  checked,  or  interrupted,  at 
particular  intervals ;  and  the  flow  of  thought  has  to  accommodate 
itself  in  a  certain  degree  to  these  recurring  interruptions ;  in  other 
words,  it  is  divided  into  lines.  In  most  Western  poetry  these 
lines  have  a  definite  metre  or  measure:  they  consist,  viz., 
of  a  fixed  number  of  syllables  (or  of  "  feet ") :  in  some  cases 
all  the  lines  of  a  poem  being  of  the  same  length,  in  other 
cases  lines  of  different  length  alternating,  according  to  certain 
prescribed  rules.  To  the  modern  ear,  also,  the  satisfaction  which 
the  recurrence  of  lines  of  equable  length  produces,  is  often 
enhanced  by  that  assonance  of  the  corresponding  lines  which 
we  term  rhyme.  But  in  ancient  Hebrew  poetry,  though  there 
was  always  rhythm,  there  was  (so  far  as  has  yet  been  discovered) 
no  metre  *  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term ;  and  rhyme  appears 

*  On  the  attempts  that  have  been  made  to  discover  metre  (strictly  so  called) 
in  the  OT.,  see  the  study  of  C.  Budde  in  the  Stud.  u.  Krit.  1874,  p.  747  ff., 
and  in  the  Theol.  Lit.-zt.  1888,  No.  i.  The  cleverest  of  these  attempts  is  that 
ofG.  Bickellinhis  Carmina  Vet.  Test,  nietrice  (1882),  where  the  poems  of 
the  OT.  are  transliterated  in  metrical  forms  analogous  to  those  used  by  the 
Syriac  poets  (Ephrem,  &c.).  But  the  numerous  alterations  in  the  text,  and 
the  metrical  licences,  which  are  Necessary  for  Bickell's  system,  form  a  serious 


362  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

[340]  to  have  been  as  accidental  as  it  was  with  the  classical  Latin 
poets.  The  poetical  instincts  of  the  Hebrews  appear  to  have 
been  satisfied  by  the  adoption  of  lines  of  approximately  the 
same  length,*  which  were  combined,  as  a  rule,  into  groups  of 
two,  three,  or  four  lines,  constituting  verses^  the  verses  marking 
usually  more  distinct  pauses  in  the  progress  of  the  thought 
than  the  separate  lines.  The  fundamental  (and  predominant) 
form  of  the  Hebrew  verse  is  the  couplet  of  two  lines,  the  second 
line  either  repeating,  or  in  some  other  way  reinforcing  or  com- 
pleting, the  thought  of  the  first.  In  the  verse  of  two  lines  is 
exemplified  also  the  principle  which  most  widely  regulates  the 
form  of  Hebrew  poetry,  the  parallelismus  membroriim  —  the 
parallelism  of  two  clauses  of  approximately  the  same  length,  the 
second  clause  answering,  or  otherwise  completing,  the  thought  of 
the  first.  The  Hebrew  verse  does  not,  however,  consist  uniformly 
of  two  lines;  the  addition  of  a  third  line  is  apt  especially  to 
introduce  an  element  of  irregularity :  so  that  the  parallelismus 
membrorum,  though  an  important  canon  of  Hebrew  poetry,  is 
not  the  sole  principle  by  which  its  form  is  determined. 

The  significance  in  Hebrew  poetry  of  the  parallelism  of  clauses 
was  first  perceived  by  Rob.  Lowth,  who  thus  distinguished  its 
principal  varieties : — 

I.  Synonymous  parallelism.  In  this  kind  (which  is  the  most  frequent)  the 
second  line  enforces  the  thought  of  the  first  by  repeating,  and,  as  it  were, 

objection  to  it.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  probable  that  in  his  search  for  a  metre 
he  has  in  reality  been  guided  by  a  sense  of  rhythm,  which  has  enabled  him 
to  discover  imperfections  due  to  corruption  of  the  text.  Prof.  Briggs'  system 
{Biblical  Study,  p.  279  ff.;  Hebraica,  1887,  p.  161  ff.,  1888,  p.  201  ff.;  comp. 
Fr.  Brown, y^ZiV.  1890,  p.  71  ff.)  is  not  one  of  strict  metre,  but  of  measure- 
ment by  accents  or  rhythmical  beats,  the  *'foot"  not  necessarily  consisting  of 
the  same  number  of  syllables.  The  principle  of  Jul.  Ley,  Leitfaden  der 
Metrik  der  Heb.  Poesie  (1887),  is  similar.  Apart  from  conjecture,  metre  is 
only  known  to  have  been  introduced  into  Hebrew  poetry  by  the  Jewish  poets 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  in  imitation  of  Arabic  poetry.  (Bickell's  Carmina  should 
be  supplemented  by  his  short  papers  in  the  Innsbruck  Z.  fiir  Kathol.  Theol. 
1885,  p.  7i7ff-;  1886,  p.  205ft:,  35Sff".,  546ff.,  56ofr.;  and  his  metrical 
edition  of  Prov.  in  the  Wiener  Ztsch.  f.  d.  Kunde  des  Morgenl.  v.  79 ft"., 
191  ff.,  271  ff.  (Nachtriige,  vii.  167 f.) ;  Job^  ib.  vi.  137  ff.,  241  ff.,  327  ff.,  vii. 
I  ff.,  153  ff.;  Lam.,  ib.  viii.  loi  ff.)  See  also  Grimme,  ZDMG.  1896,  p.  529  ff. 
*  And  approximately,  also,  each  complete  in  itself,  or  coinciding  with  a 
pause  in  the  thought, — another  point  of  difference  from  Western  poetry,  in 
which  the  thought  may  generally  move  on  continuously  through  two  or  more. 


HEBREW  POETRY  363 

echoing  it  in  a  varied  form,  producing  an  effect  at  once  grateful  to  the  ear 
and  satisfying  to  the  mind  :  as — 

Nu.  23^  IJow  shall  I  curse,  whom  God  hath  not  cursed  ? 

And  how  shall  I  defy,  whom  the  Lord  hath  not  defied  ? 

Or  the  second  line  expresses  a  thought  not  indeed  identical  with  that  of  the 
first,  but  parallel  and  similar  to  it — 

Josh.  10^2  Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon  ; 

And  thou,  Moon,  upon  the  valley  of  Aijalon. 
[341]  2.  Antithetic  parallelism.     Here  the  thought  of  the  first  line  is  empha- 
sized, or  confirmed,  by  a  contrasted  thought  expressed  in  the  second.     Thus — 

Pr.  10^  A  wise  son  maketh  a  glad  father, 

But  a  foolish  son  is  the  heaviness  of  his  mother. 
Ps.  i^  For  the  Lord  knoweth  the  way  of  the  righteous  ; 
But  the  way  of  the  wicked  shall  perish. 
This  kind  of  parallelism  is  most  frequent  in  gnomic  poetry,  where,  from  the 
nature  of  the  subject-matter,  antithetic  truths  are  often  contrasted. 

3.  Synthetic  or  constructive  parallelism.  Here  the  second  line  contains 
neither  a  repetition  nor  a  contrast  to  the  thought  of  the  first,  but  in  different 
ways  supplements  or  completes  it.  The  parallelism,  therefore,  is  merely  of 
fornix  and  does  not  extend  to  the  thought  at  all.     E.g. — 

Ps.  2^  Yet  I  have  set  my  king 
Upon  Zion,  my  holy  hill. 
Pr.  15"  Better  is  a  dinner  of  herbs  where  love  is. 
Than  a  stalled  ox  and  hatred  therewith. 
26^    Answer  not  a  fool  according  to  his  folly. 

Lest  thou  also  be  like  unto  him. 
27^    As  a  bird  that  wandereth  from  her  nest, 
So  is  a  man  that  wandereth  from  his  place. 

A  comparison,  a  reason,  a  consequence,  a  motive,  often  constitutes  one  of  the 
lines  in  a  synthetic  parallelism. 

4.  A  fourth  kind  of  parallelism,  though  of  rare  occurrence,  is  still  suffici- 
ently marked  to  be  noticed  by  the  side  of  those  described  by  Lowth,  viz. 
climactic  parallelism  (sometimes  called  "  ascending  rhythm  ").  Here  the  first 
line  is  itself  incomplete,  and  the  second  line  takes  up  words  from  it  and 
completes  them — 

Ps.  29^  Give  unto  the  Lord,  O  ye  sons  of  the  mighty, 
Give  unto  the  Lord  glory  and  strength. 
^  The  voice  of  the  Lord  shaketh  the  wilderness ; 
The  Lord  shaketh  the  wilderness  of  Kadesh. 
Ex.  1 5^*"*  Till  thy  people  pass  over,  O  Lord, 

Till  the  people  pass  over,  which  thou  hast  purchased. 

This  kind  of  rhythm  is  all  but  peculiar  to  the  most  elevated  poetry :  see 
Jud.  44b-  7. 19a.  23b^  Ps,  295  9210  933  943  9613  113I  (of.  6t'  %  Isa.  24I5  (Cheyne). 
There  is  something  analogous  to  it,  though  much  less  forcible  and  distinct, 
in  some  of  the    "Songs    of  Assents"  (Ps.    121-134),  where  a  somewhat 


364  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

emphatic  word  is  repeated  from  one  verse  (or  line)  in  the  next,  as  Ps.  12 1**- ' 
(help) ;  v.'»"  * ;  y."^-  ^ ;  v.'-  ^ ;  1222^.  sa  &c. 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  verses  in  the  poetry  of  the  OT. 
consist  of  distichs  of  one  or  other  of  the  types  that  have  been 
illustrated;  though  naturally  every  individual  line  is  not  con- 
structed with  the  regularity  of  the  examples  selected  (which, 
[342]  indeed,  especially  in  a  long  poem,  would  tend  to  monotony). 
The  following  are  the  other  principal  forms  of  the  Hebrew 
verse : — 

1.  Single  lines,  or  nionosiichs.  These  are  found  but  rarely,  being  gener- 
ally used  to  express  a  thought  with  some  emphasis  at  the  beginning,  or 
occasionally  at  the  end,  of  a  poem  :  Ps.  16^  1 8^  23^  66^ ;  Ex.  15^^ 

2.  Verses  of  three  lines,  or  tristicks.  Here  different  types  arise,  according 
to  the  relation  in  which  the  several  lines  stand  to  one  another.  Sometimes, 
for  instance,  the  three  lines  are  synonymous,  as — 

Ps.  5^*  But  let  all  those  that  put  their  trust  in  thee  rejoice. 

Let  them  ever  shout  for  joy,  because  thou  defendest  them  : 
And  let  them  that  love  tiiy  name  be  joyful  in  thee. 

Sometimes  a  and  b  are  parallel  in  thought,  and  c  completes  it — 

Ps.  2^  The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves, 
And  the  rulers  take  counsel  together, 

Against  Jehovah,  and  against  his  anointed. 

Or  b  and  c  are  parallel — 

Ps.  3'  Arise,  Jehovah  ;  save  me,  O  my  God  : 

For  thou  hast  smitten  all  mine  enemies  upon  the  cheek-bone  ; 
Thou  hast  broken  the  teeth  of  the  wicked. 

Or  a  and  c  may  be  parallel,  and  b  be  of  the  nature  of  a  parenthesis — 
Ps.  4'  Answer  me,  when  I  call,  O  God  of  my  righteousness ; 
Thou  hast  set  me  at  large  when  I  was  in  distress  : 
Have  mercy  upon  me,  and  hear  my  prayer. 

3.  Tetrastichs.  Here  generally  a  is  parallel  to  b,  and  c  is  parallel  to  d ; 
but  the  thought  is  only  complete  when  the  two  couplets  are  combined  j  thus— 

Gen.  49'  Cursed  be  their  anger,  for  it  was  fierce  ; 
And  their  wrath,  for  it  was  cruel : 
I  will  divide  them  in  Jacob, 
And  scatter  them  in  Israel. 
So  Dt.  32*^'-  =»•  38- «,  Isa.  494  593. 4,  &c. 

Sometimes,  however,  a  is  parallel  to  c,  and  b  to  d — 
Ps.  55^*  His  mouth  was  smooth  as  butter, 
But  his  heart  was  war ; 
His  words  were  softer  than  oil, 
Yet  were  they  drawn  swords. 
So  Ps.  40"  127I,  Dt.  32^2^  Isa.  30^«  44^  492. 


HEBREW  POETRY  365 

Occasionally  a  corresponds  to  d,  and  b  \.o  c\   this  is  called  technically 
*'  introverted  parallelism,"  but  is  of  rare  occurrence ;  see  Pr.  2-^^'^^'y  Isa.  ii^^ 
(Cheyne),  598. 
[343]  Or  a,  by  c  are  parallel,  but  d  is  more  or  less  independent — 

Ps.  i'  And  he  is  as  a  tree  planted  by  streams  of  water, 
That  bringeth  forth  its  fruit  in  its  season. 
And  whose  leaf  doth  not  wither : 
And  whatsoever  he  doeth  he  maketh  to  prosper. 

Or  a  is  independent,  and  3,  r,  d  are  parallel — 

Pr.  24^^  If  thou  sayest.  Behold,  we  knew  not  this ; 

Doth  not  he  that  weigheth  the  hearts  consider  it  ? 

And  he  that  keepeth  thy  soul,  doth  not  he  know  it  ? 

And  shall  not  he  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  work  ? 

Or  it  may  even  happen  that  the  four  members  stand  in  no  determinate  relation 
to  one  another ;  see  e.g.  Ps.  40^'. 

4.  and  5.  Verses  of  5  lines  {pentastichs)  occur  but  seldom  in  the  OT. ,  and 
those  of  six  lines  {hexastichs)  are  still  rarer;  see  for  the  former,  Nu.  24^, 
Dt.  3214-  ^,  I  Sa.  210,  Ps.  39^2^  Cant.  3* ;  for  the  latter,  Nu.  24",  i  Sa.  2^, 
Cant.  4*,  Hab.  3^'  (three  distichs,  closely  united). 

The  finest  and  most  perfect  specimens  of  Hebrew  poetry 
are,  as  a  rule,  those  in  which  the  parallelism  is  most  complete 
(synonymous  distichs  and  tetrastichs),  varied  by  an  occasional 
tristich  {e.g.  Job  28,  29-31,  38-39,  Ps.  18,  29,  104,  Pr.  8i2ff.. 
and  in  a  quieter  strain,  Ps.  51,  81,  91,  103  &c.). 

Upon  an  average^  the  lines  of  Hebrew  poetry  consist  of  7 
or  8  syllables ;  but  (so  far  as  appears)  there  is  no  rule  on  the 
subject ;  lines  may  be  longer  or  shorter,  as  the  poet  may  desire ; 
nor  is  there  any  necessity  that  the  lines  composing  a  verse 
should  all  be  of  the  same  length.*  In  Job  and  Proverbs  lines  of 
approximately  the  same  length  are  of  more  frequent  occurrence 
than  in  the  Psalms ;  and  the  didactic  and  historical  psalms  are 
more  regular  in  structure  than  those  which  are  of  a  more  emotional 
character.  Where  the  line  is  much  longer  than  7-8  syllables,  it 
is  commonly  divided  by  a  ccesura  (comp.  Ps.  19^'*;  Ps.  119): 
on  the  use  of  this  form  of  line  in  the  elegiac  poetry  of  the 
Hebrews,  see  below,  under  Lamentations. 

The  prophets,  though  their  diction  is  usually  an  elevated 
prose,  manifest  a  strong  tendency  to  enforce  and  emphasize 
their  thought  by  casting  it,  more  or  less  completely,  into  the 

*  Sometimes  an  exceptionally  short  line  appears  to  be  chosen  for  emphasis, 
Job  14*'  (nriK  K^),  Ps.  49"''  ('anp*  o]^  <^^. 


366  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

form  of  parallel  clauses  (e.g.  Isa.  i^-  3.  lo.  is.  19.  20. 27.  29  &c.;  1310- 
11.  12.  13  &c.;  Am.  61-  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7  &c.).  And  sometimes  they 
adopt  a  distinctly  lyrical  strain,  as  Isa.  4 2 10-12  [344]  4423  4^8^  g^j. 
with  the  prophets  the  lines  are  very  commonly  longer  than  is 
the  case  in  poetry  (in  the  technical  sense  of  the  word) ;  and  the 
movement  is  less  bright  and  rapid  than  that  of  the  true  lyrical  style. 
Strophes  or  stanzas.  By  the  strophe  of  the  ancient  Greek 
choral  ode,  as  by  the  stanza  of  modern  European  poetry,  is  meant 
a  group  of  lines,  each  line  possessing  a  determinate  length  and 
character,  recurring  regularly  in  the  course  of  the  same  poem. 
In  this  sense  there  are  no  strophes  or  stanzas  in  Hebrew  poetry. 
If,  however,  the  term  "  strophe  "  be  understood  in  the  modified 
sense  of  a  group  of  verses^  connected  together  by  a  certain  unity 
of  thought,  it  is  true  that  strophes  of  this  kind  are  found  in 
Hebrew  poetry.  For  that  the  Hebrew  poets,  at  least  sometimes, 
grouped  together  a  certain  number  of  verses,  and  marked  con- 
sciously the  close  of  such  a  group,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
refrains  which  appear  from  time  to  time  in  the  Psalms.*  The 
number  of  verses  closed  by  a  refrain  is  seldom,  however,  more 
than  approximately  uniform  in  the  same  poem ;  no  importance 
therefore  appears  to  have  been  attached  to  uniformity  in  the 
length  of  the  Hebrew  "  strophe  " ;  the  poet  placed  the  refrain 
where  his  thought  came  to  a  natural  pause,  without  being 
anxious  to  secure  perfectly  regular  intervals.  It  may  be  assumed 
with  probability  that  in  other  cases,  especially  if  the  poem  be 
one  of  any  length,  the  poet  would  mark  the  progress  of  his 
thought  by  pauses  at  more  or  less  regular  intervals ;  and  the 
sections  of  the  poem,  closed  by  these  supposed  pauses,  we  may 
term  "  strophes."  And  this  conclusion  is  confirmed  by  the  fact 
that  many  of  the  Psalms  seem  naturally  to  fall,  logically  as  well 
as  poetically,  into  groups  of  verses,  two,  three,  or  more,  as  the 
case  may  be.t     But  often  the  divisions  are  less  regular  or  [345] 

*  See  Ps.  -y)^'  11° ;  42'^-  "  43^  [the  two  Psalms  forming  originally  one]  ; 
46  [3].  7.  u  .  4912.  20  .  554.  lof..  576.  11  .  596.  14  and  8-  "  ;  62"-  «•;   673-  ^  ;   So^- 

7.  19  .    g74c.  6b  .    qq5.  9  .    1076.  13.  19.  28   ^^d    ^'  ^^'  ^^'  ^  '    Il6l^^'"-  "b-18  .    i^6lb.  2b 

&c.  (26  times) ;  i^'^-^-  ".  Comp.  Isa.  912^-  i7b.  21b  jo4b^  -phese  refrains  are 
not  always  expressed  in  quite  identical  terms  ;  in  one  or  two  cases  (Ps.  42^ 
598)  the  variation  is  due  probably  to  textual  error  ;  but  elsewhere  it  appears  to 
be  intentional. 

t  E.g.  Ps.  7}'^-  *""•  '•8*  10-12  .  ^if.  3f.  M.  7f. .    J  oif.  3f.  5f. .  631-3.  4-6.  7-10.  u-14. 

15-18.  19-23.  24r27.  28-31.  32-35  .    TT.lf.  3f.  5f.  7f. 


THE  PSALMS  367 

clearly  marked ;  and  in  such  cases  the  question  arises  whether 
they  were  really  intended  by  the  poet,  and  whether  such  sub- 
divisions as  the  articulation  of  the  thought  may  appear  to  suggest 
are  not  to  be  regarded  as  logical  rather  than  as  poetical  units, 
and  as  not  properly  deserving — even  in  its  modified  sense — the 
name  of  "  strophes." 

The  Hebrew  title  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  is  D-^nri,  ///. 
"  praise-songs,"  a  word  which  in  the  OT.  itself  occurs  only  in 
the  forms  n^nri  {sing.\  ni?nri  {plur.)y  and  with  the  general  sense 
of  praise^  praises  {e.g.  Ex.  15^^,  Ps.  22*).  The  modern  term 
"  Psalms "  is  derived  from  the  LXX  rendering  of  D'^i^nn, 
\pa\iiOL. 

In  the  Massoretic  text  the  Psalms  are  in  number  150 ;  but  Ps.  9  and 
10,  as  the  alphabetical  arrangement  shows  (see  below),  must  have  formed 
originally  a  single  whole  (as  they  do  still  in  the  LXX  and  Vulg.)  ;  the  same 
was  also  the  case  with  Ps.  42  and  43  (notice  the  refraiuy  42°-  *  ^^  43^),  which 
are  actually  united  in  36  Hebrew  MSS.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  reason 
to  suppose  that  some  Psalms,  which  now  appear  as  one,  consist  of  elements 
which  have  been  incorrectly  conjoined  ;  this  is  certainly  the  case  with  Ps.  144 
(where  v.^^  jg  quite  unconnected  with  v.^'"),  and  probably  also  with  Ps. 
19,  24,  27.  The  LXX  adds,  after  Ps.  150,  a  Psalm,  stated  in  the  title  to  be 
^^w  Tov  dpidfiov,  and  ascribed  to  David,  flre  ifiovo/xdxvo'^  T(fi  ToXiad,  which 
is  undoubtedly  spurious. 

In  the  Hebrew  Bible  (as  in  the  RV.)  the  Psalter  is  divided 
into  five  Books,  Ps.  1-4 1 ;  42-72;  73-89;  90-106;  107-150. 
The  end  of  each  of  the  first  four  Books  is  marked  by  a  doxology 
(Ps.  41^^;  7218^-;  89^2.  106^8),  of  liturgical  character,  pointing, 
in  all  probability,  to  the  fact  that  the  collections  were  formed  in 
the  first  instance  for  use  in  public  worship ;  in  Book  5  the  place 
of  such  a  doxology  appears  to  have  been  taken  by  Ps.  150  itself. 
The  second  Book  has  in  addition  a  special  subscription  (Ps. 
72^3),  viz.  "The  Prayers  of  David,  the  son  of  Jesse,  are  ended." 
The  division  into  five  Books  is  older  than  the  LXX  translation, 
in  which  the  doxologies  are  already  found.  The  probable 
explanation  of  the  division  will  be  considered  subsequently. 

The  following  Psalms  are  alphabetical,  i.e.  successive  verses,  half- verses, 
or  groups  of  verses  begin  with  the  successive  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet ; 
Ps.  9-10  (two  verses  to  each  letter,  the  scheme,  however,  being  [346]  incom- 
pletely carried  through) ;  25  (one  verse  to  each  letter,  with  an  extra  verse  at 

*  The  English  numeration  of  verses  has  been  followed  throughout. 


368  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

the  end  :  the  l  verse  missing) ;  34  (also  with  an  extra  verse  *) ;  37  (2  verses 
to  each  letter  :  the  V  verse  is  missing  through  a  corruption  in  v.  28  ;  see  the 
commentators)  ;  iii  (a  half- verse  to  a  letter)  ;  112  (do.) ;  119  (8  verses  to  a 
letter)  ;  145  (the  3  verse  missing),  t  The  alphabetical  order  appears  to  have 
been  sometimes  adopted  by  poets  as  an  artificial  principle  of  arrangement, 
when  the  subject  was  one  of  a  general  character,  that  did  not  lend  itself 
readily  to  logical  development. 

The  Psalms,  speaking  generally,  consist  of  reflexions,  cast 
into  a  poetical  form,  upon  the  various  aspects  in  which  God 
manifests  Himself  either  in  nature,  or  towards  Israel,  or  the 
individual  soul,  accompanied  often — or,  indeed,  usually — by  an 
outpouring  of  the  emotions  and  affections  of  th^  Psalmist, 
prompted  by  the  warmth  of  his  devotion  to  God,  though  vary- 
ing naturally  in  character,  according  to  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  is  placed.  Thus,  in  some  Psalms  the  tone  is  that  of 
praise  or  thanksgiving,  in  others  it  is  one  of  penitence  or  sup- 
plication, in  others  again  it  is  meditative  or  didactic:  not  un- 
frequently  also  a  Psalm  is  of  mixed  character;  it  begins, 
perhaps,  in  a  strain  of  supplication,  and  as  the  poet  proceeds 
the  confidence  that  his  prayer  will  be  answered  grows  upon  him, 
and  he  ends  in  a  tone  of  jubilant  exultation  (e.g.  Ps.  6,  13,  22 
(see  v.22ff«),  26,  31,  36,  64,  69,  71).  In  the  Psalter  the  devotional 
element  of  the  religious  character  finds  its  completest  expres- 
sion ;  and  the  soul  is  displayed  in  converse  with  God,  disclosing 
to  Him  its  manifold  emotions,  desires,  aspirations,  or  fears.  It 
is  the  surprising  variety  of  mood  and  subject  and  occasion  in 
the  Psalms  which  gives  them  their  catholicity,  and,  combined 
with  their  deep  spirituality,  adapts  them  to  be  the  hymn-book, 
not  only  of  the  second  Temple,  but  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Individual  Psalms  often  present  a  mixed  character,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
classify  them  in  accordance  with  their  subject-matter ;  but  the  following  out- 
line of  the  subjects  which  they  embrace  may  be  useful  (comp.  Hupfeld, 
pp.  vii-ix) : — i.  Meditations  on  different  aspects  of  God's  providence,  as 
manifested  in  creation,  history,  &c.:  Ps.  8  (man,  how  small,  and  yet  how 
great !),  IQ^"'  (God's  glory  in  the  heavens),  29  (Jehovah's  majesty  [347]  seen 
in  the  thunderstorm),  33,  36,  65  (a  harvest  Psalm),  103  (the  mercifulness  of 

*  The  fi  verse  here  no  doubt  originally  stood  before  the  y  verse  (giving  a 
subject  for  "  cried  "  in  v."),  as  in  Lam.  2,  3,  4. 

t  The  other  alphabetical  poems  in  the  OT.  are  Lam.  i,  2,  3,  4 ;  Prov. 
3ii<'-«:  cf.  also  p.  337.  The  original  Hebrew  of  Sirach  51""^,  also,  as 
Bickell  has  shown  (in  the  Innsbruck  Z.  f.  Kathol.  Theol.  1882,  p.  326  ff.), 
though  his  restoration  is  open  in  details  to  criticism,  was  alphabetical. 


THE  PSALMS  369 

God),  104  (the  poem  of  Creation),  107,  145-147  ;  and  with  invocations  of  a 
liturgical  character,  24"^-^^  47,  (y*],  95-100,  in,  113,  115,  117,  134-136, 
148-150. 

2.  Reflexions  on  God's  moral  government  of  the  world  :  Ps.  i,  34,  75,  'j'j^ 
90,  92,  112  ;  and  of  a  directly  didactic  character,  Ps.  37,  49,  73  ;  or  on  the 
character  and  conduct  that  is  pleasing  in  His  eyes,  Ps.  15,  24^"^  32,  40^"^^  50. 

3.  Psalms  expressive  of  faith,  resignation,  joy  in  God's  presence,  &c.: 
Ps.  II,  16,  23,  26,  27,  42  f.,  62,  63,  84,  91,  121,  127,  128,  130,  131,  133, 
139  (the  sense  of  God's  omnipresence)  ;  praise  of  the  law,  Ps.  19'"!^  119. 

4.  Psalms  with  a  more  distinct  reference  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
Psahnist  (including  sometimes  his  companions  or  co-religionists),  viz.  {d) 
petitions  for  help  in  sickness,  persecution,  or  other  trouble,  or  for  forgiveness 
of  sins  (oftep  accompanied  with  the  assurance  that  the  prayer  wall  be 
answered):  Ps.  3-7,  9f.,  12,  13,  17,  22,  and  many  besides;  {b)  thanks- 
givings, Ps.   30,  40^"^^  J  J  5^   128. 

5.  National  Psalms  : — consisting  of  {a)  complaints  of  national  oppression 
or  disaster  :  Ps.  14  (  =  53),  44,  60,  74  and  79  (desolation  of  the  sanctuary),  80, 
82,  83,  85,  94,  102,  108,  123,  137  ;  {b)  thanksgivings  for  mercies  either 
already  received,  or  promised  for  the  future  :  Ps.  46,  47,  48,  66,  68,  ^d,  87 
(Zion,  the  future  spiritual  metropolis  of  the  world),  Il8,  122  (prayer  for  the 
welfare  of  Jerusalem),  124-126,  129,  144^2-^ 

6.  The  historical  Psalms,  being  retrospects  of  the  national  history  with 
reference  to  the  lessons  deducible  from  it :  Ps.  78,  81,  105,  106,  114. 

7.  Psalms  relating  to  the  kings  {royal  Psalms),  being  thanksgivings,  good- 
wishes,  or  promises,  esp.  for  the  extension  of  his  dominion  :  Ps.  2,  18,  20, 
21,  45  (on  the  occasion  of  a  royal  wedding),  72,  89  (a  supplication  on  account 
of  the  humbled  dynasty  of  David),  loi  (a  king's  rule  of  life),  1 10,  132  ;  cf.  28, 
61,  63.     These  Psalms  have  often  a  Messianic  import. 

The  line  separating  4  and  5  is  not  always  clearly  drawn. 

Most  of  the  Psalms  are  provided  with  titles.  The  object  of 
the  titles  is  partly  to  define  the  character  of  a  Psalm,  partly  to 
state  the  name  of  the  author  to  whom  it  is  attributed,  and  some- 
times also  the  occasion  on  which  it  is  supposed  to  have  been 
composed,  partly  (as  it  seems)  to  notify  the  manner  in  which 
the  Psalms  were  performed  musically  in  the  public  services  of 
the  Temple.  The  terms  describing  the  character  and  the  musical 
accompaniment  of  a  Psalm  are  frequently  obscure :  for  the 
explanations  that  have  been  offered  of  them,  reference  must  be 
made  to  the  commentaries. 

As  authors  of  Psalms  are  named — 

1.  Moses,  "  the  man  of  God  "  (Dt.  33I) :  Ps.  90. 

2.  David:  in  Book  I.  37,  viz.  Ps.  3-9,  11-32,  34-4I  ;  in  Book  H.  18, 
viz.  Ps.  51-65,  68-70;  in  Book  III.  i,  viz.  Ps.  86;  in  Book  IV.  2,  viz.  [348] 
Ps.  loi,  103;  in  Book  V.  15,  viz.  Ps.  108-110,  122,  124,  131,  133,  138-145, 
—in  all  T^>  • 


370  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

3.  Solomon:  Ps.  72,  127. 

4.  Asaph  :  Ps.  50,  73-83>— in  all  12. 

5.  Heman  the  Ezrahite  :  Ps.  88  (one  of  two  titles). 

6.  Ethan  the  Ezrahite  :  Ps.  89. 

7.  The  sons  of  Korah  :  Ps.  42,  44-49,  84,  85,  87,  88,— in  all  11. 

Asaph,  Heman,  and  Ethan  are  the  names  of  the  three  chief 
singers  of  David,  often  mentioned  by  the  Chronicler,  and  referred 
by  him  to  the  three  Levitical  families  of  Gershonites,  Kohathites, 
and  Merarites  respectively  (i  Ch.  633-38.39-43.44-47.  15IM8.19), 
They  were  regarded  as  the  founders  of  the  families,  or  guilds, 
of  singers,  who  assisted  in  the  public  worship  of  the  second 
Temple.*  The  "sons  of  Korah"  must  be  the  descendants — 
actual  or  reputed — of  the  Korah,  son  of  Jizhar,  son  of  Kohath, 
son  of  Levi,  who  perished  in  the  wilderness  (Nu.  i6i^-),  but 
whose  sons  are  stated  {ib.  26^^)  to  have  escaped,  who  are  also, 
under  the  title  "  Korahites,"  described  by  the  Chronicler  as  the 
gate-keepers  of  the  Temple  (i  Ch.  9^^  2ti^-^^)\  from  2  Ch.  20^^ 
it  may  also  be  inferred  that,  if  not  in  the  time  of  Jehoshaphat, 
yet  in  the  Chronicler's  own  time,  they  took  part  in  the  public 
worship  of  the  Temple. 

The  following  Psalms  are  referred  by  their  titles — in  terms  borrowed 
generally,  though  not  always,  and  sometimes  with  slight  variations  in  detail, 
from  the  historical  books — to  events  in  the  life  of  David  :  Ps.  3  (2  Sa.  15,  &c.), 
7  (allusion  obscure),  (18  =  2  Sa.  22),  34  (cf.  i  Sa.  21^3)^  ^j  (2  Sa.  12),  52 
(I  Sa.  229),  54  (I  Sa.  2319),  56  (I  Sa.  21"  [or  272*- '-12?]),  57  (i  Sa.  22^  2^^-), 
59  (I  Sa.  19"),  60  (2  Sa.  813  [cf.  v.»  Zobah],  i  Ch.  iS^^)^  63  (i  Sa.  2314^-  24I 
262),  142  (i  Sa.  22^  248^-).  The  title  of  Ps.  30,  "at  the  dedication  of  the 
House  [or  Temple],"  alludes,  not  to  any  event  in  the  life  of  David,  but  to  the 
occasion  on  which  in  later  days  the  Psalm  was  publicly  recited  (see  Soferim^ 
c.  18,  §  2),  viz.  on  the  anniversary  of  the  Dedication  of  the  Temple  by  Judas 
Maccab3eus,  i  Mace.  4'*2ff.  ^^^  iyKalvia,  John  lo^^) ;  the  title  of  Ps.  92  "For 
the  Sabbath  day, "  is  to  be  explained  similarly. 

In  the  LXX  there  are  some  additional  titles.  The  anonymous  Psalms 
33>  43>  67,  91,  93-99,  104  are  ascribed  to  David ;  in  cod.  A  also  Ps.  42 ; 
and  in  a  few  MSS.  Ps.  i,  2  as  well.  The  title  to  Ps.  71  is  ry  AaveiS,  vlwv 
'Iwpadd.^  Kal  TUP  irpdriov  alxM-aKdmadivTuv  ;  to  Ps.  1 38  (in  cod.  A)  ry  Aaveld 
[349]  Zaxapiov  ;  and  to  Ps.  139  (in  cod.  A)  t^  A.  Zaxapiov  (with  iv  ry  8ia- 
airopq.  on  the  marg.  and  in  cod.  T).  Ps.  146,  147^""  147^2-20  (fo^  thg  lxX 
treat  this  Psalm  as  two),  148  have  each  the  title  'Ayyalov  Kal  Zaxapiov. 

*  See  I  Ch.  2$^*^-,  2  Ch.  5"  29"'-  3515  (where  it  is  generally  allowed  that 
Jeduthun  [cf.  Ps.  39,  G2,  77  tt//es]  is  another  name  of  Ethan).  "Sons  of 
Am/>A  "  (who  are  especially  prominent)  are  mentioned  also  2  Ch.  20",  Neh. 
7"ii22a/. 


THE  PSALMS  37 1 

There  are  also  references — sometimes  obscure — to  the  occasion  of  the 
Psalm:  Ps.  27  +  7r/36  rod  xpto'^^j'ai ;  Ps.  2g  +  i^odLov  aKrjvrjs ;  Ps.  31 +^/C(rrd- 
aecjs  [see  v.^^] ;  Ps.  66  +  dvao-rdcrews ;  Ps.  yo  +  els  t6  aGxraL  fie  Kvpiov  ;  Ps.  76 
+  i^dr}  irpbs  rhv  ^AaaOpLOv  ;  Ps.  80  +  yJ/aXfJibs  iirkp  rod  'Acravplov ;  Ps.  93  els  ttjv 
ijpApav  rod  irpoca^^dTov,  6're  Kari^KiaraL  tj  yrj,  alvos  (^Srjs  t(^  A. ;  Ps.  96  5re  6 
oTkos  olKodo/xeirai  jxerci.  tt]v  alxiJ-oXtaaiaVy  (pdi]  tQ  A.;  Ps.  97  ry  A.,  6re  i)  yrj 
airov  KadiaTarai;  Ps.  l43  +  5re  avrbv  6  vlbs  KaradiuKei ;  Ps.  l44  +  7rp6s  rbv 
ToXidd ;  as  well  as  notices  of  the  days  on  which  certain  Psalms  were  recited 
in  public  worship,  viz.  Ps.  24  rrjs  fuds  (ra^^aruv  ;  Ps.  38  irepl  o-ap^drov ;  Ps. 
48  Bevripq.  aa^^aTOv  ;  Ps.  93  els  Ti)v  TjjjApav  rod  Tpoaa^^drov  ;  Ps.  94  rerpddi 
a-a^pdrcav  (cf.  Ps.  92  in  the  Hebrew).  So  far  as  regards  Ps.  24,  48,  92  (Heb.), 
93,  94  these  statements  agree  with  the  usage  of  the  second  Temple,  according 
to  which  the  Psalms  referred  to  were  sung,  on  the  days  mentioned,  during  the 
Drink-offering  that  accompanied  the  morning  Burnt-offering.* 

Arrangement  of  Psalms^  and  gradual  formation  of  the  Psalter. 
That  the  Psalter  is  not  the  work  of  a  single  compiler,  but 
was  formed  gradually  out  of  pre-existing  smaller  collections  of 
Psalms,  appears  from  many  indications.  More  than  one  Psalm 
occurs  in  a  double  recension,  the  two  forms  differing  so  slightly 
that  both  are  not  likely  to  have  been  incorporated  by  a  single 
hand:  thus  Ps.  53  =  Ps.  14;  Ps.  7o  =  Ps.  4oi3-i7-  Ps.  108  =  Ps. 
^y7-ii  +  5o5-^2^  The  manner  in  which  the  Psalms  ascribed  to  the 
same  author  are  often  distributed,  viz.  in  independent  groups^ 
points  in  the  same  direction :  and  a  collector,  knowing  that  there 
were  still  18  Davidic  Psalms  to  follow,  would  scarcely  have 
closed  Book  II.  (7220)  with  the  words  "The  prayers  of  David, 
the  son  of  Jesse,  are  ended."  The  same  conclusion  follows  from 
the  remarkable  manner  in  which  the  use  of  the  Divine  names 
varies  in  the  different  parts  of  the  Psalter.  In  Book  I.  Jehovah 
occurs  272  times,  Elohim  (absolutely)  15  j  in  Book  W.Jehovah 
30  times,  Elohim  164;  in  Book  III.,  in  Ps.  ii-Z^i',  Jehovah  13 
times,  Elohim  36  times,  but  in  ^^■~?>(),  Jehovah  31  times,  Elohim 
7  ;  in  Book  IV.  Jehovah  only ;  in  Book  V.  Jehovah  only,  except 
in  Ps.  io8i-5-  7- 11- 13  [repeated  from  Ps.  57,  60]  and  144^.  The 
exceptional  preponderance  of  Elohim  over  Jehovah  in  Book  II. 
(Ps.  42-72),  and  in  Ps.  73-83,.  cannot  be  attributed  to  a  pre- 
ference of  the  authors  of  these  Psalms  for  the  former  name; 
for  not  only  is  [350]  such  a  supposition  improbable  in  itself,  but 
it  is  precluded  by  the  occurrence  of  the  same  two  Psalms,  in  the 
double  recension  just  spoken  of,  once  with.  Jehovah  (Ps.  14; 
^q13-i7j  and  once  with  Elohim  (Ps.  53 ;  70) :  it  must  be  due  to 

*  Del.  p.  26  f. :  the  Psalms  for  the  3rd  and  5th  days  were  82  and  81. 


372  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

the  fact  that  Book  II.  and  Ps.  7 1-83  have  passed  through  the 
hands  of  a  compiler,  who  changed  "Jehovah"  of  the  original 
authors  into  "  Elohim."  *  The  reason  of  this  change  probably 
is  that  at  the  time  when  this  compiler  lived  there  was  a  current 
preference  for  the  latter  name  (comp.  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
same  name  in  Ecclesiastes,  and  the  preference  shown  for  it  by 
the  Chronicler). 

It  appears  then  that  Ps.  42-83  formed  once  a  separate  collec- 
tion, arranged  by  a  special  compiler.  But  how  is  the  subscription 
72^0,  "the  prayers  of  David  are  ended,"  to  be  accounted  for, 
when  Ps.  42-49  are  ascribed  to  the  sons  of  Korah,  and  Ps.  50 
to  Asaph  ?  A  conjecture  of  Ewald's,  which  has  been  generally 
accepted  by  subsequent  critics,  explains  this  plausibly.  Ewald 
supposed  that  a  transposition  of  the  original  order  had  taken 
place,  and  that  Ps.  42-50  once  stood  after  the  Psalm  now 
numbered  72.  If  this  conjecture  be  accepted,  the  arrangement 
of  the  Psalms  becomes  at  once  intelligible.  Book  I.  (Ps.  1-41), 
consisting  almost  wholly  of  Psalms  ascribed  to  David,  was  the 
first  collection;  the  second  collection  (Ps.  51-83)  comprised, 
firstly,  Ps.  51-72,  consisting  all  but  entirely  of  Davidic  Psalms, 
with  the  subscription  72^0  (which  is  now  in  an  appropriate  place) ; 
secondly,  Ps.  42-49  a  group  of  Korahite  Psalms ;  and  thirdly, 
Ps.  50,  73-83  a  group  of  Asaph-Psalms  (which  now  stand  to- 
gether, instead  of  being  separated  by  Ps.  51-72);  Ps.  84-89, 
consisting  of  four  additional  Korahite  Psalms,  one  ascribed  to 
David  and  one  to  Ethan,  form  an  appendix  to  the  previous 
collection,  added  to  it  by  a  different  hand  (for  had  Ps.  84-89 
been  collected  by  the  same  hand,  the  Korahite  and  Davidic 
Psalms  contained  in  it  would  not,  probably,  have  been  separated 
from  Ps.  42-49  and  Ps.  51-72  respectively,  nor  -^ovXdi  Jehovah 
have  suddenly  begun  again  to  preponderate  over  Elohim).  The 
third  collection  consists  of  Ps.  90-150.  This  differs  from  the 
two  preceding  collections  in  containing  a  far  larger  proportion  of 
Psalms  of  a  liturgical  character,  or  Psalms  composed  with  a  view 
to  use  in  the  public  worship  of  the  Temple.  It  must  have  been 
[351]  formed  subsequently  to  the  collection  Ps.  42-83  ]  for  Ps. 
108  is  composed  of  two  Psalms  (57'^"-^^  60^"^^)  with  Elohim,  in 
spite  of  the  marked  preference  shown  elsewhere  in  Ps.  90-150 

*  Hence  the  expression  "God,  my  (thy)  God"  (for  "Jehovah,  my  (thy) 
God  ")  peculiar  to  these  Psalms :  Ps.  43*  45'^  50''. 


THE  PSALMS  373 

ior  Jehovah,  which  shows  that  they  must  have  been  derived  from 
a  collection  in  which  the  use  of  "Elohim"  was  characteristic. 
Though  no  principle  of  arrangement  is  observed  consistently 
throughout,  this  third  collection  seems  in  several  parts  to  be 
based  upon  shorter,  independent  collections :  thus  Ps.  92-100 
form  a  group,  the  Psalms  in  which,  though  assigned  to  no  par- 
ticular author,  show  much  similarity  in  both  subject-matter  and 
expression;  Ps.  111-118  (containing  the  Hallel-Fsalms) ;  Ps. 
120-134  (the  15  "Songs  of  Ascents");  Ps.  135,  136;  146-150; 
and  the  two  groups  of  Psalms  ascribed  to  David,  Ps.  108-110; 
Ps.  138-145, — form  respectively  collections  marked  either  by 
similarity  of  contents  or  by  community  of  title.  The  natural 
division  of  the  Psalter  appears  thus  to  be  into  three  parts,  Ps. 
1-41,  Ps.  42-89,  Ps.  90-150:  the  division  into  five  parts  is 
generally  supposed  to  have  been  accomplished  later,  in  imitation 
of  the  Pentateuch,  Ps.  42-89  being  broken  into  two  at  Ps.  72, 
the  subscription  to  which  would  form  a  natural  point  of  division, 
and  Ps.  90-150  being  divided  at  Ps.  106,  where  v.*^  was  adapted 
by  its  contents  to  mark  also  the  conclusion  of  a  Book. 

The  order  of  the  individual  Psalms  appears  often  to  have  been  determined 
by  accidental  causes :  sometimes,  however,  the  juxtaposition  of  two  Psalms 
seems  to  be  due  to  community  of  subject  {e.g.  Ps.  20,  21,  both  royal  Psalms  ; 
105  and  106,  both  historical  Psalms),  and  sometimes  also  to  the  occurrence  in 
them  of  some  more  or  less  noticeable  expression  {e.g.  i^^  and  2P^  ;  3''  and  4^ ; 
16^^  and  \f^\  32"  and  33^;  34'^  and  35^-^  [the  only  places  in  the  Psalms 
where  "the  angel  of  J."  is  mentioned]  &c.).  Delitzsch  would  extend  this 
principle  of  juxtaposition  to  the  entire  Psalter;  but  the  expressions  to  which 
he  points  are  often  so  insignificant  {e.g.  'D  in  14'  and  15^)  that  it  is  not  likely 
that  a  collector  would  have  been  guided  by  them. 

Authorship  of  the  Psalms.  Were  the  titles — in  the  case  of 
such  Psalms  as  are  provided  with  them — added  by  the  authors 
themselves,  or  do  they  at  least  record  authentic  traditions  re- 
specting the  authorship,  or  not  ?  So  far  as  regards  the  musical 
and  liturgical  notices,  there  is  a  decided  presumption  that  their 
origin  dates  from  the  period  when  these  subjects  first  become 
prominent  in  the  OT.,  viz.  the  period  of  the  second  Temple :  * 

*  The  principal  terms  used  occur  elsewhere  only  in  Isa.  38^°,  Hab.  3,  and 
I  Ch.  is"-2i;  comp.  i64"-,  2  Ch.  5^2^  76  &c.).  The  verb  vm  (whence  nvjo 
"precentor" — only  in  the  titles  to  Psalms,  and  Hab.  3^^ — is  derived)  is  used 
otherwise  only  by  the  Chronicler  (see  the  list  of  phrases  at  the  endofCh., 
No.  21).     It  is  remarkable,  if  the  %ord  had  been  in  use  earlier,  that  it  should 


374  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

they  were  [352]  added  probably  when  the  Psalms  came  generally 
into  liturgical  use.  And  the  strongest  reasons  exist  for  supposing 
that  the  historical  notices  are  of  late  origin  likewise,  and  though 
they  may  embody  trustworthy  information  respecting  the  source 
or  collection  whence  the  Psalms  were  derived  by  one  of  the 
compilers  of  the  Book,  that  they  contain  no  authentic  tradition 
respecting  the  authorship  of  the  Psalms,  or  the  occasions  on 
which  they  were  composed.  The  grounds  for  this  conclusion 
are  briefly  as  follows  : — 

1.  The  titles  are  suspicious,  from  the  circumstance  that 
almost  the  only  names  of  authors  mentioned  are  David,  and  two 
or  three  prominent  singers  of  David's  age :  except  in  the  case  of 
those  attributed  to  the  "  Sons  of  Korah,"  no  author  is  named  of 
a  date  later  than  that  of  Solomon.  But  (amongst  the  anonymous 
Psalms)  many,  by  common  consent,  are  much  later  than  the  age 
of  David  and  Solomon ;  how  comes  it  that  their  authors'  names 
are  not  recorded?  If  the  names  of  earlier  Psalmists  were 
known,  a  fortiori^  it  would  seem,  those  of  later  Psalmists  would 
be  preserved  by  tradition. 

2.  The  titles  are  strongly  discredited  by  internal  evidence; 
again  and  again  the  title  is  contradicted  by  the  contents  of  the 
Psalm  to  which  it  is  prefixed.  Thus  of  the  73  ascribed  to 
David,  the  majority,  at  least,  cannot  be  his ;  for  {a)  many  are  of 
unequal  poetical  merit,  and  instead  of  displaying  the  freshness  and 
originality  which  we  should  expect  in  the  founder  of  Hebrew 
Psalmody,  contain  frequent  conventional  phrases  {e.g.  Ps.  6,  31, 
35,  40^3^-),  and  reminiscences  of  earlier  Psalms,"^  which  betray 
the  poet  of  a  later  age.  {b)  Some  have  pronounced  Aramaisms, 
the  occurrence  of  which  in  an  early  poem  of  Judah  is  entirely 
without  analogy,  or  other  marks  of  lateness,  f     {c)  Others  have 

not  have  occurred,  at  least  in  its  more  general  sense,  in  pre-exilic  writings ; 
but  in  2  Ch.  22i>-  isb  [- jjg^^  ib.  mj  j^  jg  substituted  for  the  older  word  mn  used  in 
I  Ki.  5i«  [Heb.30].  See  more  fully  the  writer's  note  in  Prof.  Sanday's  Oracles 
of  Gody  ed.  2,  p.  146  ff. 

*  Ps.  86  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  such  reminiscences ;  see  W.  R. 
Smith,  OTJC.  pp.  413-415  (ed.  2,  pp.  435-437).     Similarly  144^'". 

t  '3-  in  the  suff.  of  2  ps.  fem.  1033-  4-  5  (^s  in  1 16'^-  ^'-'  ^^  135'') ;  109^  the//^n 
□'oyo  (only  Eccl.  5^  besides) ;  122^' '^■12^^''^'^  133"*^  144^^  -^  (for  nt^N,  as  in 
1232  129C.7  1352.8.10  13523  1378.9  1463.6^  and  other  late  writings);  1392  yn 
thought,  v.^  i/an  lying  down,  v.^  pho,  v.^^  "^op  (all  Aram.) ;  I44'^- 1°-  "|  nxs  to 
deliver  (Aram.),  v."  p  (2  Ch.  I6l^  and  Aram.),  145"  f]pi  (Aram.). 


THE  PSALMS  375 

Stylistic  affinities  with  Psalms  which,  upon  independent  grounds, 
must  be  assigned  to  an  age  much  later  than  that  of  David : 
though  the  alphabetical  arrangement  (Ps.  9-10,  25,  34,  37,  145), 
[353]  for  instance,  cannot  be  proved  to  have  been  unused  as  early 
as  David's  day,  the  known  examples  of  it  are  much  later  (Lam. 
1-4,  Pr.  31^^'^^);  and  at  least  Ps.  25,  34,  37,  145  are  shown  by 
their  general  tone  and  style  to  belong  to  the  later  products  of 
Hebrew  poetry,  {d)  Many  are  unadapted  to  David's  situation 
or  character. 

Thus  some  imply  the  existence  of  the  Temple  (Ps.  5'''*  27^  28^ 
[see  I  Ki.  6^]  65*  68^9  138^  ■^) ;  and  it  is  at  least  open  to  question 
whether  the  expression  God's  "holy  hill,"  applied  to  Zion  (3* 
15I;  of.  24^  26^  27^^-),  would  have  come  into  use  until  the 
sanctuary  had  been  established  upon  it  for  a  considerable  time. 
Others  again,  when  we  proceed  to  reconstruct,  from  the  allusions 
contained  in  the  Psalm,  the  situation  in  which  it  was  composed, 
are  found  to  imply  that  the  Psalmist  is  living  in  an  evil  time, 
when  the  wicked  are  established  in  the  land,  and  the  godly  are 
oppressed,  and  suffer  in  silence  from  their  tyranny  and  pride 
(Ps.  9-10,  1 2,1  i4,t  35,  38,  &c.), — a  condition  of  things  entirely 
out  of  harmony  with  the  picture  presented  to  us  of  any  period  of 
David's  life  in  1-2  Samuel.  Often  also  the  terms  used  do  not 
suit  the  circumstances  of  David's  life :  let  the  reader  examine 
carefully,  for  example,  the  following  passages,  and  ask  himself 
whether  they  correspond  really  to  David's  situation;  whether 
they  are  not,  in  fact,  the  words  of  a  man  (or  of  men)  in  a 
different  condition  of  life,  surrounded  by  different  companions, 
subject  to  different  temptations,  and  suffering  at  the  hands  of  a 
different  kind  of  foe:  Ps.  58-10  G^-  12I-4  179-1*  22iiff-  269^-  2710 
("  For  my  father  and  my  mother  have  forsaken  me ")  12  28^-^ 
25II-21  38I1-14  4i5-9  623f.  9f.  642-6. 

To  take  some  further  illustrations  :  Ps.  1 1  is  referred,  by  those  who  defend 
the  title,  to  the  occasion  of  Absalom's  rebellion  ;  but  the  situation  which  it 
implies  is  really  very  different :  it  implies  a  state  of  social  disorder  (v.^),  in 
which  the  wicked  shoot  **  in  the  darkness  "  (v.^)  at  the  upright ;  the  Psalmist 

*  It  is  exceedingly  doubtful  whether,  as  Keil  and  others  contend,  the 
term  '?3'n  {palace,  Isa.  39'  ;  temple,  i  Ki.  6^-  ^-  ^'^,  and  often)  found  in  these 
passages  could  be  used  of  the  "  tent "  spread  by  David  for  the  ark  (2  Sa. 
72-  6).     The  '?3\n  at  Shiloh  had  folding-doors  and  door-posts  (i  Sa.  i^  3^^). 

+  Implying  an  almost  national  defection.  With  12^  comp.  Jer.  5^  9^-*, 
Mic.  7^,  Isa.  57^  • 


376  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

is  exhorted  by  his  desponding  companions  to  take  refuge  in  flight  [354]  (v.^) ; 
instead  of  complying,  he  asserts  his  unabated  confidence  in  God's  justice 
(v.*"').  Ps.  20  and  21  contain  good  wishes  for  a  king,  who  is  either  addressed 
in  the  2nd  pers. ,  or  spoken  of  in  the  3rd :  both  evidently  spring  out  of  the 
regard  which  was  entertained  towards  him  by  his  subjects  ;  to  suppose  that 
David  wrote  for  the  people  the  words  in  which  they  should  express  their  own 
loyalty  towards  him,  is  in  the  highest  degree  unnatural  and  improbable.  A 
similar  remark  may  be  made  with  reference  to  Ps.  61  (see  v.«'-).  Ps.  55  is 
generally  explained  as  referring  (cf.  v.^^-iSj  jq  David's  treacherous  counsellor 
Ahithophel;  but  the  situation  is  again  very  unlike  that  of  David  during 
Absalom's  rebellion  ;  the  Psalmist  lives  among  foes  in  a  city,  whose  walls 
they  occupy  with  their  patrols  :  from  the  violence  which  they  exercise  within 
it  he  would  gladly  escape  to  the  desert  (v.^^""  ;  v.*^^-) ;  one  who  had  been  his 
associate  had  treacherously  abandoned  him,  for  which  he  is  bitterly  reproached 
by  the  poet.  The  situation  in  its  principal  features  recalls  rather  that  in 
which  Jeremiah  found  himself  (Jer.  6^^'  g"^'^  11I8-21  20^0),  or  the  author  of 
Mic.  7'.  Ps.  58  is  a  denunciation  of  unjust  jtidges  \  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  addressed,  however,  is  not  that  of  a  king,  who  could  remove  them  if 
he  chose,  but  of  one  who  was  powerless  to  take  action  himself,  though  he 
desired  (and  expected)  retribution  to  fall  upon  them  from  heaven.  In  Ps.  69, 
86,  109,  the  singer  is  in  great  affliction  and  trouble  ;  his  nearest  relations  and 
friends  have  forsaken  him  (69^) ;  he  is  "  poor  and  needy  "  (86^  10922),  and 
is  cruelly  reproached  (69'-^  [for  his  religion]  ^^^'  log^-^-  22-25)^ — \.x2d{.s  which  are 
all  inapplicable  to  David,  and  most  insufficiently  explained  from  2  Sa.  i6^^-. 

The  titles  which  assign  Psalms  to  particular  occasions  of  David's  life  are 
not  more  probable  than  the  others.  Ps.  35  is  referred  to  the  time  when 
David  feigned  madness  at  the  court  of  Achish  (i  Sa.  21^^);  but  there  is  not 
a  single  expression  in  the  Psalm  suggestive  of  that  occasion  ;  the  Psalm 
consists  of  religious  reflexions  and  moral  exhortations — much  in  the  manner 
of  Ps.  37 — of  a  perfectly  general  kind,  and  expressed  in  the  hortatory  style 
of  the  later  gnomic  poetry  (v.^^ ;  comp.  Pr.  4^  5'^  "j-^  8^-),  entirely  out  of 
relation  with  the  situation  supposed.  Ps.  52  is  stated  to  refer  to  Doeg.  In 
point  of  fact  it  speaks  of  some  rich  and  powerful  man,  a  persecutor  of  the 
righteous,  in  whose  fall  will  be  seen  exemplified  the  Nemesis  which  over- 
takes the  abuse  of  riches  (v.'),  while  the  Psalmist  will  flourish  "like  a 
spreading  olive  tree  in  the  house  of  God."  Is  this  consistent  either  with  the 
picture  of  Doeg  drawn  in  i  Sa.  21'  22^*'^-,  or  with  David's  situation  at  the 
time? 

The  occasions  to  which  Ps.  56,  57  are  referred  are  not  less  improbable. 
Ps.  59  is  stated  to  have  been  composed  by  David  when  his  house  was  watched 
by  Saul's  messengers  (i  Sa.  19II)  ;  but  the  Psalm  shows  plainly  that  the 
poet  who  wrote  it  is  resident  in  a  city  attacked  by  heathen  or  ungodly  foes, 
whom  he  prays  God  to  cast  down,  that  His  power  may  be  manifest  to  the 
eiids  of  the  earth  (v.^-s.  ii-i3  .  notice  esp.  the  ''  nations'')— hQ,\h  inconsistent 
with  the  feelings  which  David  entertained  towards  Saul  (i  Sa.  24^  &c.),  and 
implying  relations  with  the  "nations"  which  did  not  then  exist.  The  titles 
in  all  these  cases  are  palpably  incongruous,  and  appear  sometimes  to  have 
been  merely  suggested  to  the  compiler   by  a  superficial  view  of  particular 


THE  PSALMS  377 

expressions  {e.g.  52^  supposed  to  point  to  Doeg ;  [355J  54'  to  the  Ziphites ; 
56'-^  to  the  Phihstines  ;  57^  to  Saul ;  59^  to  Saul's  messengers  :  so  63^^  to  the 
wilderness  of  Judah).  But  the  situation  and  circumstances  implied  by  the 
Psalm,  as  a  whole,  are  in  each  instance  different  from  those  of  David.  As 
W.  R.  Smith  {OTJC.^  p.  216)  has  well  said,  the  titles,  it  is  manifest,  spring 
from  an  age  "  to  which  David  was  merely  the  abstract  Psalmist,  and  which 
had  no  idea  whatever  of  the  historical  conditions  of  his  time. " 

(^)  Not  unfrequently  also  the  Psalms  ascribed  to  David 
presuppose  the  circumstances  or  character  of  a  later  age.  Ps. 
^jisf.  6Q35f.  imply  an  approaching  restoration  of  Jerusalem  and 
Judah  :  "^  Ps.  68*  ("  make  a  highway  for  him  that  rideth  through 
the  deserts  ")  points  to  the  same  historical  situation  as  Isa.  40^ : 
Ps.  2  227-30  6^2  5831  359  presupposc  the  prophetic  teaching  (Isa. 
2^'^  &c.)  of  the  acceptance  of  Israel's  religion  by  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  Many  also  of  the  same  Psalms,  it  is  difficult  not  to 
feel,  express  an  intensity  of  religious  devotion,  a  depth  of 
spiritual  insight,  and  a  maturity  of  theological  reflexion,  beyond 
what  we  should  expect  from  David  or  David's  age.  David  had 
many  high  and  honourable  qualities :  he  was  loyal,  generous, 
disinterested,  amiable,  a  faithful  friend,  a  just  and  benevolent 
ruler ;  and  the  narrative  in  the  Books  of  Samuel  shows  that  his 
religion  elevated  and  ennobled  his  aims,  and,  except  on  the 
occasion  of  his  great  fall,  exerted  a  visible  influence  upon  the 
tenor  of  his  life.f  Still,  as  we  should  not  gather  from  the 
history  that  he  was  exposed  to  a  succession  of  trials  and  afflic- 
tions of  iJie  kind  represented  in  the  Psalms  ascribed  to  him,  so  we 
should  not  gather  from  it  that  he  was  a  man  of  the  deep  and 
intense  spiritual  feeling  reflected  in  the  Psalms  that  bear  his 
name.  Every  indication  converges  to  the  same  conclusion,  viz. 
that  the  "  Davidic "  Psalms  spring,  in  fact,  from  many  different 
periods  of  Israelitish  history,  from  the  time  of  David  himself 
downwards ;  and  that  in  the  varied  moods  which  they  reflect — 
despondency,  trouble,  searchings  of  heart,  penitence,  hope,  con- 
fidence, thankfulness,  exultation ;  or  the  various  situations  which 
they  shadow  forth — distress,  sickness,  oppression  or  persecution, 
deliverance, — they  set  before  us  the  experiences  of  many  men, 
and  of  many  ages  of  the  national  life. 

*  Notice  also  the  "  prisoners  "  of  69^,  and  comp.  102^^-  ^-  ^. 

t  Contrast  the  Assyrian  kings  (Farrar,  Minor  Proph.  p,  147  f.)  ;  and  see 
W.  R.  Smith  in  \h&  Encycl  Bri^"^  s.v.  "David,"  p.  841.  (On  2  Sa.  \7^\ 
comp.  RV.  viarg,,  and  the  writer's  note  ad  loc.) 


37S  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

The  majority  of  the  "  Davidic  "  Psalms  are  thus  certainly  not 
David's:  is  it  possible  to  determine  whether  any  are  his?  It 
[356]  being  apparent,  in  many  instances,  that  the  titles  are 
untrustworthy,  it  becomes  a  question  whether  they  are  more 
trustworthy  in  the  instances  which  remain,  whether,  in  fact,  they 
record  in  any  case  a  genuine  tradition,  or  do  more  than  repro- 
duce an  opinion  which  existed  when  they  were  framed,  without 
supplying  any  guarantee  that  the  opinion  itself  was  well  founded. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  close  connexion  of  David  with 
psalmody  is  first  set  before  us  in  the  Chronicles.  All  that  we 
learn  from  the  pre-exilic  literature  respecting  David's  musical 
and  poetical  talents  is  that  he  was  a  skilful  player  on  the  harp 
(i  Sa.  16^8  &c.),  and  probably  on  other  instruments  as  well 
(Am.  6^) ;  that  he  composed  a  beautiful  elegy  on  Saul  and 
Jonathan  (2  Sa.  i^^^-),  and  a  shorter  one  on  Abner  {ib.  3^^^-) ; 
that  he  "  danced  and  leapt "  before  the  ark,  when  it  was  brought 
up  into  Zion  {ib.  6^^-  ^^  *) ;  and  that  in  the  appendix  to  2  Sam. 
(p.  183)  two  sacred  poems  (c.  22,  2^^-'^)  are  attributed  to  him. 
The  poem  2  Sa.  i^^^-,  however,  it  is  somewhat  remarkable, 
possesses  no  religious  character,  but  is  the  expression  of  a  purely 
human  emotion :  and  in  Am.  6^  David  is  alluded  to,  not  as  an 
author  of  sacred  poetry,  but  as  the  inventor  of  musical  instru- 
ments such  as  were  used  by  the  luxurious  nobles  of  Samaria  at 
their  banquets.  The  Chronicler,  on  the  other  hand,  views  David 
as  the  founder  of  Temple  psalmody  (i  Ch.  23^  25^-'^,  2  Ch.  7^ 
2q26.  27.  so  2515^  Ezr.  3!*^,  Neh.  12^*5),  and  while  excerpting  from 
2  Sa.  6  the  narrative  of  the  transference  of  the  ark  to  Zion,  takes 
occasion  to  place  in  the  king's  mouth  a  Psalm  (i  Ch.  i6''-2^), 
which,  remarkably  enough,  so  far  from  being  an  original  work,  is 
composed  of  parts  of  three  exilic,  or  post-exilic,  Psalms,  pre- 
served still  in  the  Psalter  (Ps.  105I-15  961-13*  1051.47. 48)  t  That 
David,  skilled  as  he  was  in  music,  and  zealous  in  his  devotion 
to  Jehovah,  should  have  made  arrangements  for  some  musical 
services  in  connexion  with  the  ark,  is  far  from  improbable; 
though  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  in  the  account  which  the 
Chronicler  has  given  of  them,  he  has  transferred  to  David's  age 
the  institutions  of  the  Temple  in  the  fully  developed  form   in 

*  v.**  he  is  mentioned  also,  in  conjunction  with  the  **  house  of  Israel " 
generally,  as  playing  and  singing  (see  QPB.^ -,  i  Ch.  13^)  on  the  same 
occasion. 


THE  PSALMS  379 

which  they  existed  in  his  own  day."*  But  most  of  the  [357] 
Psalms  ascribed  to  David  are  not  of  a  Uturgical  character,  or 
adapted  (at  least  in  the  first  instance)  for  public  worship ;  they 
reflect  the  personal  experiences  and  emotions  of  the  singer. 
Hence  David's  presumed  connexion  with  the  services  of  the 
sanctuary  would  not  account  for  his  authorship  of  more  than  a 
very  few  of  the  Psalms  ascribed  to  him  by  their  titles. 

We  are  thus  thrown  back  upon  internal  grounds  for  the  pur- 
pose of  determining  the  Psalms  which  may  be  David's.  Ewald, 
upon  cBstheiic  grounds,  referred  to  David  Ps.  3,  4,  7,  8,  11,  15, 
18,  19^'^  24^'^  24''"^®  29,  32,  loij  and  the  following  fragments, 
embedded  in  later  Psalms :  Ps.  6o6-9  [Heb.  s-"]  68i3-i8  [Heb. 
14-^9]  1 44^2-14 .  these,  he  argues,  display  an  originality,  dignity, 
and  unique  power  which  could  have  been  found  in  David,  and 
in  David  alone.  In  particular,  Ewald  points  to  the  noble  and 
kingly  feelings  which  find  expression  in  these  Psalms, — the  sense 
of  inward  dignity  (1"i3D),  Ps.  3^  42  f  iS^^-^s^  2  Sa.  23I,  the 
innocence  and  Divine  favour  of  which  the  singer  is  conscious, 
48  1820-30  (of.  2  Sa.  621),  the  kingly  thoughts  of  1 843-45  loji-s,  the 
trust  in  God,  the  clear  and  firm  sense  of  right,  and  the  indica- 
tions of  a  brave  and  victorious  warrior,  who  had  near  at  heart  his 
people's  welfare,  contained  in  such  passages  as  '^-'^  1 83^-42  248 
29I1,  2  Sa.  236-^.t 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Psalms  upon  which  Ewald's 
critical  tact  has  thus  fastened  are  marked  by  a  freshness  and 
poetic  force  and  feeling,  and  a  certain  brightness  of  language 
and  expression,  which  distinguish  them  from  most  of  the  others 
attributed  to  David ;  and  if  Davidic  Psalms  are  preserved  in  the 

*  If  the  Temple  psalmody  was  organised  in  the  age  of  David  and 
Solomon  as  the  Chronicler  represents,  the  absence  of  all  allusion  to  it  in 
the  descriptions  of  sacred  ceremonies  in  Sa.  Kings  is  very  singular.  2  Sa. 
6",  I  Ki.  i^**  speak  of  ihe  people  singing,  but  not  of  the  authorized  **  singers  " 
(omwD),  so  frequently  mentioned  in  Ezr.  Neh.  Chr.  i  Ki.  8  makes  no 
mention  of  either  singing  or  music  (though  the  Chronicler,  in  his  account  of 
the  same  ceremony,  excerpted  by  him  from  Kings,  has  inserted  two  notices 
respecting  both,  viz.  2  Ch.  5iib-i3a  ^nd  7^)  :  the  allusion  in  i  Ki.  lo^^  (q^-hj?^ 
cf.  2  Sa.  19^^  Heb.,  not  the  technical  omiE'D)  is  ambiguous.  On  the  other 
hand,  that  there  was  some  organization  for  music  and  song  in  the  pre-exilic 
Temple  may  be  justly  inferred  from  Neh.  ^'^  (=Ezr.  2^^),  where  in  the  con- 
temporary register  of  those  who  returned  from  Babylon  in  B.C.  536  are 
included  148  (128)  '*  sons  of  Asaph,  singers.''^ 

t  The  peculiarities  of  expreAion,  cited  by  Ewald,  are  of  slight  weight. 


380  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Psalter,  we  may  say  safely  that  they  are  to  be  found  among 
[358]  those  which  Ewald  has  selected.  At  the  same  time,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  aesthetic  criterion  upon  which  Ewald  relies 
is  a  subjective  one :  we  have  no  standard  outside  the  Psalter  by 
which  to  determine  David's  poetical  style  except  2  Sa.  i^^-^", 
^ssf.^  and  (assuming  the  author  of  the  appendix  2  Sa.  21-24  to 
have  been  well  informed*)  2  Sa.  22  (  =  Ps.  18),  and  23^-'';  nor 
(in  our  ignorance  of  what  other  poets  might  have  achieved)  are 
we  entitled  to  declare  that  certain  Psalms  could  have  been 
composed  by  no  one  but  David  himself.  It  is  doubtful  also 
whether  some  of  the  Psalms  in  IJwald's  list  do  not  contain 
expressions,  or  imply  a  situation,  not  consistent  with  David's  age. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  Deborah,  long  before  David's  time,  had 
"  sung  unto  Jehovah  "  (Jud.  5^),  there  can  be  no  h  priori  reason 
why  David  should  not  have  done  the  same ;  and  2  Sa.  23^  the 
expression  "  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel "  implies  that  David  was 
the  author  of  religious  songs,  f  On  the  whole,  a  non  liquet  must 
be  our  verdict :  it  is  possible  that  Ewald's  list  of  Davidic  Psalms 
is  too  large,  but  it  is  not  clear  that  none  of  the  Psalms  con- 
tained in  it  are  of  David's  composition.  The  question,  however, 
whether  any  of  the  Psalms  are  David's  possesses  in  reality  little 
but  an  antiquarian  interest :  David,  it  is  certain,  left  his  impress 
upon  the  religion  of  Israel  not,  like  the  prophets,  directly,  but 
indirectly^  by  establishing  the  monarchy  upon  a  permanent  basis, 
and  laying  the  foundations  for  a  national  religious  centre. 

The  titles  assigning  Psalms  to  other  authors  are  often  not  more  trust- 
worthy than  those  assigning  Psalms  to  David.  Ps.  90  in  dignity  and  deep 
religious  feeling  is  second  to  none  in  the  Psalter :  but  it  may  be  questioned 
whether  it  does  not  presuppose  conditions  different  from  those  of  Moses'  age  ; 
and  had  Moses  been  the  author,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  it  would  have 
been  more  archaic  in  style  than  it  actually  is.  The  Psalms  assigned  to  Asaph, 
Heman,  Ethan,  and  Solomon  show,  almost  without  exception,  marks  of  a 
far  later  age  than  that  of  David  and  his  successor  :  Ps.  74  and  79  are  late  in 
tone,  and  allude  to  the  desolation  of  the  sanctuary  and  of  the  city  in  terms 
certainly  inapplicable  to  the  plundering  of  Shishak  (i  Ki.  I4^^'')>  to  which 
they  have  strangely  been  supposed  to  refer :    Ps.    'jd  might  be  plausibly 

*  The  generality  of  2  Sa.  22^  detracts  considerably  from  its  value  :  there 
was  no  "day"  on  which  Jehovah  delivered  David  "out  of  the  hand  oi all 
his  enemiesy  and  o\xt  of  the  hand  oiSaul."    Contrast  2  Sa.  i". 

t  nn'Di,  properly  "  songs  of  praise " ;  see  Isa.  24^^,  Job  -^s^^,  Ps.  95^ ; 
and  conip.  the  verb  in  Jud.  5^  Isa.  12^  &c.,  and  nnpi  in  Ex.  15^  (  =  Isa.  la^rr 
Ps.  118"). 


THE  PSALMS  38 1 

referred  to  the  destruction  of  Sennacherib's  army  B.C.  701  ;  the  style  and 
manner  of  Ps.  72,  78  indicate  that  they  are  not  early  ones :  *  Ps.  89  is  clearly 
not  earlier  than  the  fall  of  the  monarchy. 

[359]  The  origin  of  the  titles  must  remain  matter  of  speculation. 
It  is  even  possible  that  the  sense  in  which  the  titles  are  now 
understood  is  not  their  primary  meaning,  but  may  be  due  to  a 
misapprehension.  The  Psalms  ascribed  to  the  sons  of  Korah 
were  derived,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  from  a  collection  of 
Psalms  in  the  possession  of  the  Levitical  family,  or  guild,  of  that 
name,  in  the  time  of  the  Second  Temple.  Those  ascribed  to 
Asaph,  Heman,  and  Ethan  may  have  a  similar  origin :  they  may 
be  taken  from  collections  not  necessarily  composed  by  these  three 
singers  respectively,  but  in  the  possession  of  families  or  guilds 
claiming  descent  from  them :  the  title  PlDfc^ij,  for  instance,  pre- 
fixed by  a  compiler  to  the  Psalms  extracted  from  one  of  these 
collections,  as  an  indication  of  the  source  whence  it  was  taken, 
and  meant  by  him  to  signify  belonging  to  Asaph,  would  be 
ambiguous,  and  would  readily  lend  itself  to  be  understood  in  the 
sense  of  written  by  Asaph.  The  explanation  of  in?  may  be 
similar.  It  is  far  from  impossible  that  there  may  have  been  a 
collection  known  as  "David's,"  the  beginnings  of  which  may 
date  from  early  pre-exilic  times,  but  which  afterwards  was 
augmented  by  the  addition  of  Psalms  composed  subsequently : 
either  the  collection  itself  came  ultimately  to  be  regarded  as 
Davidic,  or  a  compiler  excerpting  from  it  prefixed  Tilp  as  an 
indication  of  the  source  whence  a  Psalm  was  taken,  which  was 
afterwards  misunderstood  as  denoting  its  author :  in  either  case 
the  incorrect  attribution  of  Psalms  to  David  upon  a  large  scale 
becomes  intelligible.  In  some  instances,  also  (Ps.  51,  52,  &c.), 
attempts  were  even  made  to  fix  the  occasion  of  his  life  to  which 
a  Psalm  belonged.  Of  course,  in  particular  cases  the  title  in^ 
may  be  due  to  independent  tradition,  or  to  conjectures  of  readers 
or  compilers.  The  musical  and  liturgical  notices  combine  with 
other  indications  to  show  that  the  titles  were  only  finally  fixed 
when  the  Psalter  came  into  general  use  in  the  Temple  services 
during  the  period  that  began  with  the  return  from  Babylon. 

*  Ps.  72  is  probably  ascribed  to  Solomon  on  account  of  the  general  resem- 
blance of  the  picture  of  imperial  sway  which  the  Ps.  presents  with  that  of 
Solomon's  empire  in  i  ICi.  3-10 ;  Ps.  127  on  account  of  a  supposed  allusion 
in  V.2  ("his  beloved''  nn^  to  2  Sa.  la^s  {7^^^^>), 


382  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Is  it  possible,  upon  independent  grounds,  to  fix  the  dates  01 
occasions  of  any  of  the  Psalms?  The  full  discussion  of  this 
subject  would  occupy  more  space  than  can  here  be  given  to  it : 
a  brief  notice  of  its  more  general  aspects  must  therefore  suffice. 
As  a  rule,  the  dates  of  the  Psalms  cannot  be  fixed  otherwise 
than  approximately.  The  only  criteria  which  we  possess  are  (i) 
the  historical  allusions ;  (2)  the  style ;  (3)  the  relation  to  other 
[360]  writers  whose  dates  are  known  j  (4)  the  character  of  the 
religious  ideas  expressed. 

(i.)  The  historical  allusions  are  seldom  definite  enough  to  do 
more  than  fix  the  general  period — within  tolerably  wide  limits — to 
which  a  Psalm  belongs :  for  instance,  some  Psalms  allude  to  the 
king  in  terms  which  imply  that  the  monarchy  is  still  in  existence, 
and  are  therefore  presumably  pre-exilic ;  *  others  appear  to  con- 
tain allusions  to  the  condition  of  the  people  during  the  Exile ; 
others  again  imply  that  the  Exile  is  past,  though  to  what  part  of 
the  post-exilic  period  such  Psalms  are  to  be  referred,  the  allusions 
contained  in  them  often  do  not  declare.  The  historical  allusions, 
which  seem  to  be  more  precise,  are  often  not  conclusive.  Thus 
Ps.  46,  76  have  been  referred  plausibly  to  the  period  of  the 
overthrow  of  Sennacherib's  army  in  B.C.  701 ;  but  the  language 
used  in  these  Psalms,  though  it  is  not  unfavourable  to  such  a 
reference,  can  hardly  be  said  to  require  it.  In  Ps.  74,  79  it  is 
disputed  whether  the  desolation  alluded  to  is  that  effected  by  the 
Chaldaeans  in  586,  or  that  wrought  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes  in 
B.C.  169-168.  Nor  is  it  by  any  means  certain  what  the  national 
disasters  or  dangers  alluded  to  in  Ps.  60,  83  are.  Ps.  118  has 
been  referred  to  the  occasions  described  in  Ezr.  3^"*  (Ewald); 
3iof-  (Hengstenberg) ;  6i6ff.  (Delitzsch);  Neh.  8I6-18  (Perowne); 
I  Mace.  4^--^^  B.C.  165  (Cheyne). 

To  determine  the  author  is  impossible;  for  the  necessary 
standards  of  comparison  fail  us.  The  only  author,  known  to  us 
by  name,  with  whose  writings  some  of  the  Psalms  display  marked 
similarities,  is  Jeremiah  (Ps.  31,  35,  69;  comp.  also  Ps.  79^ 
Jer.  io25) :  but  when  we  bear  in  mind  how  apt  Hebrew  writers 
are  to  borrow  expressions  from  their  predecessors,  we  cannot  feel 
the  requisite  assurance  that  these  similarities  are  due  to  identity 
of  authorship;  a  later  writer  may  have  cast  his  thoughts  into 

*  Unless,  indeed  (as  some  suppose),  they  can  in  some  cases  be  referred  to 
the  revival  of  the  monarchy  under  the  Maccabees  (i  Mace.  14^^"^  &c.). 


THE  PSALMS  383 

phraseology  suggested  by  his  acquaintance  with  the  prophecies  of 
Jeremiah.*  Ps.  46  is  worthy  of  Isaiah ;  but  this  is  not  sufficient 
to  prove  that  he  was  its  author.  (The  Davidic  Psalms  have  been 
considered  above.) 

(2.)  As  regards  the  criterion  of  style,  the  judgment  of  Hupfeld, 
endorsed  by  his  editor,  Nowack,  is  sound  (i.  p.  xlii) :  "  From 
[361]  the  linguistic  and  poetical  character  of  the  Psalms,  it  is  not 
possible  to  do  more  than  distinguish  in  general  older  Psalms 
from  later,  or  those  that  are  original  from  those  that  show  marks 
of  imitation  :  .  .  .  such  as  are  hard,  bold,  original,  are,  as  a  rule, 
the  older;  those  of  which  the  style  is  easy  and  flowing,  and 
which  are  marked  by  the  presence  of  conventional  thoughts  and 
expressions,  are  later.  For  older  poets  had  to  strike  out  their 
own  paths,  and  thus  appear  often  contending  with  language  and 
thought :  later  poets,  on  the  contrary,  moved,  as  it  were,  upon 
accustomed  tracks,  and  frequently  found  thoughts,  figures,  and 
language  ready  for  their  use ;  hence  their  compositions  generally 
contain  many  reminiscences  and  standing  phrases,  and  may  even 
sometimes  almost  entirely  consist  of  them.  Such  reminiscences 
and  conventional  phrases  are  most  frequent  in  the  Psalms  of 
complaint,  the  alphabetical  Psalms,  and  the  doxological  or 
liturgical  Psalms.  Aramaisms  and  non-classical  idioms  are  like- 
wise marks  of  a  late  age.  But  we  cannot  with  equal  confidence, 
from  the  poetical  power  or  purity  of  diction  which  a  Psalm  may 
display,  infer  conversely  that  it  is  ancient,  since  Psalms  that  are 
unquestionably  late  have  in  these  respects  not  unfrequently 
equalled  the  more  ancient  models."  f 

(3.)  This  criterion  seldom  carries  us  very  far.  In  the  case  of 
two  similar  passages,  the  difficulty  of  determining  which  is  the 
one  that  is  dependent  on  the  other,  when  we  have  no  other  clue 
to  guide  us,  is  practically  insuperable  (comp.  p.  312  f.).  Ps.  93, 
96-100  appear  to  presuppose  Isa.  40-66  ;  and  from  the  use  made 
of  Ps.  96,  105,  106,  130,  132  in  I  Ch.  168-36,  2  Ch.  640- 41-42^  they 
seem  clearly  to  be  earlier  than  the  age  of  the  Chronicler  (b.c. 
300) :  Ps.  93,  97-100,  moreover,  are  so  similar  in  character  to 
Ps.  96  that  they  can  hardly  belong  to  a  different  period.  We 
thus  obtain  a  group  of  six  Psalms  which  may  be  assigned  plausibly 

*  Cf.  W.  Campe,  Das  Verhdltnis  Jeremias  zu  den  Psalmen  (1891). 
t  On  the  language  of  the  Psahns,  see  especially  App.  II.  in  Prof.  Cheyne's 
Origin  of  the  Psalter » 


384  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

to  B.C.  538-300  ;  but  even  here  the  limits  are  sufficiently  wide. 
And  of  other  Psalms  still  less  (on  this  ground)  can  be  affirmed 
with  certainty. 

(4.)  This  criterion  cannot  be  altogether  repudiated,  though  it 
is  to  be  applied  with  caution.  There  is  undoubtedly  a  progress^ 
both  in  the  revelation  contained  in  the  OT.,  and  also  in  the 
[362]  feelings  with  which  sacred  things  are  viewed :  prophets,  for 
instance,  arose,  introducing  new  ideas  as  the  centuries  passed 
on;  religious  problems  were  more  deeply  and  more  frequently 
reflected  upon;  after  the  Temple  was  established,  a  growing 
attachment  to  it,  as  a  centre  of  religious  worship  and  of  religious 
sentiment,  would  naturally  form  itself;  and  there  was  undeniably, 
especially  in  later  times,  an  increasing  devotion  to  the  law.  It 
is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Hebrew  psalmody  would  stand  in 
some  sort  of  correlation  with  the  phases  of  this  progress  under 
its  various  aspects.  And  when  the  Psalms  are  compared  with 
the  prophets,  the  latter  seem  to  show,  on  the  whole,  the  greater 
originality;  the  psalmists,  in  other  words,  follow  the  prophets, 
appropriating  and  applying  the  truths  which  the  prophets  pro- 
claimed, and  bearing  witness  to  the  effects  which  their  teaching 
exerted  upon  those  who  came  within  range  of  its  influence.  The 
Psalms  which  presuppose  a  wide  religious  experience,  and  display 
a  marked  spirituality  of  tone,  will  hardly  be  among  the  earliest ; 
while  those  in  which  liturgical  interests  are  most  prominent  are 
probably  among  the  latest. 

It  must  be  owned  that  these  criteria  are  less  definite  than 
might  be  desired,  and  that  when  applied  by  different  hands  they 
do  not  lead  always  to  identical  results.  Nevertheless  some  con- 
clusions may  be  fairly  drawn  from  them.  It  maybe  affirmed, 
for  instance,  with  tolerable  confidence  that  very  few  of  the 
Psalms  are  earlier  than  the  7th  cent.  B.C.  Of  many  Psalms  the 
exilic  or  post-exilic  date  is  manifest,  and  is  not  disputed :  of 
others,  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  they  are  pre-  or  post-exilic. 
Approximately  the  Psalms  may  be  dated  somewhat  as  follows : — 
In  Books  IV.  and  V.  (Ps.  90-150)  Ps.  loi  (the  portrait  of  a 
righteous  king),  no*  [363]  may  be  presumed  to  be  pre-exilic; 

*  This  Psalm,  though  it  may  be  ancient,  can  hardly  have  been  composed 
by  David.  If  read  without  prcsjudicium,  it  produces  the  irresistible  impres- 
sion of  having  been  written,  not  by  a  king  with  reference  to  an  invisible, 
spiritual  Being,  standing  above  him  as  his  superior,  but  by  a  prophet  with 


THE  PSALMS  385 

Ps.  90,  91  may  be  so  likewise;  Ps.  102  (see  v.^^^^^)  will  be  exilic; 
Ps.  93,  96-99  (the  keynote  of  which  is  struck  by  Isa.  ^2'^^"'^  may 
date  from  the  close  of  the  exile,  or  the  early  years  of  the  restora- 
tion :  the  rest  in  these  two  books  will  be  post-exilic,  some, 
perhaps,  late  in  the  post-exilic  period — especially  those  Psalms 
in  which  Aramaisms,  &c.,  are  marked.  In  Book  III.  (Ps.  73-89) 
Ps.  76  may  date  from  b.c.  701,  Ps.  89  presupposes  the  fall  of 
the  monarchy;  Ps.  77,  78,  80,  81,  85,  86,  87  appear  to  be 
post-exilic;  Ps.  74,  79,  and  perhaps  83,  belong  (as  it  seems)  to 
the  period  of  the  Maccabees;  the  dates  of  Ps.  73,  75,  82,  84,  88 
must  remain  undecided,  but  they  will  not  be  earlier  than  the  age 
of  Jeremiah.  In  Books  I.  and  II.  (Ps.  1-72),  even  though 
Ewald's  list  of  Davidic  Psalms  be  not  accepted  in  its  entirety, 
it  may  include  several  that  are  ancient ;  the  Psalms  alluding  to 
the  king  (Ps.  2,  18,  20,  21,  28,  45,  61,  63,  72)  will  presumably 
be  pre-exilic,  Ps.  7  2  (from  its  general  style)  being  the  latest ;  * 

reference  to  the  theocratic  king,  (i)  The  title  "My  lord"  ('Jnx),  v.^,  is  the 
one  habitually  used  in  addressing  the  Israelitish  king  {e.g.  i  Ki.  1-2  passim) ; 
(2)  Messianic  prophecies  have  regularly  as  their  point  of  departure  some 
institution  of  the  Jewish  theocracy — the  king,  the  prophet,  the  people  (Isa. 
42^  &c.),  the  high  priest,  the  Temple  (Isa.  28^^) :  the  supposition  that  David 
is  here  speaking  and  addressing  a  superior,  who  stands  in  no  relation  with 
existing  institutions,  is— not,  indeed,  impossible  (for  we  are  not  entitled  to 
limit  absolutely  the  range  of  prophetic  vision),  but — contrary  to  the  analogy 
of  prophecy  ;  (3)  the  justice  of  this  reasoning  is  strongly  confirmed  by  v.^-  5-', 
where  the  subject  of  the  Psalm  is  actually  depicted,  not  as  such  a  spiritual 
superior,  but  as  a  victorious  Israelitish  monarch,  triumphing  through 
Jehovah's  help  over  earthly  foes.  The  Psalm  is  Messianic  in  the  same  sense 
that  Ps.  2  is :  it  depicts  the  ideal  glory  of  the  theocratic  king,  who  receives 
from  a  prophet  (v.^  nin'  dnj)  the  twofold  solemn  promise  (i)  of  victory  over 
his  foes ;  (2)  of  a  perpetual  priesthood  (cf.  Jer.  30^1^ :  see  p.  143).  In  the 
question  addressed  by  our  Lord  to  the  Jews  (Mt.  22^^"^^;  Mk.  \2^-^ -^  Luke 
2o4i-44)  His  object,  it  is  evident,  is  not  to  instruct  them  on  the  authorship  of 
the  Psalm,  but  to  argue  from  its  contents :  and  though  He  assumes  the 
Davidic  authorship,  accepted  generally  at  the  time,  yet  the  cogency  of  His 
argument  is  unimpaired,  so  long  as  it  is  recognised  that  the  Psalm  is  a 
Messianic  one,  and  that  the  august  language  used  in  it  of  the  Messiah  is  not 
compatible  with  the  position  of  one  who  was  a  mere  human  son  of  David. 
Comp.  von  Orelli,  OT.  Prophecy,  pp.  153-157. 

*  G.  B.  Gray,  however,  in  "The  references  to  the  '  ICing'  in  the  Psalter" 
{JQR.  July  1895,  p.  658  ff.),  remarks  that  after  the  exile  the  theocratic 
attributes  and  privileges  of  the  pre-exilic  king  became  the  inheritance  of  the 
nation  (cf.  Isa.  55^''),  and  argues  accordingly  that  as  Israel  was  idealized  as 
Tehovah's  "son"  (Hos.  \\^ al\  and  (in  II  Isaiah)  as  Jehovah's  "servant," 


386  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Ps.  46  may  date  from  B.C.  701;  Ps.  47  is  related  closely  to  the 
group  93,  96-99 ;  of  the  devotional  and  didactic  Psalms  (such 
as  Ps.  I,  8,  15,  19^'^  24I-6  42-43),  and  those  describing  the  suffer- 
ings or  persecutions  of  the  writers  (which  are  numerous  in  these 
two  books),  it  is  difficult  to  say  when  they  were  written ;  though 
a  few  may  be  early  Psalms,  and  some  may  have  been  written  by 
a  contemporary  or  companion  of  Jeremiah,  many,  it  is  probable, 
spring  from  different  parts  of  the  [364]  Persian  period  (b.c. 
536-333).  To  the  exile,  or  somewhat  later,  will  belong,  in  par- 
ticular, Ps.  22,  51,  66-70;  Ps.  197-14  25,  33,  34,  37  will  also  be 
late  ones.  It  is  possible  that  future  investigation,  and  especially 
a  more  systematic  comparison  of  the  Psalms  with  other  parts  of 
the  Old  Testament,  may  tend  to  reduce  these  somewhat  wide 
limits ;  for  the  present,  the  writer's  judgment  on  the  data  at  his 
disposal  does  not  enable  him  to  speak  more  definitely. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  apparent  that  even  Books  T.  and  IL 
will  not  have  been  compiled  until  after  the  exile.  This  fact  is  important : 
it  proves,  namely,  that  the  Psalter,  in  all  its  parts,  is  a  compilation  of  the 
post-exilic  age  (cf.  Davison,  Praises  of  Isr.  p.  30;  Bathgen,  p.  xxxvf.),  and 
shows  that  the  proper  method  of  inquiry  is  to  make  this  our  starting-point, 
and  arguing  back  from  it  to  endeavour  so  to  determine  what  Psalms  in  it  may 
be  of/r^-exilic  origin. 

The  Psalms  attributed  to  Asaph  and  the  sons  of  Korah  respectively,  in 
many  cases  (though  not  in  all)  have  points  of  contact  with  one  another  which 
will  hardly  all  be  accidental.  In  the  Asaph- Psalms  God  is  often  represented 
ixs.  Jiidge  (Ps.  50,  75,  76,  82),  and  introduced  as  speaking  (Ps.  50,  75,  81, 
82) ;  He  is  more  constantly  than  elsewhere  called  hn  and  \vhv ;  He  is  com- 
pared to  a  shepherd  (74^  *  •jf'^  78^2  7^13  *  go^) .  jg^epk  or  Ephraim  is  alluded 
to  (77^'' 80^  8i^-^);  the  peculiar  word  v\  occurs  only  Ps.  50^^  80".  In  the 
Korahite  Psalms  God  is  often  represented  as  King  (Ps.  44^  472-  ®-  '  84^  [but 
also  elsewhere,  as  5-  68^^  74^^  89^^  I49^])>  and  a  warm  affection  is  evinced 
towards  the  holy  city  or  the  Temple  (Ps.  46,  47,  48,  87  ;  42-43,  84).  In  one 
or  two  instances,  the  Psalms  with  these  peculiarities  may  have  been  the  work 
of  the  same  author  ;  but  this  cannot  be  the  case  with  most ;  and  the  similarities 
are  perhaps  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  Psalms  having  been  composed  by 

so  the  nation  could  be  idealized  as  His  "  anointed,"  or  His  **  King  "  ;  and  he 
applies  this  principle  to  Ps.  2,  18,  28,  84,  89  (v.^^-  44.  ei)^  and  even  to  Ps.  21, 
61,  63,  72  (in  which  the  "king,"  absolutely,  is  mentioned).  Cf.  Beer 
[above,  p.  359],  p.  lixff.,  and  on  Ps.  2,  28,  84,  89,  132.  Hab.  3^^  (see 
Davidson),  and  Ps.  105^°  ("mine  anointed  ones,"  of  the  patriarchs),  show  at 
least  that  the  term  anointed  might  be  applied  figuratively  to  the  people.  But 
it  is  difficult  to  think  that  the  "king"  in  Ps.  21,  61,  63,  72  can  be  so 
intended. 

*  Comp.  Ps.  95'  100'.     Probably  dependent  on  Jer.  23^ ;  Ez.  34^'. 


THE  PSALMS  387 

members  of  the  same  family,  or  guild,  in  which  a  type  of  representation,  once 
set,  may  have  been  followed  by  the  poets  of  successive  generations. 

On  two  questions  connected  with  the  Psalms  the  writer  is 
obliged  to  touch  more  briefly  than  he  had  hoped  to  be  able 
to  do. 

(i.)  Do  any  of  the  Psalms  date  from  the  period  of  the  Mac- 
cabees (b.c.  i68ff.)?  Very  many  commentators — including  even 
Delitzsch  and  Perowne — admit  (on  historical  grounds)  that  some 
Psalms  belong  to  this  period  :  Ps.  44  (on  account  of  the  protesta- 
tion of  national  innocence,  which  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with 
any  earlier  stage  of  the  nation's  history) ;  *  74  (on  account  of  v.®, 
which  appears  to  allude  to  synagogues,  and  v.^  [cf.  i  Mace.  4*^ 
Q^''  14*^]);  79  (similar  to  Ps.   74:  with  v.^^-^  cf.   i  Mace.  7^''; 

with  V.l-3  743-7,   I   Mace.    120-32.37-39.  63  2^  [365J  12  345.  51f.  438),      But 

some  scholars,  especially  Olshausen  (1853),  and  more  recently 
Reuss  and  others,!  have  attributed  a  much  larger  number  of 
Psalms,  and  even  the  majority,  to  the  same  period. 

These  scholars  point  to  the  frequency  with  which  in  the  Psalms  two  classes 
of  persons  are  opposed  to  one  another — Israel  and  the  nations  (heathen),  the 
godly  ("saints,"  "the  righteous,"  " they  that  fear  Jehovah,"  "the  upright 
of  heart,"  &c.)  and  the  godless  ("the  wicked,"  "transgressors,"  "violent 
men,"  "  workers  of  wickedness,"  &c.),  and  to  the  question  when  this  opposi- 
tion was  most  pronounced,  reply :  in  the  times  that  began  with  the  persecu- 
tion of  the  Jews  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  when  the  loyal  servants  of  Jehovah 
— the  "meek"  or  the  "afflicted,"  as  they  are  termed — found  themselves 
engaged  in  a  struggle,  not  only  with  their  heathen  masters,  but  with  a 
powerful  party  composed  of  their  own  renegade  brethren.  The  phases  of 
this  struggle,  it  is  said,  are  echoed  in  the  Psalter:  in  Reuss'  words  (§  481), 
for  instance,  "  The  breach  of  parties  in  the  nation  is  described  in  Ps.  55,  94, 
140  ;  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  war  are  reflected  in  songs  of  triumph  (Ps, 
76,  98,  116,  118,  138,  cf.  75,  96-100,  148,  149),  or  in  lamentations  for 
defeats  (Ps.  60,  89  &c.)  ;  the  dark  period  before  the  revolt  of  Judas  Mac- 
cabseus  is  brought  before  us  (Ps.  54,  56-59,  62,  64,  71,  77,  86,  88,  90,  102, 
142,  143)." 

It  is  true,  our  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  under  which 
either  the  Psalter  was  compiled,  or  the  Canon  of  the  OT.  was 

*  Though  Ewald  thought  it  possible  to  refer  these  Psalms  (together  with 
Ps.  60,  80,  85,  89,  132)  to  the  period  shortly  before  Nehemiah,  the  terms  of 
Neh.  i'  2^  4^  seeming  to  him  to  point  to  some  recent  calamity  which  had 
befallen  Jerusalem  {Hist.  v.  1 19-121). 

t  Olsh.  Die  Psalmen,  p.  4  ff.  ;  Reuss,  Les  Psaumes  (in  his  translation  of 
the  entire  Bible),  p.  55  ff.  ;  or  &esch.  der  Heil.  Schriften  AT.s,  §  481. 


388  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

completed,  does  not  entitle  us  to  deny  peremptorily  the  presence 
of  Maccabaean  Psalms  in  the  collection ;  and  if  it  be  the  fact 
that  Ps.  44,  74,  79  were  introduced  into  the  Psalter  in  (or  after) 
this  period,  it  is  difficult  to  argue  that  other  Psalms  may  not 
have  been  introduced  into  it  likewise.  But  there  is  no  sufficient 
reason  for  supposing  this  to  have  been  the  case  on  the  scale 
supposed  by  Olshausen  and  Reuss.  Had  so  many  Psalms  dated 
from  this  age,  it  is  difficult  not  to  think  that  they  would  have 
borne  more  prominent  marks  of  it  in  their  diction  and  style. 
Reuss'  exegesis  is  arbitrary :  Jeremiah  is  witness  that  the  loyal 
worshippers  oi"  Jehovah  were  in  a  minority,  and  were  often 
exposed  to  persecution  and  reproach,  even  in  pre-exilic  times 
(cf.  Jer.  5I  79-11  c|2-6  1515  1715-18  20' -11). 

The  existence  of  Maccabee  Psalms  is  maintained  in  this  country  by  Prof. 
Cheyne  {Origin  of  the  Psalter),  but  within  much  more  moderate  limits.  He 
assigns  to  this  period  Ps.  16  (cf.  v.^  with  Jos.  Ant.  xii.  5.  i),  20,  21,  33,  44, 
60,  61,  63,  75(?)»  83,  86,  94(?),  loi,  108,  no,  115-118,  135-138,  I44, 
145-150.  Of  the  other  Psalms,  he  treats  one  only  as  pre-exilic,  viz.  Ps.  18, 
which  he  assigns  to  the  reign  of  Josiah  :  Ps.  47,  93,  95-100  belong  to  B.C. 
516,  when  the  Temple  was  completed  :  the  remaining  Psalms  are  distributed 
by  him  over  the  intermediate  period,  between  the  age  of  Ezra  and  Neh.,  and 
the  pre-Maccabsean  Greek  period  (B.C.  333-168),  Ps.  74,  79  {Introd.  to 
Isaiah,  pp.  360-363),  89,  132,  being  assigned  in  particular  to  the  occasion 
of  the  revolt  under  Artaxerxes  Ochus  (above,  p.  222).  The  grounds,  how- 
ever, upon  which  specific  dates  can  be  assigned  to  individual  Psalms  are  often 
exceedingly  slender.  It  may  be  readily  granted  that  the  Psalms  date  mostly 
from  the  exile  or  later  (cf.  Davison,  I.e.  p.  63) ;  but  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  only  one  Psalm  is  earlier  than  B.C.  516.  The  existence  of  a  sub- 
stantial, though  not  definitely  ascertainable,  pre-exilic  nucleus  in  the  Psalter, 
is  maintained  strongly  by  Budde,  Theol.  Lit.-zt.  1892,  No.  10  (in  a  review 
of  Cheyne's  work) ;  cf.  also  Kautzsch,  Stud.  u.  Krit.  1892,  p.  586  fF.,  Abriss, 
pp.  141,  206  f.,  2 10,  i27.  J.  P.  Peters  ("  The  Development  of  the  Psalter,"  in 
\ht  New  World,  Boston,  U.S.A.,  June,  1893),  while  calling  attention  to  the 
various  evidences  of  gradual  growth  which  the  Psalter  presents,  agrees  that 
none  of  the  "  Books  "  was  compiled  until  after  the  exile,  but  thinks  that,  esp. 
in  Book  I.,  there  are  probably  Psalms,  in  origin  pre-exilic,  and  even  Davidic, 
but  so  modified,  and  adapted  to  the  situation  of  a  later  age,  as  to  be  seldom 
recognisable  as  such. 

W.  R.  Smith  {OT/C.^  201-208,  219  ff.)  adduces  independent  grounds 
showing  that  Books  I. -III.  were  not  compiled  till  after  the  exile,  and  that 
they  express  on  the  whole  (though  not  exclusively)  "  a  religious  life  of  which 
the  exile  is  the  presupposition.  Only  in  this  way  can  we  understand  the 
conflict  and  triumph  of  spiritual  faith,  habitually  represented  as  the  faith  of  a 
poor  and  struggling  band,  living  in  the  midst  of  oppressors,  and  with  no 
strength  or  help  but  the  consciousness  of  loyalty  to  Jehovah,  which  is  the 


THE  PSALMS  389 

fundamental  note  of  the  whole  book  "  (p.  220).  The  compilation  of  Books 
IV. -V.  he  places  in  the  early  years  of  the  Maccabee  sovereignty  (pp.  208- 
212),  many  of  the  Psalms  in  this  collection  belonging  to  the  Greek  period, 
and  some  (as  Ps.  113-118,  149)  manifestly  springing  out  of  the  enthusiasm 
evoked  by  the  great  victories  of  the  Maccabees,  which  culminated  in  the 
re-dedication  of  the  Temple  B.C.  165.  He  finds,  however,  a  difficulty  in 
accepting  a  Maccabaean  date  for  Ps.  44,  74,  79,  on  account  of  their  position 
in  the  Elohistic  Psalter  (Ps.  42-83),  the  compilation  of  which,  he  urges, 
must  have  been  completed  before  the  Maccabsean  age.  He  is  disposed 
consequently  (pp.  437-440)  to  refer  these  Psalms  to  the  occasion  of  the  revolt 
under  Ochus,  when,  it  is  conjectured^  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple  may  have 
suffered  in  the  manner  alluded  to  in  Ps.  74,  79.  Cheyne  (see  above)  accepts 
now  this  date  for  Ps.  74  and  79.  The  conjecture  is  an  attractive  one ;  but  in 
the  scantiness  of  our  information  respecting  this,  as  respecting  many  other 
periods  of  post-exilic  Judaism,  the  point  is  one  on  which  we  must  be  content 
to  remain  in  uncertainty.  Had  we  fuller  knowledge  of  the  post-exilic 
history  of  Judah,  many  obscure  and  difficult  questions  connected  with  the 
later  parts  of  the  OT.  would  doubtless  be  cleared  up. 

(2.)  The  opinion  has  latterly  gained  ground  that  in  many 
[366]  Psalms  the  speaker,  who  uses  the  first  person  singular, 
though  apparently  an  individual,  is  in  reality  the  community. 
This  opinion  is  no  new  one :  it  was  held,  for  instance,  by  the 
old  Protestant  commentator  Rudinger  (1580-81);  but  it  has 
been  revived,  and  defended  anew,  by  Olshausen,  Reuss  (Gesch. 
§  478  ;  Les  Fsautnes^  p.  56),  Stade  {Gesch,  ii.  214),  to  a  certain 
degree  by  Prof.  Cheyne,  and  especially  by  Rud.  Smend  in  the 
ZATW.  1888,  pp.  49-147.  The  Psalter,  it  is  urged  by  these 
writers,  was  confessedly  the  hymn-book  of  a  community :  this 
being  so,  it  is  remarkable  that  so  many  of  the  Psalms  thus  used 
in  public  worship  should  have  a  strongly  marked  individual 
character,  and  owe  their  origin  to  individual  experiences ;  on  the 
other  hand,  these  experiences,  and  the  emotions  to  which  they 
give  rise,  are  much  more  significant  if  regarded  as  felt  and 
expressed  by  the  commu?iity  as  such,  which  was  keenly  conscious 
both  of  the  close  relation  in  which  it  stood  to  its  God,  and  of 
the  opposition  subsisting  between  it  and  the  heathen  nations 
around,  or  ungodly  members  within.  And  so,  it  is  argued,  we 
hear  constantly  in  the  Psalter,  not  the  voices  of  individuals,  but 
the  voice  of  the  ?iation,  expressing  its  thankfulness,  its  needs,  its 
faith,  or  its  triumph.  This  is  the  main  argument;  for  others, 
the  writers  just  referred  to  must  be  consulted.  It  is  true,  this 
interpretation  of  the  "  I  "  of  the  Psalms  is  legitimate  in  prin- 
ciple ;  for  there  is  undoubtedly  a  strong  tendency  in  the  OT.  to 


390  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

treat  groups  of  men,  smaller  or  larger,  as  the  case  may  be,  and 
especially  peoples  or  nations,  as  units^  applying  to  them  the  first 
(or  second)  person  singular,  and  speaking  of  them  in  terms 
properly  applicable  only  to  an  individual.  This  custom  is  due, 
probably,  partly  to  a  sense  of  community  of  interests  and  sym- 
pathies pervading  the  entire  group,  partly  to  the  love  of  per- 
sonification. Examples:  Ex.  142^  "Let  me  flee"  (said  by  the 
Egyptians),  Num.  26^^'  ^^  (sing,  and  plur.  interchanging),  Dt. 
227-29^  Josh.  97  (Heb.),  i7i4f.i7f.,  Jud.  i3  2o23  (and  elsewhere*): 
in  the  prophets,  Isa.  \2^''^  25^  26^  (in  these  passages,  as  the 
context  shows,  the  subject  that  speaks  is  the  people),  Jer.  lo^^- 
20.24^  Mic.  77-10,  Hab.  s^S  Lam.  [367]  jUb-ie.  18-22  ^  ^^j  jga.  6iiof. 
(the  ransomed  nation,  or  the  prophet  speaking  in  its  name), 
5^7.  15b  I  At  tjie  same  time,  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  that 
the  applicability  of  the  principle  to  the  Psalms  has  been  much 
exaggerated,  especially  by  Smend.§  It  is  constantly  the  case  in 
lyric  poetry  (cf.  Beer,  p.  Ixxix  ff.)  that  the  poet,  while  describing 
truly  what  he  feels  or  has  experienced  himself,  writes  at  the  same 
time  with  a  view  to  the  public  around  him,  and  hence  so 
generalizes  the  expressions  which  he  uses  that  others,  situated 
similarly,  may  feel  that  he  speaks  for  themselves  as  well,  and 
find  themselves  able  to  appropriate  his  words.  Thus  a  Psalm 
describing  the  experiences  of  an  individual  may  well  possess 
traits  fitting  it  for  liturgical  use  by  the  community,  even  if  it  may 
not  have  been  accommodated  to  general  use  by  slight  changes 
in  the  phraseology.  It  is  but  one  step  further  to  suppose  (as 
is  probably  often  the  fact)  that  a  Psalm  has  a  representative 
character,  and  that  the  Psalmist  speaks  in  it,  not  on  behalf  of 
himself  alone,  but  on  behalf  of  his  godly  co-religionists  as  well. 

*  As  Gen.  34^0,  i  Sa.  5^"*'  (Heb.  me,  my),  30^2  (Heb.  with  me).  It  is  not, 
however,  clear  that  these  are  all  cases  of  true  personification  :  in  some,  the 
individual  rather  speaks,  as  representing  his  companions  or  fellow-countrymen. 

t  See  esp.  Lam.  i^^.  i4  ^a.  13.  ae.  20.  48-54^  where  the  personification  is  so 
vivid  as  to  include  various  bodily  parts.  Elsewhere,  also,  the  history  of  the 
nation  is  viewed  as  that  of  an  individual,  as  Isa.  442*  -•*  46^^-,  Jer.  2^  3^-  2-1'. 
31^",  Hos.  n\  Ps.  129I-3. 

t  Conip.  also  the  many  places  in  the  Pent.,  esp.  Ex.  (JE)  and  Dt.,  in 
which  Israel  is  addressed  in  the  2nd  pers.  sing. :  e.g.  Ex.  23-"""-,  Dt.  28  :  cf. 
Ps.  50"''-.  In  some  of  these  passages  the  thought  of  the  writer  glides  from 
the  whole  to  the  individual  members  in  consecutive  verses. 

§  Cf.  (9  7/C2  p.  189;  Beer,  pp.  xiv-xvii,  Ixxxvii-xcvi ;  Cheyne  Origin 
of  the  Psalter,  p.  277. 


THE  PSALMS  39I 

It  is,  however,  no  doubt  true  that  in  more  Psalms  than  is  com- 
monly perceived  to  be  the  case  the  speaker  is  the  nation,  as  Ps. 
444-  6. 15  6o9  66i3ff-  (cf.  "  us,"  "  our,"  v.9-i2),  74I2  8950  c,4i6flF.  102,  1 18; 
and  perhaps  in  Ps.  65^  51,*  71  (cf.  v.^o  "us"),  and  some  others. 

See  further  the  study  (from  this  point  of  view)  of  the  Psalms  seriatim  in 
Beer,  pp.  1-92.  Beer  points  out  (p.  xii)  that  as  in  the  "  We  "-Psalms  the 
principal  question  is  whether  the  first  person  plural  refers  to  the  nation  as  a 
whole,  or  to  a  particular  party  within  it,  so  in  the  "  I  "-Psalms,  it  is  not 
only  whether  the  Psalmist  speaks  purely  as  an  individual,  but  also  whether  he 
speaks  in  the  name  (a)  of  the  nation,  or  {b)  of  a  party  within  it.  Beer  does 
not  recognise  many  Psalms  in  which  the  nation,  as  such,  is  the  speaker  ;  but 
he  recognises  many  of  the  representative  character  spoken  of  above,  in  which 
the  Psalmist,  while  expressing  truly  his  own  experiences  and  emotions, 
expresses  at  the  same  time  those  of  his  godly  compatriots  {e.g.  Ps.  7,  9-10, 
28,  37,  42-43,  71,  92,  94,  109,  119,  120,  130,  140),  or  even  of  the  nation  as  a 
whole  {e.g.  Ps.  44,  56,  57,  59,  60,  65,  66,  74,  86,  %%,  102,  118,  138,  145),  so 
that  he  speaks  in  their  name,  and  on  their  behalf.  He  also  thinks  that  there 
are  several  Psalms  (5,  22,  31,  35,  38,  40,  51,  69)  spoken  in  the  name  of  the 
godly  kernel  of  the  nation,  the  ecclesiola  in  ecclesia^  which  feels  itself  called 
to  be  the  future  ecclesia,  the  historical  representative  of  Deutero  -  Isaiah's 
"servant  of  Jehovah,"  conscious  of  suffering  and  disappointment,  conscious 
of  the  guilt  which,  in  virtue  of  the  solidarity  of  the  nation,  rests  upon  it,  but 
conscious  also  (2222^-)  of  the  great  future  which  in  the  providence  of  God  is 
reserved  for  it  (cf  Cheyne,  O.P.  p.  263  f.;  Kirkpatrick  on  Ps.  22,  p    114). 


*  A  confession  written  on  behalf  of  the  nation,  by  one  who  had  a  deep 
sense  of  his  people's  sin,  shortly  after  the  exile  (comp.,  from  a  prophetic 
point  of  view,  Isa.  d'^-d/i,^'^).  That  the  title,  at  any  rate,  cannot  be  correct 
appears  partly  from  the  inapplicability  of  v.^*  to  David's  situation  (for  how- 
ever great  David's  sin  against  God,  he  had  done  Uriah  the  most  burning 
wrong  that  could  be  imagined  ;  and  an  injury  to  a  neighbour  is  in  the  OT.  a 
"sin"  against  him,  Gen.  20^,  Jud.  ii^?,  Jer.  37^^  ^/_)  .  partly  from  the 
general  literary  style  of  the  Psalm,  which  points  to  an  age  much  later  than 
that  of  David ;  partly  from  the  fact  that  many  of  the  ideas  expressed  in  it 
"  appear  to  belong  to  a  later  and  more  developed  stage  of  the  religious  con- 
sciousness "  (cf.  Kirkpatrick,  p.  286), — notice,  for  instance,  the  similarities 
of  thought  and  expression  with  II  Isaiah  in  v.^^  (Isa.  63'),  v.^*  (59I2),  ^gb 
(43''  44''),  v."b  (6310- "»^:  Jehovah's  "holy  spirit,"  represented  also  as 
dwelling  in  the  nation,  and  an  expression  not  found  elsewhere  in  the  OT.; 
had  it  been  in  use  as  early  as  David's  time,  would  it  not  have  been  met  with 
more  frequently?),  v.^^  (5715b  gjib  662b)^  Comp.  further  W.  R.  Smith, 
OTJC.  p.  440  ff.,  who  observes  that  the  assumption  that  the  subject  is  the 
nation  is  the  only  one  which  neutrahses  the  contradiction  between  v.  ^^  and 
v.^^  ;  the  complete  restoration  of  Jerusalem  would  be  the  sign  that  God  was 
reconciled  to  His  people  (Isa.  40^),  and  would  accept  the  sacrifices,  in  which 
now  He  had  no  pleasure.  However,  v.^^*  i»  are  regarded  by  many  scholars 
as  a  liturgical  addition  to  the  original  Psalm. 


\ 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
TIfE  BOOK  OF  PROVERBS. 

Literature. — H.  Ewald,  Die  Sal.  Schriften  erkldrt^  1867,  pp.  1-266;  F. 
Hitzig,  Die  Spriiclie  Salomo'sy  1858  ;  F.  Delitzsch,  Das  Sal.  Sp-uchbtich, 
1873;  W-  Nowack  (in  the  Kg/.  Hdb.),  1883;  A.  Kuenen,  Onderzoek,  iii. 
(1865)  pp.  57-110  (21893,  P-  59ff-) ;  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Job  and  Solomon,  1887, 
p.  ii7flf.  (where,  p.  178,  other  literature  is  mentioned) ;  H.  L.  Strack  (in  the 
Kgf.  Comm.),  1888;  also  P.  de  Lagarde,  Antnerkungen  zur  Griech.  Uebers. 
der  Prov.  1863  ;  A.  J.  Baumgarten,  Atude  critique  sur  fetat  du  texte  du 
livre  des  Proverbes,  1890;  G.  Bickell  (p.  340^.);  H.  Pinkuss,  Die  Syr. 
Uebers.  der  Prov.,  ZATW.  1894,  pp.  65  ff.,  161  ff.;  R.  Smend,  Alttest. 
Rel.-gesch.  p.  508  ff.;  W.  T.  Davison,  The  Wisdom-lit.  of  the  OT.  1894. 

The  Book  of  Proverbs  introduces  us  to  the  Chokhmah-  or 
Wisdom-literature  of  the  Hebrews.  Wisdom,  among  the  ancient 
Hebrews,  was  a  term  which  was  used  in  special  connexions,  and 
hence  acquired  a  special  limitation  of  meaning.  It  was  applied 
to  the  faculty  of  acute  observation,  shrewdness  in  discovery  or 
device,  cleverness  of  invention.  The  "  wise  "  woman  of  Tekoa 
came  before  David  (2  Sa.  14^^-)  with  an  apologue  designed  to 
rouse  into  action  the  king's  longings  for  his  absent  son.*  The 
wisdom  of  Solomon  showed  itself  in  the  skill  with  which  he 
elicited  the  truth  in  his  judgment  on  the  two  infants  (i  Ki. 
216-28^^  and  in  the  answers  which  he  gave  to  the  "questions" 
— i.e.  no  doubt  riddles  (v.^)  or  other  inquiries  designed  to  test 
the  king's  sagacity — put  to  him  by  the  Queen  of  Sheba  (i  Ki. 
lo^*'^-).  Joseph's  skill  in  interpreting  dreams  entitles  him 
similarly  to  be  termed  "wise"  (Gen.  41^^).  Of  the  nations 
around  Israel,  Edom  was  specially  famed  for  "  wisdom  "  in  this 
sense  (Ob.^,  Jer.  49^) ;  Egypt  f  and  the  "  children  of  the  East " 
must  also  have  been  noted  in  the  same  way  (i  Ki.  420).  Four 
celebrated  "  wise  men,"  whom  Solomon  is  stated  to  have  excelled, 

*  Cf.  the  wise  woman  of  Abel-Meholah,  ib.  20^^. 
t  Cf.  Gen.  418,  Isa.  I9»-  ^2,  Ex.  7". 


THE  PROVERBS  393 

are  mentioned  in  i  Ki.  4^^  "Wise  men"  are  alluded  to  in 
the  OT.  in  terms  which  appear  to  show  that  they  must  have 
[369]  formed,  if  not  a  school,  yet  a  tolerably  prominent  class  in 
ancient  Israel  (cf.  Jer.  18I8;  Pr.  i^  22!^  2423,  Job  15I8).  The 
interest  of  these  "  wise  men,"  however,  did  not  centre  in  the 
distinctively  national  elements  of  Israel's  character  or  Israel's 
faith;  and  hence,  for  instance,  the  absence  in  the  Proverbs  of 
warnings  against  idolatry,  and  of  most  of  the  favourite  ideas  and 
phraseology  of  the  prophets  (as  "Israel,"  "Zion,"  "my  people," 
"saith  Jehovah,"  &c.).  The  wise  men  took  for  granted  the 
main  postulates  of  Israel's  creed,  and  applied  themselves  rather 
to  the  observation  of  human  character  as  such,  seeking  to  analyse 
conduct,  studying  action  in  its  consequences,  and  establishing 
morality,  upon  the  basis  of  principles  common  to  humanity  at 
large.  On  account  of  their  prevailing  disregard  of  national 
points  of  view,  and  their  tendency  to  characterise  and  estimate 
human  nature  under  its  most  general  aspects,  they  have  been 
termed,  not  inappropriately,  the  Humanists  of  Israel."^  Their 
teaching  had  a  practical  aim  :  not  only  do  they  formulate  maxims 
of  conduct,  but  they  appear  also  as  moral  advisers,  and  as  in- 
terested in  the  education  of  the  young  (Pr.  1-9;  cf.  Ps.  34,  37).! 
The  observation  of  human  nature,  however,  naturally  leads  on  to 
reflexion  on  the  problems  which  it  presents ;  hence  Job  and 
Ecclesiastes  form  part  of  the  Hebrew  Cy^^/^/^w^/^-literature.  Nor 
is  the  observation  of  nature,  especially  in  so  far  as  it  affords 
evidence  of  providential  arrangements  or  design,  alien  to  the 
lines  of  thought  which  the  wise  men  of  Israel  pursued :  comp. 
Job  38-41,  Pr.  3o24ff. ;  and  the  comparisons  instituted  between 
animal  and  human  life  in  Pr.  d^^-  and  elsewhere.  Solomon 
is  stated  (i  Ki.  4^3)  to  have  "spoken"  of  all  known  depart- 
ments of  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  presumably  with 
reference  to  the  instincts  or  habits  displayed  in  them,  but  possibly 
also  in  fables,  or  apologues,  in  which  trees  (Jud.  q^-^^^  2  Ki. 
14^)  or  animals  figured  characteristically.  From  the  considera- 
tion of  nature,  as  evincing  wise  dispositions  and  arrangements, 

*  Cf.  Delitzsch,  p.  34;  Cheyne,  p.  119. 

t  Hence  the  **  utilitarianism"  of  the  Proverbs,  which  has  sometimes  been 
adversely  criticised.  The  profit  of  wisdom,  and  the  foolishness  of  folly,  can 
only  be  practically  demonstrated  by  pointing  to  the  consequences  to  which 
each  leads.  • 


394  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

and  of  human  society  as  benefited  by  the  wise  action  of  its 
individual  members,  would  arise  without  difficulty  the  conception 
[370]  of  "  wisdom  "  as  a  principle  disposing  the  one,  and  regulat- 
ing the  other;  and  hence  the  step  was  not  a  far  one  to  its 
personification^  on  the  one  hand,  as  a  "  master  workman  "  (Pr.  S^^) 
assisting  the  Almighty  in  His  work  of  creation;  on  the  other 
hand,  as  presiding  over  human  affairs  and  directing  men  in  the 
choice  of  means,  whether  to  secure  their  individual  happiness, 
or  the  well-being  of  society  as  a  whole.  This  is  the  step  taken 
in  Pr.  1-9.* 

The  Hebrew  term  for  "  proverb  "  is  mdshdl^  which,  as  Arabic 
seems  to  show,  denotes  properly  a  representation,  i.e.  a  statement 
not  relating  solely  to  a  single  fact,  but  standing  for  or  representing 
other  similar  facts.  The  statement  constituting  the  mdshdl  may 
be  one  deduced  from  a  particular  instance,  but  capable  of 
application  to  other  instances  of  a  similar  kind,  or  it  may  be  a 
generalisation  from  experience,  such  as  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
admits  of  constantly  fresh  application.  The  mdshdl  is  by  usage 
limited  almost  entirely  to  observations  relative  to  human  life  and 
character,  and  is  expressed  commonly  in  a  short,  pointed  form. 
Sometimes  the  mdshdl  includes  a  comparison,  or  is  expressed  in 
figurative  or  enigmatic  language  (cf.  Pr.  i^) :  the  different  types 
preserved  in  the  Book  of  "  Proverbs  "  will  be  illustrated  below. 

The  nidshal  would  also  probably  include  fables,  such  as  those  of  Jotham 
(Jud.  <f-^^)  and  Joash  (2  Ki.  14^),  and  parables,  as  those  in  2  Sa.  12^"^  14^'', 
I  Ki.  20^^-,  though  the  term  is  not  actually  used  in  these  instances ;  but 
similar  allegorical  representations  are  so  styled  in  Ez.  17^  (see  v.^"^*'),  id^"^  (see 
V.'*''),  24^"^  (For  certain  other,  secondary  senses  of  '?e'D,  see  the  Lexica.) 
Examples  of  \h^ popular  " mashal  "  are  :  "Is  not  Saul  among  the  prophets ? " 
(i  Sa.  10^^  19"^);  the  "proverb  of  the  ancients,  'Wickedness  proceedeth 
from  the  wicked'"  {ib.  24^');  "The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes,"  &c. 
(Ez.  i82,  Jer.  Si^^) ;  see  also  Ez.  12^3  16H  But  the  examples  contained  in 
the  Book  of  Proverbs  are  not  of  this  simple,  popular  kind  :  they  are,  at  least 
mostly,  "works  of  art,"  and  bear  the  impress  of  the  skilled  hands  which 
produced  them. 

Contents  and  character  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs. — The  Book  of 
Proverbs  consists  of  eight  distinct  parts,  of  very  unequal  length 
and  character,  and  for  the  most  part  marked  by  separate  titles 
or  introductions. 

*  See  more  fully  on  the  Hebrew  "wisdom,"  and  "wise  men,"  Prof. 
Davidson's  paper  in  the  Expositor,  May  1880,  p.  321  fif.,  and  his  art. 
''  Proverbs"  in  the  Eiicycl.  Brit. 


THE  PROVERBS  395 

(i.)  C.  1-9.  The  "Praise  of  Wisdom"  (Ewald,  Cheyne). 
[371]  The  writer,  speaking  like  a  father  (i^  and  repeatedly,  "my 
son ")  to  an  imagined  pupil  or  disciple,  warns  him  against  the 
dangers  and  temptations  to  which  he  is  most  likely  to  be  exposed, 
invites  him  affectionately  to  listen  to  his  precepts,  and  commends 
to  him  the  claims  of  Wisdom  to  be  his  guide  and  friend.  No 
definite  arrangement  can  be  traced  in  the  subjects  treated ;  nor 
is  the  argument  logically  articulated :  the  discourse  flows  on  till 
the  topic  in  hand  is  exhausted,  and  then  it  recommences  with 
another. 

i^"^  is  adapted  to  form  the  introduction  both  to  the  exhortations  which 
follow  and  to  the  "Proverbs,"  properly  so  called,  contained  in  c.  10 ff.,  the 
aim  and  value  of  which  it  points  out. 

The  exhortations  may  be  divided  for  convenience  (nearly  as  is  done  by 
Delitzsch)  into  15  paragraphs,  each,  in  the  main,  dealing  with  a  single  aspect 
of  the  writer's  theme,  viz.  (i)  i'^'^^  a  warning  against  the  temptation  to 
commit  crimes  of  violence ;  (2)  i^"^  Wisdom's  denunciation  of  those  who 
despise  her ;  (3)  c.  2  the  pursuit  of  wisdom  as  the  road  to  virtue  and  the  fear 
of  God ;  (4)  3^"^**  the  blessings  which  attend  devotion  to  God,  and  the 
prize  which  Wisdom  proves  herself  to  be  to  those  who  find  her ;  (5)  -^^^'"^ 
Wisdom  a  protection  to  those  who  possess  her ;  (6)  3^'^^  liberality  and 
integrity  commended ;  (7)  4^-5^  a  father's  counsels  to  his  son ;  (8)  ^'''^ 
on  fidelity  to  the  marriage -tie ;  (9)  6'^''^  the  imprudence  of  becoming  surety 
for  another;  (10)  6®""  advice  to  the  sluggard;  (11)  6^-"^^  warning  against 
different  evil  machinations;  (12)  6^°"^  warning  against  adultery;  (13)  c.  7 
the  same  subject  continued,  the  warning  being  pointed  by  an  illustration ; 
(14)  c.  8  Wisdom  speaks,  proclaiming  her  august  nature,  and  the  gifts  which 
she  is  ready  to  bestow  upon  men;  (15)  c.  9  Wisdom  and  Folly,  each  per- 
sonified, contrasted  with  each  other. 

The  form  is  throughout  poetical,  and  the  parallelism  of 
members  is,  as  a  rule,  carefully  observed.  The  style  is  flowing, 
forming  in  this  respect  as  strong  a  contrast  as  possible  to  that  of 
the  "proverbs"  which  follow  (loi^-):  instead  of  a  series  of 
thoughts,  each  forcibly  expressed,  but  disconnected  with  one 
another,  a  thought  is  here  developed  at  length  and  presented 
from  different  points  of  view.  A  general  uniformity  of  tone  per- 
vades the  whole  discourse ;  and  the  same  idea  is  often  repeated 
with  but  slight  variations  of  expression.  The  aim  of  the  writer 
evidently  was  to  provide  the  collection  of  proverbs,  iqI^-,  with 
a  hortatory  introduction,  commending  the  wisdom  of  which  he 
viewed  them  as  the  expression  (cf.  i^"^),  and  pointing  to  the 
dangers,   prominent  in   his  •day,  from   which  those  who  would 


396  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

listen  to  her  teachings  might  be  guarded.  It  is  doubtful  if  the 
[372]  writer  is  identical  with  the  compiler  of  the  collection  of 
proverbs  which  follows,  but  he  is  familiar  with  them,  and  adopts 
several  expressions  from  them  into  his  vocabulary.  The  errors 
to  which  his  hearers  appear  to  be  specially  tempted  are  crimes 
of  violence  (i"-i«  4^^'^'^),  and  unchastity  (2I6  58-20  524-35  ^5-27 
9I3-18) .  other  faults  are  warned  against  in  6^2-19^  'pj^g  imprudence 
of  becoming  surety  for  a  friend  is  strongly  insisted  on,  6^*^ ;  the 
value  of  industry  is  exemplified,  6^-'^^.  The  fine  personification 
of  Wisdom  in  c.  8  and  9^-^  is  to  be  especially  noticed.  The 
unity  of  thought  and  efficiency  operative  in  the  world  is  here 
abstracted  from  God,  the  actual  operator,  and  presented  as  a 
personal  agent,  the  first-born  child  of  the  Creator,  standing 
beside  Him  and  giving  effect  to  His  creative  design,  afterwards, 
in  history,  inspiring  kings  and  princes  with  their  best  thoughts, 
delighting  in  the  sons  of  men  (v.^^),  and  promising  abundant 
reward  to  those  who  will  commit  themselves  to  her  guidance. 
The  representation  in  3^^^-  S^^^-  is  the  prelude  of  the  later  doctrine 
of  the  Adyos.  9^-^  Wisdom  invites  men  to  accept  her  gifts ;  and 
the  discourse  closes  with  the  picture  of  her  rival,  "Madam 
Folly,"  sitting  at  the  door  of  her  house,  and  displaying  her 
attractions  to  those  who  are  simple  enough  to  be  tempted  by 
them  (9i3ff.). 

Delitzsch  has  remarked — and  other  critics  have  agreed  in  the  observation — 
on  the  similarity,  partly  in  tone  and  warmth  of  feeling,  and  partly  also  in 
expression,  between  Pr.  1-9  and  Deuteronomy,  "As  Dt.  would  have  the 
rising  generation  lay  to  heart  the  Mosaic  Tdrah,  so  here  the  author  would 
impress  upon  his  hearers  the  T6rak  of  wisdom."  In  particular,  with  Dt. 
6<-»cf.  the^^arof  Pr.  1^  ^^^■'^^  S^c,  and  3^  6^^-  f  {Bind,  IVrite) ;  with  8^, 
of.  Pr.  312 ;  and  with  46-8,  Pr.  f^-. 

(2.)  C.  10-22I6,  with  the  title  "The  Proverbs  of  Solomon." 
This  division  of  the  Book  is  composed  of  proverbs,  strictly  so 
called.  The  proverbs  exhibit  great  regularity  of  form :  each 
verse  contains  a  complete  proverb ;  and  each  proverb  consists  of 
two  members  only  {i.e.  is  a  dtsttch\  each  member  containing, 
as  a  rule,  (in  the  Hebrew)  not  more  than  three  or  four  words. 
The  one  three-membered  proverb  which  this  division  of  the 
Book  contains  (19^)  is  undoubtedly  due  to  a  defective  text  (cf. 
LXX,  and  the  commentators) ;  if  the  missing  clause  be  supplied, 
the  number  of  independent  proverbs  will  be  376.     The  pro- 


THE  PROVERBS  397 

verbs  [373]  are  arranged  in  no  particular  order,"*  though  some- 
times two  or  more  dealing  with  the  same  subject  (as  i6i<>- 12-15 
on  kings,  iS^^-  on  the  fool),  or  containing  the  same  more  or 
less  characteristic  word  (as  lo^^-  the  righteous,  sP^-  covereth,  v.^*^- 
destruction,  v^ief.  y.isf-  i25-7  i58f.  i^ss.i^t.  9. 11  y^^^^^^)  occur  in 
juxtaposition.!  The  two  members  stand  usually,  and  in  c.  10- 
15  almost  exclusively,  in  antithetic  paralleUsm  (p.  363),  the 
second  confirming  or  enforcing  the  first  by  declaring  some  con- 
trasted truth  which  forms,  as  it  were,  its  counterpart.  Instances 
of  synonymous  {\\^  la^'^  al)  and  "synthetic"  parallelism  (see 
ibid!),  however,  also  occur. 

Thus  the  second  member  states  a  reason  {id^'^'  '^)  ox  purpose  {13I*  \^'^  al.) ; 
elsewhere,  again,  the  thought  is  only  completed  by  the  second  member,  as 
when  this  commences  with  the  comparative  than  (}D),  12^^  \^'^'  "  168- 1»  17" 
19I  21^9),  or  with  how  much  more  [or  less'\  ('3  fjK),  ii^i  15"  17?  ig^a.  10  ^i"^  . 
other  cases  in  which  the  proverb  is  incomplete  without  the  second  clause  only 
become  frequent  towards  the  end  of  the '  collection  (16^  1713.  is  ig9.i3  1^26 
20V.  8. 10  ^c.).  Of  proverbs  containing  a  comparison  there  are  only  two 
examples  in  this  collection,  viz.  lo^^  ii^. 

Both  in  this  and  in  the  subsequent  divisions  of  the  Book  there  occur 
several  cases  in  which  a  proverb,  entirely  or  in  part,  is  repeated.  Thus 
14^2=16^;  and  with  but  slight  changes  of  expression,  the  following  pairs 
also  agree:  iqI  1520 ;  lo^  ii^;  162  212 ;  195-9;  2.0^^'^-,  2i9- 1^.  In  the 
following,  one  line  is  the  same,  or  nearly  the  same  :  lo^**-  "'^ ;  10^^  and  ^<"* 
[but  cf  LXX  Pesh.  RV.  marg.-\ ;  \o^^  18"'^ ;  1 1^^^  201^*  ;  ii^i*  le""  ;  I2i^  i-}^ 
1320a.  J  431a  175a.  1 533b  jgi2b.  1 618a  jgi2a.  1912a  ^.o'^  .^  ^omp.  also  1 9^2  with 
1 514a.  15b.  in  13I4  1427.  1 628b  jyOb.  J  715b  2oiob  the  wording  is  very  similar, 
but  the  subject  of  the  proverb  is  different :  notice  also  the  variety  of  objects 
which  are  described  as  z.  fountain  ox  tree  of  life  lo"*  13^^  \£^^  id"^^ ;  ii^o* 
I2i2b  i^4a)^  or  2&  Jehovah's  abomination  (ii^-so  1222  158.9.26  i65  1715  2oio- 23), 
or  the  different  persons  who  come  only  to  want  (11-^  142^  2 1^  22^*). 

Where  the  contents  are  so  miscellaneous,  it  is  difficult  to 
indicate  their  characteristics,  except  in  very  general  terms.  But 
of  the  present  collection  it  may  be  said  that,  as  compared  with 
the  [374]  subsequent  collections,  the  proverbs  are  usually  brighter 
and  more  cheerful  in  tone :  if  good  and  bad,  rich  and  poor  meet 
together  (as  they  must  meet  in  every  society),  nevertheless  the 
happier  aspects  of  life  are  predominant:   prosperity  seems  to 

*  Ewald  supposed  that  the  collection  was  divided  into  five  parts  by  the 
recurrence  at  intervals  of  a  proverb  pointing  out  to  the  young  the  advantages 
of  wisdom  (10^  13^  1520  1725  1920) ;  but  this  is  probably  accidental. 

t  The  groups  Ii9-i2  ^q^-s  2o2^"2^  222-''  are  marked  by  the  recurrence  of  the 
same  initial  letter. 


398  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

prevail,  and  virtue  is  uniformly  rewarded.  The  collection  in- 
cludes some  fine  and  elevated  religious  proverbs ;  but  the 
generalizations  are  mostly  drawn  from  secular  life,  and  describe 
the  fortune  which  may  be  expected  to  attend  particular  lines  of 
conduct  or  types  of  character.  The  religious  proverbs  mainly 
emphasize  Jehovah's  sovereignty,  or  all-pervading  omniscience ; 
as  15^-^^  1 6--^  17^  19^^  ("Man  proposes,  but  God  disposes"; 
cf.  16^)  20^2.24  2i2. 30f.  2  2^;  othcrs  point  out  the  blessings  which 
flow  from  the  fear  of  Him  {e.g.  15^^-^^),  or  describe  who  are  His 
"abomination"  (above,  p.  397);  the  prophetic  teaching,  that 
righteousness  is  more  acceptable  to  God  than  sacrifice,  appears 
in  21^  (cf.  15^  16^  2i27).  The  principle  that  men  are  rewarded 
(in  this  life)  according  to  their  works,  pervades  the  entire  collec- 
tion (lo^- 3- 6. 7. 25. 27. 30  n4.5.6^  and  repeatedly).  The  wise  and 
fool,  their  different  aims,  and  different  lots,  are  contrasted  with 
great  frequency :  other  characters  often  mentioned  are  the  rich 
and  the  poor,  the  diligent  and  the  slothful  (lo^-  ^  1224. 27  1^4  5^^.), 
and  the  scorner  (13I  14^  15^2  ^^.y  xhe  "fool"  is  the  man 
who,  whether  from  weakness  of  character  (the  f)^1K)  or  from 
obstinacy  (the  b''DD),  lacks  the  perception  necessary  to  guide  him 
aright  in  the  affairs  of  life,  and  remains  consequently  an  object 
of  satire  or  contempt  to  his  fellow-men.  Wealth  is  spoken  of 
as  an  advantage  to  its  owner  (to^^  13^  1^20.24  j^4  22^)^  but  not 
if  amassed  in  unrighteousness  (10^),  or  if  made  the  object  of  a 
blind  confidence  (ii^s).  Pride  is  the  subject  of  13^^  i6i^^-  21'* 
&c. ;  the  care  of  the  poor  is  commended  in  14^1  17^  1917.  A 
remarkably  large  proportion  of  the  proverbs  turn  on  the  right 
use  of  the  lips  or  tongue.  The  imprudence  of  becoming  a  surety 
is  taught  in  11^^  20^^.  A  good  wife  is  described  as  God's 
best  gift  (12*  18^2  19^'^);  on  the  other  hand,  an  injudicious  or 
quarrelsome  woman  is  depicted  satirically  (ii^^  1^13  21^-1^). 
The  value  of  parental  authority  is  recognised  (13^^  19^^  22^-^^); 
and  a  want  of  respect  for  either  parent  is  strongly  condemned 
(13I  155  192^  26^^).  The  king  is  alluded  to  in  terms  of  admiration, 
being  praised  for  [375]  his  justice  and  love  of  righteousness  (14^^ 
j5io.  12. 13  208  22^1),  his  wisdom  (20^^),  his  mercy  and  faithfulness 
(20^8),  his  amenableness  to  the  Divine  guidance  (21^),  though 
naturally  regarded  personally  with  some  awe  and  deference 
(1514.15  j^i2  2o2);  but  his  nation's  prosperity  is  his  glory  (14^^), 
and  that  prosperity  has  its  source  in  righteousness  (14^*).     The 


THE  PROVERBS  399 

associations  connected  with  the  king  in  this  collection  are 
bright  and  happy;  no  dark  shadows  cross  the  picture  of  his 
character. 

(3.)  221^-242-.  Here  22'^'^--^  forms  an  introduction,  inviting 
attention  to  the  admonitions  which  follow,  and  which  are  de- 
scribed as  "  words  of  the  wise." 

The  form  of  the  proverbs  contained  in  this  collection  is,  as  a  rule,  much 
freer  than  is  the  case  in  No,  2.  Distichs  are  exceptional  (22-^  23*^  24'"^'^),  the 
thought  generally  extending  over  four  members  (tetrastichs),  the  second 
distich  being  sometimes  synonymous  with  the  first,  sometimes  stating  the  ground 
or  purpose  of  it,  or  otherwise  supplementing  it  (2222^*  ^^^  26f.  2^^'^^'  &c.).  A 
tristich  (2229),  several  pentastichs  (23'*^-  24^3f.)^  ^n^j  hexastichs  {2S^-^-  ^2-14. 19-21. 
26-28  24^^'-),  a  heptastich  (23^'^),  and  an  octastich  (2322-25)  also  occur ;  and  in 
2^29-35  (qj-j  wine-drinking)  the  thought  is  developed  into  a  short  poem  ;  in  these 
cases,  though  the  individual  verses  are  usually  parallelistic,  the  terse,  compact 
form  of  the  original  fnashal  is  entirely  surrendered. 

This  division  of  the  Book  is  less  a  collection  of  individual 
proverbs  (as  No.  2)  than  a  body  of  maxims,  in  which  proverbs 
are  interwoven,  addressed  with  a  practical  aim  to  an  individual 
(to  whom  the  expression  My  son"^  is  applied,  2'^^-^^-'^^  2413-21)^ 
and  worked  up  usually  into  a  more  or  less  consecutive  argument. 
The  tone  is  hortatory,  like  that  of  No.  i ;  but  No.  3  differs  from 
No.  I,  in  that,  while  that  is  devoted  in  the  main  to  a  single 
subject,  the  commendation  of  wisdom,  the  advice  proffered 
here  relates  to  many  different  topics.  From  the  terms  of  22^^^- 
(notice  esp.  the  emphatic  thee  in  v.^^)  it  would  almost  seem  to 
have  been  addressed  originally  to  a  particular  individual :  the 
2nd  pers.  in  c.  1-9  seems  rather  to  be  a  poetic  fiction.  The 
maxims  are  mostly  of  a  very  practical  character;  e.g.  against 
becoming  surety  for  another,  22^6^-  (cf.  nis  20^^),  against  in- 
dulging to  excess  in  unwonted  dainties,  23!-^,  against  the  undue 
pursuit  of  riches,  23*^-,  and  especially  against  gluttony  and 
drunkenness  (which,  it  is  rather  remarkable,  [376]  is  only  com- 
mented on  twice  in  the  numerous  proverbs  contained  in  No.  2, 
viz.  20I  2 1 17),  2320^.29-35, 

(4.)  2423-34,  with  the  title,  "These  also  are  sayings  of  the 
wise."  An  appendix  to  No.  3,  displaying  similar  variety  of  form  : 
a  hexastich  v.23b-25^  a  distich  v.^^,  a  tristich  v.27,  a  tetrastich  v.^s^-, 
and  a  decastich  v. 30-34.  In  the  decastich,  the  slothful  man  (who 
has  more  than  once  been  satirized  in  No.  2)  is  made  the  subject 
*  As  in  No.  I ;  in  No.  2,  only  once,  ig^^. 


400  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

of  a  short  apologue,  drawn  professedly  from  the  writer's  experi- 
ence (cf.  7'--^  Ps.  37S5S  Job  5^-). 

In  Nos.  3  and  4,  24**  is  very  similar  to  20^'*^ ;  24^*^  has  occurred  before 
in  ii^***;  24'^''  in  13**' ;  and  24^'-  is  all  but  identical  with  6^<"-.  In  the 
collection  itself,  the  following  repetitions  occur:  2228*  23^0*;  2223*  23"^; 
238a.  6b  .  23"*  24^* ;  23^8  2414b.  c^ 

(5.)  C.  25-29,  with  the  title,  "These  also  are  Proverbs  of 
Solomon,  which  the  men  of  Hezekiah  king  of  Judah  copied 
out."  An  appendix  to  No.  2.  In  this  collection,  distichs  re- 
appear, though  not  with  the  same  regularity  as  in  No.  2,  being 
accompanied  by  tristichs  (25^- 1^-20  2710.  22  28^^),  tetrastichs  (25^^- 
9f.  2if.  Szc.),  a  pentastich  (25^^-),  and,  as  in  Nos.  3  and  4,  a  short 
poem  (on  the  value  of  industry  to  the  farmer),  consisting  of  a 
decastich  (272^"^^).  The  proverbs  appear  sometimes,  as  in  No. 
2,  to  be  grouped  by  catch- words  (as  25^^-  debate;  y}^^- gold',  261^- 
As  .  .  .  so),  but  they  are  also,  more  frequently  than  in  No.  2, 
grouped  by  real  community  of  subject,  as  25^-''  (on  kings),  262-^2 
(where  each  verse  illustrates  some  aspect  of  the  character  of  the 
"  fool "),  13-16  (on  the  sluggard),  23-20. 28  (q^  false  flattery).  Another 
distinction  between  this  collection  and  No.  2  is  that  while  in 
No.  2  the  predominant  type  of  proverb  is  the  antithetic,  this  is 
common  here  only  in  c.  28-29,  while  in  c.  25-27  the  comparative 
type  prevails.  In  this  type  of  proverb  (which  occurs  but  twice 
in  No.  2)  an  object  is  illustrated  by  some  figure  derived  from 
nature  or  human  life,  the  comparison  being  sometimes  expressed 
distinctly,  ■**■  sometimes  [377]  left  to  the  reader  to  be  inferred  from 
the  mere  juxtaposition  of  two  ideas. f 

The  proverbs  in  this  collection  dififer  often  in  character  from 
those  in  No.  2,  though  not  so  widely  as  is  the  case  in  Nos. 

*  26^  As  snow  in  summer,  and  as  rain  in  harvest ; 
So  honour  is  not  seemly  for  a  fool. 
So  262-8-i8f.  .  278;  and  before,   lo^^.     Without  so  15"  26^^.      Or  with  the 
particle  of  comparison  omitted — 

25^^^  An  earring  of  gold,  and  an  ornament  of  fine  gold, 
Is  a  wise  reprover  upon  an  obedient  ear. 
So  25"- 14. 18. 19.  26.  28  2617-  23  283- 15 ;  and  before,  \\^. 
t  2525  Cold  water  to  a  fainting  soul, 

And  good  news  from  a  far  country. 
I.e.  the  two  resemble  one  another.     On  this    "  Waw   of  equality,"  which 
occurs  also  in  Arabic,  see  Delitzsch,  p.  9,  note.     So  i^-  ^^'  ^  26^'  '^-  ^- 1*-  ^^ ; 
comp.  26-°  27'-  20, 


THE  PROVERBS  4OI 

3  and  4.  The  proverbs  in  c.  28-29  bear  the  greatest  general 
resemblance  to  those  in  No.  2  ;  but,  on  the  whole,  the  proverbs 
in  c.  25-29  appear  to  spring  out  of  a  changed  state  of  society. 
The  king  is  not  presented  in  the  same  attractive  or  amiable 
light.  If  252  represents  him  as  searching  out  a  matter  for  his 
subjects'  weal,  25^  associates  him  with  the  thought  of  what  is 
arbitrary  and  mysterious.  25*^-  speak  of  the  removal  of  bad 
ministers  before  him,  28^  alludes  suggestively  to  calamities  which 
rival  claimants  for  a  throne  may  inflict  upon  a  land ;  and  28^2. 
i5f.  28  292.  4.  16  hint  at  sufferings  experienced  at  the  hands  of 
unrighteous  rulers.  256*-  29^'^  are  of  more  neutral  character: 
one  contains  a  maxim  for  behaviour  in  the  king's  presence ;  the 
other  promises  a  sure  throne  to  a  just  king.  27^  is  not  im- 
possibly an  allusion  to  exile,  such  as  became  familiar  to  the 
Israelites  from  the  8th  cent.  B.C.  Religious  proverbs  are  rare : 
see,  however,  291^  (cf.  22^),  -^^'.  The  importance  of  the  prophet, 
as  an  element  in  the  state,  is  significantly  expressed  in  29!^. 
The  "  fool "  (^'•DD),  who  already  in  the  collection  No.  2  is  repre- 
sented with  a  touch  of  satire,  is  here  the  subject  of  a  series  of 
satirical  attacks,  261- ^-i^,  cf.  27^2.  In  26i3-i<5  the  sluggard  is  held 
up  to  derision.  Agricultural  industry  is  inculcated  in  2723-27. 
Some  of  the  proverbs  are  maxims  for  conduct  (as  in  Nos.  3 
and  4),  e.g.  25^^- ^- ^^-i^^-^if-  (love  of  an  enemy)  :  in  these  cases 
the  advice  is  sometimes  enforced  by  a  prudential  motive.  The 
address  my  son  occurs  once,  27^1. 

No.  5  is  remarkable  for  the  many  proverbs  'identical,  or  nearly  so,  with 
proverbs  in  No.  2  :  thus  2^^  2i»  ;  26^^  iqIS"  ;  26^'  22i3  ;  26i«  192^  ;  2622 
188  ;  27I2  223  .  27I3  20I6  ;  2715  IQl'b  ;  2721*  173a  ;  28«  I9I  ;  2819  12"  ;  29" 
222  ;  2922a  1518a  .  none  is  repeated  from  No.  3,  and  only  one  is  substantially 
identical  with  one  in  No.  4,  viz.  2821*;  cf.  2423^.  In  No.  5  itself,  two 
proverbs  occur,  worded  very  similarly,  but  with  a  different  subject,  26^2  ^nd 
292*' ;  comp.  also  2812b  ^nd  2828*. 

[378]  (6.)  C.  30.  "The  words  of  Agur,  the  son  of  Jakeh, 
the  oracle."  V.^^*  states,  as  it  seems,  the  conclusion  of  a 
sceptic  as  to  the  impossibility  of  knowing  God  ;  *  v.^^  the  poet 
gives  the  answer,  an  appeal  viz.  to  God's  revelation  of  Himself, 
followed,  v."^-^,  by  a  prayer  that  he  may  never  be  tempted  him- 
self, by  extremes  of  worldly  fortune,  to  abandon  or  dishonour 

*  Introduced,  v.^**  with  some  solemnity,  as  an  oracular  declaration,  by 
"iiin  DK3  (cf.  Nu.  243-  i5j  2  Sa.  23i,^and  the  common  m.T  dm). 


402  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

God.  V.io-33  consists  of  nine  groups  of  proverbs,  each  of  which 
describes  some  quality  or  character  in  terms  of  either  warning 
or  commendation,  and  in  most  of  which  the  number  four  is 
conspicuous  :  viz.  v.^^  a  warning  against  slander ;  \}^-^^  the  four 
marks  of  an  evil  generation ;  yj}^-^^  the  four  insatiable  things  ; 
v.i''  the  fate  of  the  disobedient  son ;  v.^^-^o  the  four  incompre- 
hensible things  ;  v.^i-^s  the  four  intolerable  things ;  v.^^-^s  the 
four  wise  animals ;  v.^^-si  the  four  things  comely  in  their  going ; 
y  32-33  a  warning  against  strife.  The  form  in  which  most  of 
these  proverbs  are  cast  is  peculiar ;  they  are  sometimes  called 
"  numerical "  proverbs ;  there  is  another  example  in  d^^-^'^. 

30^  is  peculiar  and  enigmatic.  Neither  Agur  nor  Jakeh  is  named  else- 
where :  NK'Dn,  "the  oracle,"  is  introduced  abruptly,  and  the  term  is  else- 
where applied  to /r<7///^/zV  utterances  only  (Isa,  13^  &c.)  :  Ithiel  and  Ucal, 
also,  as  proper  names,  are  very  strange.  In  ne'DH  there  is  probably  an  error. 
We  may  read  (with  Hitz.,  Miihlau,*  Del.,  Nowack)  NfJSP  of  Massa,  or 
'K^-^n  the  Massaite,  in  which  case  Agur  would  be  described  as  belonging  to 
the  Ishmaelite  tribe  of  Massa  (Gen.  25^^),  whose  home  was  probably  in  the 
north  of  the  Arabian  Peninsula,  south-east  of  Palestine  ;  or  (with  Gratz, 
Cheyne)  '??'2n  (Ez,  16^  al.)  the  proverb-writer  \  31^  (see  below)  somewhat 
supports  the  former  view.  V.  i**  is  probably  to  be  read  '?dn)  ^x  'n'xS  *?«  'n'K^ 
(see  RV.  viarg.),  and  treated  as  a  confession,  introductory  to  \.^'^,  of  the 
writer's  failure  in  his  effort  to  reach  the  knowledge  of  the  Most  High.  If 
the  ireading  "  of  Massa"  be  correct,  c.  30  will  contain  specimens  of  foreign 
'*  wisdom  "  (which  may  account  for  its  somewhat  peculiar  character  and 
vocabulary  t)>  though  the  [379]  Israelitish  author  who  adopted  them  must 
have  accommodated  them  to  the  spirit  of  his  own  religion  (see  esp.  v.°"^). 
As  regards  the  probable  date  of  c.  30,  Prof.  Cheyne  (p.  152)  observes  justly 
that  the  authors  of  both  v.^''"^  and  v.^"^  must  have  lived  in  an  age  of  advanced 
religious  reflexion  and  Scripture-study  :  the  one  is  rather  a  philosopher  (cf. 
Job  and  Eccl.),  the  other  a  Biblical  theologian  ;  but  both  would  be  at  home 
only  in  the  exilic  or  post-exilic  period.  V.^  is  based  upon  Ps.  i8^^'  ",  the 
passage,  by  the  addition  of  "  every,"  and  of  v.^  (from  Dt.  4^  I2^2j^  being 
generalised  so  as  to  designate  a  collected  body  of  revealed  truth. 

(7.)  31^'^.  "The  words  of  Lemuel,  a  king  ;  the  oracle  which 
his  mother  taught  him."  A  series  of  very  homely  maxims, 
addressed  to  king  Lemuel  by  the  queen-mother,  warning  him 
against   sensuality   and    immoderate   indulgence   in   wine,    and 

*  De  Proverbiorum  quce  dicunttir  Aguri  et  Lemnelis  origine  atque  indole 
(1869). 

t  30"  npi^jy  ;  Jin  nON  n"?  ;  v."  nrs'p'  (also  Gen.  49^°,  but  with  Arabic 
affinities) ;  v.^  fsn  ;  v.^^  D"ip'?N  (as  it  seems,  a  strong  Arabism  j  Cheyne,  p. 
175). 


THE  PROVERBS  4O3 

exhorting  him  to  relieve  the  necessities  and  defend  the  cause 
of  the  poor. 

31^.  Another  enigmatic  title.  The  combination  l'?D  hatuih,  *'  Lemuel,  a 
king,"  is  siflgular  :  we  should  expect  naturally  either  "  King  Lemuel  "  (l'?Dn 
Vnid*?,  or,  in  /a^e  Hebrew,  l'?Dn  Vkid*?),  or  the  addition  of  the  country,  or 
people,  of  which  he  was  king.  H&D,  a  prophetic  utterance,  seems  also  to  be 
as  unsuitable  here  as  in  30^.  Both  these  anomalies  are,  however,  removed 
together,  if  we  simply  connect  nk'D  "i'?D,  and  construe  as  in  RV.  niarg.,  "  The 
words  of  Lemuel,  king  of  Massa,  which,"  &c.  (so  Hitz.,  Miihlau,  Del., 
Nowack,  Kuen.2  §  95.  10).  Here  also,  as  in  c.  30,  some  unusual  expres- 
sions occur  (v. 2  the  strong  Aramaism  n3,  son  (thrice)  ;  v.^  the  Aram.  plur. 
pa^D;  nino;  v.^  fjiVn). 

(8.)  3i^<^-3i.  The  description  of  a  virtuous  woman,  without 
any  title,  the  verses  of  which  are  arranged  alphabetically. 

The  literary  style  of  the  Proverbs  has  some  peculiarities  of 
its  own.  Not  only,  especially  in  the  principal  collection  (No.  2), 
are  the  individual  Proverbs  terse  in  statement  and  regular  in 
form,  but  the  vocabulary  of  the  Book  includes  many  words  and 
expressions  which  are  met  with  seldom  or  never  in  other  parts 
of  the  OT.,  though  here  they  recur  with  considerable  frequency. 
Some  of  these  are  confined  to  one  division  of  the  Book,  others 
are  found  in  more  than  one. 

Thus  confined  chiefly  to  No.  2  are — 

n"n  nipD  a  fountain  of  life  (above,  p.  397). 

nnnp  destruction  :  lo^^-  ^^-  '^  13^  14^  18''  21^'  (rare  besides). 

v^-y;^  }3  a  son  that  causeth  shame  :  10^  17^  19-^ 

fj^p  perverseness  :  ii^  I5^t  5  l'?'?  ^°  subvert^  ruin  :  13^  19^  21^2  22^2  (only 

besides  Ex.  238  =  Dt.  16^^  Job  12"). 
-xh  -v  hand  to  hand  (a  very  peculiar  idiom) :   ii^^  16^  f- 
[380]  mono^  IK  (tendeth)  only  to  want :  ii^^  \^  21^  22^^ 
K"K  '3  ''[ti'Dfrom  the  fruit  of  a  man's  mouth  :   12^^  13^  iS^o. 
y'?jnn  to  show  the  teeth,  i.e.  to  rail  or  quarrel :  i']^^  1%^  ^&\. 
Jehovah's  abomination  :  ii^  &c.  (see  above,  p.  397,  and  add  3^). 
.  .  .  ^'  there  is  that  .  .  .,  as  a  formula  introducing  a  proverb  :   li^  12^^ 
137.  23  14I2  i625  ig24  20I5.     (The  use  of  b-'  in  3^8  19I8  23I8  24"  :  2P-  is 
evidently  different. ) 
niSnnn  wise  guidance  (lit.  steersmanship,  a  met.  from  sea-faring  life)  :  11^^ 

126  2oi8b  :  also  i^  246=*  (varied  from  2^^^),  Job  37^^  T- 
D"n  T(V  a  tree  of  life  :  see  p.  397  ;  also  3^8.     Cf.  □"nn  yi)  Gen.  2-3. 
rip:''  «*?  will  not  go  unpunished  (perhaps,  as  Ew.  suggests,  an  echo  of  Ex. 

20')  :   Ii2i  i65  175  195-  9  2820  :  also  6291. 
NS-io  healing  {m.  different  applications)  :   12^8  j^i?  i^so  j^4  J524  291b  .  also 

422  615b  (^  291b). 
D'ma  n'£3'  breathes  forth  lies:    145b.  25  195.  o .   also  e^^a  ^^j^sb).   ^f.   12" 
njiDK  n£3'  breathes  forth  fcuthfulnessy  and  Ps.  27^2^ 


404  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

»)Ti9  a  pursuer  of .  .  .,  with  different  objects:   ii^°  nyn ;  12"  and  28^^ 

'"'D  Jijn  p'sn  to  draw  out  favour  from  Jehovah  :    12^  iS^^b  (  =  835b)  ;    the 

verb  also  (which  is  uncommon)  3^^. 
pno  mr  stirreth  up  strife  :  15^8  2325  2922. 
13-13  whisperer,  talebearer  :  i628  188  =  2622  2620. 

noiD  correction,  instruction,  is  also  much  more  frequent  in  Pr.  than  else- 
where (30  times).     The  idea  of  life  being  a  discipline  is  fundamental 
in  the  book.     "God  educates  men,  and  men  educate  each  other" 
(Holtzmann  in  the  continuation  of  Stade's  Gesch.  ii.  297). 
There  are  also  some  other  terms  chiefly  used  in,   and  perhaps,   when 
they  occur  elsewhere,  borrowed  from,  the  Wisdom-literature :  as  n;^;pi,  np^, 
D'nipK,  m'?ayD  (cf.  "^ayo),  nbSinn  ;  and  my  son,  used  by  the  teacher  in  addressing 
his  pupil.     Other  words  occurring  in  the  book  with  great  frequency  are  due 
to  the  types  of  character,  or  qualities,  described,  as  '?'1N  the  weak  fool  (13 
times  in  No.  2,  in  other  parts  4  times),  rh's'^  folly  (16  times  in  No.  2,  in  other 
parts  6  times),  '?'D3  the  obstinate  fool  {-^o  and  19  times),  \^  the  scorner  {i"^"' 
384  97.8  13!  146  1^12  1925.  29  20I  2i"-  24  2210  249  :  only  besides  Isa.  2920,  Ps. 
ii),  'ns  the  simple  (i"-  22-  32  f  %f>  94.  6.  16  j^is.  is  1^25  21I1  22^  2712  :  elsewhere 
only  Ez.  452°,  Ps.  19®  116^  119^^),  the  void  of  heart  (i.e.  of  understanding), 
682  77  94. 16  1013.  (21)  J112  12I1  1521  17I8  2430  (not  elsewhere),  the  sluggard  (14 
times  :  not  elsewhere),  the  poor  (c^n,  E'Nn,  not  the  usual  word  :  1 5  times),  and 
poverty  i^vci,  t^n),  7  times  (not  elsewhere). 

It  is  evident  that  there  was  a  tendency  to  cast  proverbs  into 
particular  types,  and  that  when  a  given  predicate  had  once  been 
formulated,  fresh  proverbs  readily  arose  by  new  subjects  being 
[381]  attached  to  it.  Another  way  by  which  new  proverbs  were 
produced  was  by  clauses  beinj,'  differently  fitted  together:  this 
is  illustrated  by  the  occurrence  of  proverbs  partially  varied,  of 
which  the  chief  examples  have  been  quoted  in  the  account  given 
above  of  the  different  collections  in  the  Book.* 

Age  and  authorship  of  the  Book. — From  the  very  different 
character  of  the  various  collections  of  which  the  Book  is  com- 
posed, it  is  apparent  that  the  Book  must  have  been  formed 
gradually.  According  to  the  common  opinion,  the  oldest  col- 
lection is  10^-22^^.1     At  what  date  this  collection  was  formed, 

*  Comp.  12"  and  iV^  ;  ii^^  20^8  and  24^  ;  ioi«  and  i%^\ 
t  It  is,  not,  however,  certain  that  this  opinion  is  correct.  Prof.  Davidson 
(in  the  Encycl.  Brit. )  adduces  strong  reasons  tending  to  show  that  the  oldest 
proverbs  are  those  preserved  in  c.  25-29,  especially  c.  25-27.  He  remarks 
that  the  highly  finished,  regular  form  of  the  proverbs  in  c.  10  ff.  is  not  such 
as  to  suggest  a  great  antiquity,  but  rather  an  advanced  stage  of  literary 
culture,  and  long  use  of  the  arts  of  the  proverbialist :  the  prorerbs  in  c. 
25-27,  on  the  other  hand,  while  less  regular  in  form,  are  more  nearly  what 


THE  PROVERBS  40$ 

cannot  be  determined  with  precision;  but  from  the  general 
picture  of  society  which  the  proverbs  seem  to  reflect,  and 
especially  from  the  manner  in  which  the  king  is  uniformly 
alluded  to,  it  is  generally  referred  to  the  golden  days  of  the 
monarchy  :  Delitzsch  thinks  of  the  reign  of  Jehoshaphat ;  Ewald 
assigns  it  to  the  beginning  of  the  8th  century.  Of  the  other 
parts  of  the  book,  the  first  to  be  added  were  probably  the 
introduction,  i^-^^,  with  the  discourse  that  follows,  i''-c.  9,  and 
22^^-24^2^  The  aim  of  the  writer  of  c.  1-9  (as  we  have  seen) 
[382]  was  to  provide  c.  10-22^^  with  a  hortatory  introduction: 
he  was  thus  in  any  case  the  "  editor  "  of  this  collection,  and  (if 
Prof.  Davidson's  view  be  correct)  may  have  been  its  compiler  as 
well.  As  regards  the  date  of  c.  1-9,  Ewald,  Davidson,  Nowack, 
Cheyne  (p.  168)  agree  in  placing  it  shortly  before  the  exile.* 
2  2i''-2422  is  not  probably  by  the  same  author  as  c.  1-9:  for 
though  a  hortatory  strain  prevails  in  both,  the  style  and  manner 
are  in  many  respects  different:    22'^'^'^'^,  for  histance,  does  not 

we  should  imagine  the  early  popular  proverb  to  be,  as  they  are  also  in  many 
instances  more  epigrammatic  and  forcible  than  those  in  c.  10  fF.,  and  include 
most  of  those  which  have  obtained  currency  among  ourselves  (2520-  22.  25.  26. 28 
262.  3. 11.  23  2717. 19.  22),  jhe  title  *^  These  a/so,"  &c.  (25I)  shows  that  when 
c.  25-^9  was  introduced  into  the  book,  it  was  preceded  by  another  Solomonic 
collection,  but  not  that  such  a  collection  existed  when  c.  25-29  was  first 
compiled  by  the  "men  of  Hezekiah."  Individual  proverbs  in  10^-22^^  may 
be  old,  though  the  collection  itself  may  be  late  (though  not  later  than  c.  600 
B.C.).  Other  recent  scholars  have  gone  further,  and  arguing  (chiefly)  from 
the  theology  of  c.  10 -22^^,  which  seems  to  presuppose,  and  to  have  assimi- 
lated, the  higher  teaching  of  the  prophets,  and  from  the  absence  of  all 
warnings  against  idolatry — so  prominent  in  the  pre-exilic  literature — have 
supposed  this  collection  to  date  (in  the  main)  from  the  post-exilic  period. 
So  Kuen.2,  who,  while  not  denying  that  particular  proverbs  are  pre-exilic 
(§  97'  I9)»  holds  that  the  collections  of  which  the  Book  consists  were  all 
compiled  after  the  exile  (§  97.  14-18),  the  Book  as  a  whole  being  completed 
in  its  present  form  c.  B.C.  350-300  (§  97.  20).  The  arguments  both  for  and 
against  this  view  are  stated  with  moderation  in  an  interesting  and  suggestive 
paper  by  C.  G.  Montefiore,  "  Notes  upon  the  Date  and  Religious  Value  of 
the  Proverbs,"  in  the /ewi'sk  Quart.  Rev.  July  1890,  p.  430  ff. 

*  Now,  however.  Prof.  Cheyne  treats  it  as  post-exilic  {Founders  of  OT. 
Crit.  p.  340):  so  Kuenen^  (§  97.  21).  Frankenberg  {ZATW.  1895,  P- 
104  ff),  developing  the  view  of  Stada(6^.  ii.  216),  and  O.  Holtzmann  {ib.  p. 
296  f.),  combated  by  Kuen.2  (§  97.  20),  that  Pr.  1-9  is  a  product  of  the  Greek 
age,  argues,  chiefly  on  ground  of  the  resemblances  in  the  religious  ideas,  and 
social  conditions  presupposed,  to  the  proverbs  of  Ben  Sira  (Ecclesiasticus), 
that  it  springs  from  substantially  Ae  same  period,  c.  B.C.  200. 


406  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

produce  the  impression  of  being  by  the  same  hand  as  i^-^.* 
The  injunction  24^1,  "  My  son,  fear  thou  the  Lord  and  the  king" 
authorises  the  inference  that  this  collection  also  was  formed 
before  the  exile.  2428-84,  the  appendix  to  22^^-2422  was  no 
doubt  added  somewhat  later :  for  the  compiler  of  22!^^-,  had 
these  additional  "words  of  the  wise"  come  to  his  hand,  would 
probably  have  included  them  in  his  collection  in  preference  to 
appending  them  to  it  with  a  new  title.  C.  25-29  must  have 
been  added  after  22^^-0.  24  had  been  attached  to  c.  10-2  2^^  : 
otherwise,  it  is  natural  to  suppose,  the  supplementary  "  Proverbs 
of  Solomon  "  would  have  been  made  to  follow  the  principal 
collection  16^-2.2^^  immediately,  instead  of  being  placed  after 
the  "words  of  the  wise,"  22^^-0.  24.  It  is  thought  by  some, 
on  account  of  the  similarity  of  the  headings  2428  and  25"^ 
("  These  also  are"  .  .  .),  that  both  appendices  were  added  by 
the  same  hand,  the  short  passage  2423-34  being  arranged  in 
juxtaposition  with  the  other  "words  of  the  wise,"  and  c.  25-29, 
with  the  more  formal  title,  pointing  back  to  10^,  being  placed 
after  it.  By  the  addition,  at  a  still  later  date,  of  c.  30,  311-^ 
3ii<>-2i,  all  doubtless  of  post-exilic  origin,  the  Book  of  Proverbs 
finally  reached  its  present  form. 

What  share  in  the  Book,  now,  may  reasonably  be  assigned 
to  Solomon?  221^-0.  24,  and  c.  30-31  are  not,  by  their  titles 
or  otherwise,  brought  into  any  connexion  with  Solomon  :  the 
question  therefore  need  only  be  considered  with  reference  to 
c.  1-9,  c.  10-22^6,  and  c.  25-29.  i^  is  not  the  title  to  the 
Book,  but  consists  of  the  opening  words  of  a  sentence  (v.^-^) 
declaring  the  value  of  the  "  Proverbs  of  Solomon,"  and  [383] 
evidently  (as  "proverbs,"  properly  so  called,  are  to  be  found 
only  here  and  there  in  i''-c.  9)  pointing  forwards  to  the 
collection  which  begins  with  10^.  The  introduction,  c.  1-9, 
is  not  therefore  stated  to  be  Solomon's ;  and,  in  fact,  both  its 
style  and  contents  point  to  a  date  considerably  later,  as  that  at 
which  it  was  composed.  But  even  10^-2  2^^  cannot,  at  least  in 
its  entirety,  be  Solomon's  work.  Not  only  is  the  same  proverb, 
or  part  of  a  proverb,  often  repeated,  and  the  same  predicate 

*  Observe  the  contrast  between  the  3rd  pars,  in  i^-''  and  the  emphatic 
2nd  pers.  in  22"-2i.  There  are  also  many  favourite  expressions  used  by  the 
author  of  c.  1-9  {e.g.  mm  teaching  or  law)  which  do  not  occur  in  22^'^-.  See 
Ewald,  p.  53.     Kuenen  ^  (p.  105)  and  Nowack  (p.  xxxv)  agree. 


THE   PROVERBS  407 

applied  to  many  different  subjects  (above,  p.  397),  but  there  are 
also  many  other  cases  in  which  the  same  thought  recurs,  expressed 
in  different  words  :  it  is  not  probable,  however,  that  one  and  the 
same  author  would  have  adopted  methods  such  as  these  for  the 
formation  of  new  proverbs,  or  have  propounded  a  number  of 
independent  variations  of  the  same  theme.  It  is  far  more 
probable  that  in  such  cases  we  have  before  us  the  work  of 
different  wise  men  casting  fresh  generalisations  into  an  old 
mould,  or  recording  in  slightly  different  phraseology  the  same 
observations  of  life  and  manners  which  another  had  made  before 
them.  Secondly,  it  is  difficult  not  to  feel  that  many  of  the  pro- 
verbs are  unsuitable  to  Solomon's  character  and  position.  The 
proverbs  concerning  the  king  seem  rather  to  express  the  senti- 
ments of  the  people  than  the  reflexions  of  a  king  about  either 
himself  or  other  kings.  The  proverbs  which  speak  in  deprecia- 
tion of  wealth,  or  which  praise  monogamy,  do  not  fall  naturally 
from  Solomon's  lips  :  consider,  for  instance,  13^  \^^  18^2  1913-14 
2i3i  22I*  in  the  light  of  Solomon's  character,  as  depicted  in 
I  Kings.  The  most  probable  view  is  that  iqI^-  consists  of  a 
collection  of  proverbs  by  different  "wise  men"  living  under  the 
monarchy,  including  a  nucleus,  though  we  cannot  determine  its 
limits  or  ascribe  particular  proverbs  to  it,  actually  the  work  of 
the  Wise  King  "^  (in  accordance  with  the  tradition,  i  Ki.  4^2). 
The  proverbs  in  lo^^-  exhibit  great  uniformity  of  type ;  perhaps 
this  type  was  set  by  Solomon,  and  was  afterwards  adopted 
naturally  by  others.  Mutatis  mutandis^  the  same  remarks  will 
apply  to  c.  25-29.  The  title  (25I),  the  accuracy  of  which  there 
is  no  reason  to  question,  is  an  indication  that  the  proverbs  which 
follow  were  reputed  in  Hezekiah's  age  to  be  ancient :  it  cannot 
be  taken  as  a  guarantee  that  all,  or  even  a  majority,  were  the 
work  of  Solomon  himself,  f 

*  So  Ewald  (p.  14)  and  Nowack. 

t  The  Proverbs  of  Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach  (Ecclesiasticus),  written  c.  2CX) 
B.C.,  deserve  to  be  compared  with  the  Book  of  Proverbs  :  cf.  Cheyne,  y<?3 
and  Solomon^  p.  I79ff.;  Montefiore,yifww//  Quart.  Rev.  1890,  p.  449  ff. 


CHAPTER   IX. 
THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

Literature. — H.  Ewald  in  the  Dichter  des  AB.s,^  1854  (translated) ;  K. 
Schlottmann,  Das  B.  Hiob,  185 1  ;  F.  Delitzsch,  1864,  21876  [only  the y?rj/ ed. 
is  translated];  A.  Dillmann  (in  the  Kgf.  Exeg.  Handb.),  1869,  21891  ;  A. 
Merx,  Das  Gedicht  von  Hiob,  187 1  (alters  the  text  not  always  wisely)  ;  W.  H. 
Green,  The  Argument  of  the  Book  of  Job  unfolded  (New  York,  1873) ;  F. 
Hitzig,  Das  B.  Hiob,  1875  ;  E.  W.  Hengstenberg,  Das  B.  Hiob,  1875  ;  C. 
Budde,  Beitrdge  zur  Kritik  des  B.  Hiob,  1876  (I.  Die  neuere  Kritik  u.  die 
Idee  des  B.  Hiob;  II.  Der  Sprachliche  Charakter  der  Elihu-Reden) ;  S. 
Cox,  A  Comm.  on  the  Book  of  Job.  1880;  A.  B.  Davidson,  in  the  Canib. 
Bible  for  Schools,  1884  (to  be  recommended),  and  in  the  Encycl.  Brit.^  s.v.\ 
T.  K.  Cheyne,yi7<J  and  Solomon,  1887,  pp.  11-115  ;  G.  G.  Bradley  [Dean  of 
Westminster],  Lectures  on  the  Book  of  Job,  ^  1888  [explanatory  paraphrase]  ; 
C.  Siegfried  (in  Haupt's  6'i5C)7'.),  1893;  Kuenen,  Onderz?\\\.  i  (1893),  PP- 
105-167;  G.  Bickell,  above,  p.  2)^2  n.,  and  Das  Buch  Job  nach  Anleitung 
der  Strophik  und  der  LXX  auf  seine  urspr.  Form  zuriickgefiihrt,  u.  im 
Versmasse  des  Urtextes  iibersetzt,  1894  ;  G.  Beer,  Der  Text  des  B.  Hiob, 
parti,  (c.  1-14),  1895;  K,  Budde  (in  Nowack's  "  Handkomm."),  1896,  with 
Cheyne's  critiques.  Expositor,  June  and  July,  1897,  JQR.  July  1897  ;  also 
J.  B.  Mozley  in  Essays  Hist,  and  Theol.  1878,  ii.  p.  164  ff.;  J.  A.  Froude  in 
Short  Studies  on  Great  Subjects  (series  i,  1867),  p.  266  ff.;  A.  M.  Fairbairn, 
"The  Problem  of  Job"  in  The  City  of  God,  1886,  p.  143  ff.  See  further 
Delitzsch,^  p.  35  ff.  ;  Cheyne,  pp.  112-115;  Dillm.^  p.  xxxix  f.  ;  Budde, 
Komm,  p.  Ivi.  On  the  LXX  text  of  Job,  G.  Bickell,  De  Indole  Vers.  Alex. 
Jobi,  1863;  and  in  the  Z.  fur  Kath.  theol.  (Innsbruck),  1886,  p.  557  ff.;  E. 
Hatch  in  Essays  in  Biblical  Greek,  1889;  A.  Dillmann,  "Textkritisches 
zum  B.  Ijob,"  in  the  Sitzungsberichte  of  the  Berlin  Acad.  1890,  p.  1345  ff.  [an 
elaborate  criticism  of  Dr.  Hatch's  Essay] ;  G.  Beer,  "  Textkritische  Studien 
zum  B.  Job,"  ZATW.  1896,  p.  297  ff.,  1897,  p.  97  ff.  (specially  on  the 
additions  and  omissions  in  Jerome's  transl.  of  the  LXX). 

The  Book  of  Job  recounts  how  the  patriarch  whose  name  it 
bears,  a  man  of  exemplary  piety,  was  overtaken  by  an  unprece- 
dented series  of  calamities,  and  reports  the  debate  between  Job 
and  other  speakers,  to  which  the  occasion  is  supposed  to  have 
given  rise. 

409 


JOB  409 

The  Book  consists  of  five  parts  : — 

1.  The  Prologue  (c.  1-2),  written  in  prose. 

2.  The  Colloquies  between  Job  and  his  three  friends,  Eliphaz,  Bildad,  and 

Zophar,  written  in  poetry  (c.  3-31). 

3.  The  discourses  of  Elihu  (c.  32-37),  likewise  poetical,  except  the  intro- 

ductory verses,  32^**. 

4.  Jehovah's  reply  to  Job  (38^-42^),  also  poetical. 

5.  The  Epilogue,  recounting  Job's  subsequent  fortunes,  in  prose  (42'-"). 

[385]  The  Book  of  Job  is  a  product  of  the  Wisdom-literature 
(p.  392  f.) :  it  deals  with  a  problem  of  human  life ;  in  modem 
phraseology  it  is  a  work  of  religious  philosophy.  The  problem 
with  which  it  deals  is  this  :  Why  do  the  righteous  suffer  f  and  its 
principal  aim  is  to  controvert  the  theory,  dominant  at  the  time 
when  it  was  written,  that  suffering  is  a  sign  of  the  Divine  dis- 
pleas2ire,  and  presupposes  sin  on  the  part  of  the  sufferer.  The 
doctrine  that  righteousness  brings  prosperity,  while  wickedness 
is  the  forerunner  of  misfortune,  is  often  taught  in  the  OT. :  with 
regard  to  the  nation,  for  instance,  it  is  inculcated  in  the  exhorta- 
tions Ex.  2320^-,  Dt,  28,  Lev.  26 ;  applied  to  individuals,  it  is  the 
principle  repeatedly  insisted  on  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs."^  Of 
course,  in  a  large  measure,  this  doctrine  is  true.  Society  being 
organised  as  it  is,  the  habits  which  go  to  constitute  righteousness 
are  such  as  to  win  a  man  respect  from  his  fellow-men,  and  to 
command  success ;  on  the  other  hand,  wickedness  paralyses  the 
moral  energies,  blinds  an  individual  and  a  nation  aUke  to  the 
real  conditions  upon  which  prosperity  depends,  and  often  over- 
reaches itself.  The  doctrine  was  deeply  impressed  on  the 
ancient  Hebrew  mind ;  and  all  exceptions  were  a  source  of  great 
perplexity  to  it.  The  perplexity  was  the  greater,  because  the 
Hebrews  had  an  imperfect  conception  of  general  laws,  whether 
in  nature  or  in  society  :  they  were  keenly  sensible  of  God's  omni- 
presence, and  pictured  Him  as  interposing  actively  in  the  course 
of  the  world  :  hence  virtue  overtaken  by  calamity,  or  vice  flourish- 
ing unrebuked,  seemed  to  them  to  cast  a  direct  slur  upon  the 
justice  of  God's  government  of  the  world.  But  the  laws  govern- 
ing nature  and  the  constitution  of  society  being  general  ones,  it 
may  happen  that  in  individual  cases  their  operation  does  not 
redound  to  the  advantage  of  virtue  or  the  punishment  of  sin  : 
the  forces  of  nature  may  combine  to  overwhelm  the  innocent ; 
*  Comp.  Jer.  f-''  i-j^'-^-  ^^-^,  Isa.  58'«"-  ^^f-,  Ps.  i,  &c. 


4IO  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

men,  in  virtue  of  the  society  in  which  they  live,  being  variously 
bound  together,  the  innocent  may  suffer  through  the  ill-deeds  of 
the  guilty;  or  wickedness  may  elude  detection,  and  triumph 
unchecked.  The  problem  is  touched  on  in  Jer.  i2^'"-  ^i'^^^-,  Ez. 
i8  (see  p.  284),  Hab.  i^^^-,  Ps.  37,  49,  73.  One  solution  which 
the  Hebrew  thinker  found  was  that  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked 
was  shortlived,  that  it  met  with  a  sudden  and  ignominious  fall 
(Ps.  3720f.36  73I8-20).  while  the  righteous  in  [386]  the  end  in- 
herited the  land  (Ps.  37),  or  was  conscious  that  he  owned  a 
higher  and  inalienable  spiritual  possession  (Ps.  49,  73).  In  the 
case  of  the  sufferings  of  the  righteous,  there  was  a  tendency 
to  invert  the  argument,  and  to  conclude  that  because  sin  was 
followed  by  suffering,  therefore  suffering  was  necessarily  a  con- 
sequence of  antecedent  sin.  That  this  conclusion  is  illogical,  is, 
of  course,  obvious.  Nevertheless,  it  was  a  conclusion  that  was 
widely  drawn;  it  prevailed  even  to  the  days  of  Christ  (Luke 
131-^;  John  9^).  And  it  was  the  conclusion  which  Job's  friends 
drew.  Job's  sufferings,  they  argue,  convict  him  implicitly  of 
some  grave  antecedent  sin,  which  they  urge  him  to  acknowledge 
and  repent  of.  This  conclusion  Job  controverts.  He  steadily 
refuses  to  admit  that  he  is  guilty  of  any  sin  adequate  to  account 
for  his  extraordinary  sufferings."*  And  when  his  friends  appeal 
to  the  evidences  of  God's  retributive  justice  visible  in  the  world, 
he  retorts  by  pointing  to  the  numerous  instances  which  experi- 
ence affords  of  the  wicked  prospering  even  to  the  day  of  their 
death. 

The  main  aim  of  the  Book  is  thus  a  negative  one,  to  contro- 
vert the  dominant  theory  that  all  suffering  proceeds  from  sin : 
God's  retributive  justice  is  not  the  only  principle  by  which  men 
are  governed!  Positively  the  book  teaches— i.  (the  dialogue 
being  interpreted  in  the  light  of  the  prologue)  that  sufferings  may 
befall  the  righteous,  not  as  a  chastisement  for  their  sins,  but  as  a 
trial  of  their  righteousness^  and  that  as,  such  they  have  a  tendency 
to  strengthen  and  establish  their  faith.  Eliphaz,  also  (5^^^-)>  ^^^ 
particularly  Elihu  (sz^^'^^  ',  36^"^^),  jnsist,  in  addition,  upon  the 
disciplinary  value  of  suffering.  2.  The  Book  teaches  the  danger 
of  conceiving  too  narrowly  of  God  and  His  providence  :  by  con- 
ceiving of  Him  solely  as  a  dispenser  of  rewards  and  punishments, 

*  Job  does  not  claim  actual  sinlessness :  he  only  contends  that  he  is 
punished  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  his  sin  (721  1326  \/^^^-). 


JOB  41 I 

the  friends  charge  Job  unjustly  with  grave  sin;  and  Job,  con- 
scious of  his  innocence,  imputes  injustice  to  God,  and  is  tempted 
to  cast  off  his  fear  of  Him  altogether?  3. '  Inasmuch  as  Job,  in 
spite  of  his  combined  physical  and  mental  suffering,  does  not 
succumb  to  this  temptation,  it  teaches,  in  opposition  to  the 
insinuation  of  the  Satan  (i^),  that  man  is  capable  of  real  and 
disinterested  goodness,  and  can  love  God  for  His  own  sake.  4. 
It  teaches  (c.  38-42)  that  the  true  solution  of  moral  perplexities 
is  to  be  found  in  a  fuller  and  larger  sense  of  God,  in  a  concep- 
tion of  Him  as  the  author  of  a  vast  and  infinitely  complex  system 
of  nature,  in  which  it  is  unreasonable  for  the  individual  [387] 
to  conceive  of  himself  as  isolated  from  the  care  of  Providence, 
or  to  infer  that  his  sufferings  have  no  place  in  God's  purpose. 
5.  It  has  also,  probably,  a  practical  aim,  that  of  helping  the 
author's  contemporaries,  who  appear  to  have  been  in  circum- 
stances of  national  depression,  to  understand  the  situation  in 
which  they  were  placed,  and  of  encouraging  them  to  hope  for 
a  favourable  issue  (Davidson,  p.  xxvi).  In  other  words.  Job  is  a 
type  of  the  suffering  godly  Israelite. 

In  structure,  the  Book  of  Job  is  of  the  nature  of  a  drama, 
and  may  be  termed  a  dramatic  poem.  Its  principal  parts  are 
constructed  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue ;  and  the  action  which  it 
represents  passes  through  the  successive  stages  of  entanglement, 
development,  and  solution.  The  action  is,  however,  for  the  most 
part  internal  and  mental,  the  successive  scenes  exhibiting  "the 
varying  moods  of  a  great  soul  struggling  with  the  mysteries  of 
fate,  rather  than  trying  external  situations." 

The  Book  cannot  be  supposed  to  recite  a  literal  history.  This  appears 
partly  from  the  symbolical  numbers,  three,  five,  and  seven,  used  to  describe 
Job's  flocks  and  children,  and  from  the  fact  that  after  his  restoration  the 
latter  are  exactly  the  same  in  number  as  before,  while  the  former  are  exactly 
doubled ;  partly  from  the  ideal  and  dramatic  character  of  his  misfortunes, 
nature  and  man  alternating  in  their  endeavour  to  ruin  him,  and  one  only 
escaping  each  time  to  bring  the  tidings  ;  but  especially  from  the  character  of 
the  dialogue,  which  contains  far  too  much  thought  and  argument  to  have 
been  extemporised  on  the  occasion,  and  is  manifestly  the  studied  product  of 
the  author's  leisurely  reflexion. 

It  is  not,  however,  probable  that  the  Book  is  throughout  a 
work  of  the  imagination  :  for  in  Ezek.  14^^,  Job  is  alluded  to 
in  terms  which  seem  to  imply  that  he  was  a  real  person,  whose 
piety  was  well  known  tob  Ezek.'s  contemporaries  by  tradition. 


412  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

And  as  the  author  of  the  Book  comes  forward  clearly  as  a 
teacher,  the  ends  which  he  had  in  view  would  be  better  secured 
if  he  set  vividly  before  his  people  a  history  of  which  the  outlines 
were  popularly  known,  than  if  he  took  as  his  hero  one  with 
whose  name  they  were  unfamiliar.  To  determine  precisely  what 
elements  in  the  Book  belong  to  tradition,  is,  of  course,  no 
longer  possible.  But  probably  tradition  told  at  least  as  much 
as  that  Job,  a  man  of  exceptional  piety,  was  overtaken  by  un- 
paralleled misfortunes,  that  he  broke  out  into  complaints  against 
God's  providence,  and  refused  to  be  satisfied  or  calmed  by  the 
arguments  of  his  friends,  but  that  he  never  absolutely  [388] 
discarded  his  faith  in  God,  and  was  finally  restored  to  his  former 
prosperity.  This  history  is  made  by  the  author  of  the  Book  the 
vehicle  for  expounding  his  new  thoughts  on  the  religious  and 
ethical  significance  of  suffering. 

I.  The  Prologue  (c.  1-2)  acquaints  us  with  the  person  of  Job, 
and  the  occasion  of  the  calamities  which  befell  him.  Job  was  a 
man  of  exemplary  goodness,  a  non-Israelite,  whose  home  was  in 
the  land  of  Uz  :  *  Heaven's  testimony  to  his  piety  might  seem  to 
be  seen  in  the  prosperity  which  attended  him,  and  his  great 
possessions.  In  the  celestial  Council,  however  (cf.  i  Ki.  22^^), 
the  disinterestedness  of  his  virtue  is  called  in  question  by  "  the 
Satan,"  or  Adversary,!  the  angel  whose  office  it  is  to  test  the 
sincerity  of  men,  and  oppose  them  in  their  pretensions  to  a  right 
standing  before  God :  it  is  insinuated  that  it  is  dependent  upon 
the  blessings  lavished  upon  him  by  God;  if  these  were  with- 
drawn, he  would  disown  God  to  His  face.  The  Satan  receives 
permission  to  test  Job's  piety  as  severely  as  may  be,  without 
touching  his  person ;  and  one  after  another  his  flocks,  his 
servants,  and  his  children  are  destroyed.  But  Job's  piety  stands 
the  trial ;  he  is  deeply  moved,  but  receives  his  misfortunes  with 
submission  (c.  i). 

A  second  time  the  celestial  Council  is  held,  and  again  the 
Satan  is  present :  dissatisfied  with  the  test  which  has  been  applied 

•Probably  near  Edom,  on  the  E.  or  N.E. :  see  Gen.  36^8,  Lam.  421. 
Teman,  the  home  of  Eliphaz,  was  a  district  of  Edom  (Ob.  v.^,  Ez.  25^2. 
cf.  Gen.  36^5), 

t  See  Zech.  3"-  and  (without  the  article)  i  Ch.  21I.  The  idea  conveyed 
by  the  word  may  be  learnt  from  i  Sa.  29*,  2  Sa.  19^2  [H.  ^3]^  i  Ki.  ii^^-  '^'  ^. 
See  more  fully  Prof.  Davidson's  note. 


JOB  413 

to  Job,  he  receives  permission  to  try  the  patriarch  again.  Forth- 
with Job  is  smitten  with  sore  boils,  the  severe  and  loathsome 
form  of  leprosy  called  Elephantiasis.  In  spite  of  the  miserable 
condition  to  which  he  is  reduced,  his  piety  still  stands  fast :  he 
even  repels,  with  some  emphasis,  the  seductive  counsel  of  his 
wife  to  "renounce  God  and  die"  (2^-1^).  After  an  interval,  as  it 
seems  (7^;  cf.  19^^^-),  of  some  months,  his  three  friends,  having 
heard  of  his  troubles,  come  to  condole  with  him.  Appalled  at 
the  spectacle  of  his  misery,  they  sit  with  him  mourning  upon  the 
ground,  for  seven  days,  without  uttering  a  word  {2^'^-'^^),  Moved 
by  their  deep  unspoken  sympathy,  his  feelings  gather  strength, 
and  at  length  break  forth  in  a  passionate  cry  for  death  (c.  3). 

[389]  2.  (c.  3-31).  Job's  cry  passes  through  three  phases. 
In  the  first,  3^"^^,  he  curses  bitterly  the  day  of  his  birth,  wishing 
himself  unborn ;  in  the  second,  3^^"^^  he  asks  why,  if  he  must 
needs  be  born,  did  he  not  pass  at  once  to  the  grave?  in  the 
third,  3^*^'^^  he  expresses  his  mournful  surprise  that  life  should 
be  prolonged  to  those  who,  in  their  misery,  long  only  for  death.  | 

This  outburst  of  feeling  on  Job's  part  gives  occasion  to  his 
friends  to  speak,  and  so  opens  the  debate.  Job's  language  and 
demeanour  shock  them :  he  betrays  impatience,  and  a  sense  of 
resentment  at  God's  providence,  which  they  cannot  but  repro- 
bate. Eliphaz  speaks  first,  the  oldest  (cf.  15^^),  and  also  the 
most  courteous  and  conciliatory  of  Job's  friends. 

jFi'rsf  cycle  of  speeches  (c.  4-14). 

Eliphaz  (c.  4-5).  jEliphaz  commences  apologetically :  he  is 
surprised  tfiat  one  who  had  so  often  consoled  others  should,  in 
his  own  trouble,  thus  yield  to  despair,  forgetting  that  the 
[righteous  never  perishes  under  affliction,'  ^-^'^.  No  man  is  so 
perfect  in  God's  eyes  as  to  be  able  to  claim  exemption  from 
suffering ;  it  is  only  the  ungodly  who  resent  the  dispensations  of 
Providence,  4^^-5''.  Let  Job  remember  that  goodness  is  God's 
uniform  principle  of  action;  let  him  submissively  regard  his 
affliction  as  a  chastening,  and  he  may  yet  look  forward  to  abund- 
ant blessings  in  the  future,  5^-27.  The  argument  of  Eliphaz  is 
constructed  with  great  delicacy  and  tact,  and  his  speech  "  is  one 
of  the  masterpieces  of  the  book  "  (Davidson). 

Job  (c.  6-7).  Eliphaz's  words,  however  well-meant,  do  not 
meet  Job's  case.  Job  feels  that  his  sufferings  are  of  too  excep- 
tional a  character  to  be  deduced  from  the  general  imperfection  of 


414  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

human  nature ;  and  of  any  special  guilt,  calculated  to  draw  down 
upon  him  the  Divine  displeasure,  he  is  unconscious.  In  his 
reply  he  first  defends  himself  against  his  friend's  remonstrances  : 
little  does  Eliphaz  realize  (5^)  the  force  of  his  "vexation"  (62), 
if  he  imagines  him  to  be  complaining  without  cause ;  his  pains 
are  intolerable,  62-i3.  Next,  6i*-^^,  he  expresses  his  disappoint- 
ment at  the  line  adopted  towards  him  by  his  friends,  and 
demands  (6^^)  to  be  told  what  his  sin  is  :  thirdly,  c.  7,  he  breaks 
out  into  a  renewed  cry  of  desperation  at  the  thought  of  his 
sorrowful  destiny;  human  life,  his  own  especially,  is  short  and 
evil ;  why  does  God  "  set  a  watch  over  him,"  as  though  he  were 
a  dangerous  monster  that  needed  to  be  subdued  with  [390] 
tortures?  why  (7^^'*^-) — with  a  bitter  parody  on  the  words  of  a 
well-known  Psalm  (Ps.  8^) — does  God  occupy  Himself  with  a 
being  so  insignificant  as  man,  and  make  him  the  object  of  His 
unfriendly  regard  ? 

Bildad  (c.  8).  Job,  in  6^^,  had  implied  that  he  had  right  on 
his  side  as  against  God,  and  (c.  7)  had  further  charged  God  with 
holding  man  generally  enthralled  in  a  cruel  bondage.  Bildad 
attacks  these  points,  arguing  in  particular  the  discrimination  of 
the  Divine  justice,  and  supporting  his  teaching  by  an  appeal  to 
the  immemorial  experience  of  the  race.  God  cannot,  as  Job 
strangely  imagines,  be  unjust ;  if  Job's  children  have  perished,  it 
is  because  they  have  sinned ;  if  Job  himself  is  pure,  let  him  turn 
to  God,  and  seek  mercy  from  Him,  S^-t".  The  experience  of 
generations  teaches  that  a  sure  retribution  awaits  the  wicked, 
g8-i9 .  if  tt^Qu  art  righteous,  know  that  God  will  yet  again  cause 
thee  to  behold  prosperity,  8^0-22 

Job  (c.  9-10).  Ironically,  in  reply, /ob  concedes  the  premises 
of  his  friends :  of  course,  no  man  can  be  just  before  God  (4^^) ; 
for  God,  as  all  nature  witnesses,  is  mighty — so  mighty,  indeed, 
that  He  is  irresponsible,  and  no  one,  however  innocent,  could 
plead  successfully  before  Him,j(9i-2i.  So  far  from  His  justice 
being  discriminating,  He  destroys  the  innoce;it  and  the  guilty 
alike  (9^2^  in  direct  contradiction  to  8^^)  ^Ainiversal  /;^justice 
prevails  upon  the  earth,  and  God  is  its  author  j/9'-^3f.^  In  a 
calmer  strain.  Job  next  laments  the  pitiful  brevity  of  his  life, 
and  the  hopelessness  of  every  attempt,  so  long  as  his  afflictions 
continue,  to  clear  himself  before  God,  925-35^  In  c.  10  he  exerts 
himself  to  discover  what   secret  purpose   God    may   have   had 


JOB  415 

m  afflicting  him  :  he  offers  different  suggestions,  each,  of  course, 
only  to  be  rejected,  lo^"'^.  What  a  contrast  is  God's  treatment 
of  him  now  with  the  providential  skill  and  care  lavished  upon 
him  in  the  past!  lo^-i^.  And  the  desperate  thought  rises  to 
his  lips  that  this  had  been  God's  design  with  him  from  the  first, 
and  that  He  had  bestowed  upon  him  the  apparent  tokens  of 
His  favour  only  that  in  the  end  He  might  vex  him  with  cruel 
torments,  lo^^-i''.  If  this  was  God's  purpose  with  him,  why 
did  He  give  him  life  at  all  ?  at  least,  will  He  not  have  mercy  on 
him  now,  and  grant  him  a  brief  respite  from  his  pain,  before  he 
passes  for  ever  into  the  impenetrable  blackness  of  Sheol?  10^^-22. 

[391]  Job,  as  well  as  his  friepcis,  believes  sufferings  to  be  a  mark  of  God's 
displeasure  for  some  grave  sin<^  Job,  however,  is  conscious  that  he  has  not  so 
sinned  ;  hence  the  terrible  dilemma  in  which  he  finds  himself,  and  which 
forces  him  to  the  conclusion  that  God,  though  He  knows  him  to  be  innocent 
(10''),  is  determined  to  treat  him  as  guilty,  and  that  it  is  hopeless  for  him 
to  attempt  to  clear  himself.  Hence  the  charge  of  injustice  which  he  brings 
against  God,  and  which,  goaded  on  by  what,  in  his  present  frame  of  mind,  he 
feels  to  be  the  falsity  of  Bildad's  position,  8^*^,  he  formulates,  920-22^  so  as  to 
make  it  embrace,  not  himself  alone,  but  mankind  generally.  This  is  how  it 
comes  that  in  c.  9-10  ile  appears  overwhelmed  by  the  thought,  not  of  a 
beneficent,  God,  but  of  a  cruel  non-moral  Force,  ruling  despotically  in  the 
world.  yAt  the  same  time,  as  lo^*^^  shows,  his  faith  in  God  as  a  gracious, 
benevolent  Being  does  not  forsake  him,  and  the  two  aspects  of  God's  nature 
are,  for  the  time,  balanced  one  against  another  in  his  mind. 

Zophar  (c.  11).  Job,  in  c.  9-10,  had  asserted  more  emphatic-| 
ally  than  before  his  innocence;  and  thia^is  the  point  to  which • 
Zophar  addresses  himself.     He  begins  in  a  sharper,  more  im- 
petuous tone  than  Eliphaz  or  Bildad  had  done.     Job's  flow  of; 
words  must  be  stopped :  if  only  God  would  speak,  as  Job  had  * 
desired  (9^^),  it  would  quickly  appear  where  the  truth  lay,  11  ^-s. 
/^od's  all-penetrating  eye  sees  further  than  Job  can  comprehend ;  J 
it  detects  sin  where  man  is  unconscious  of  ity^ii'^-^^.     Let  Job  1 
put  evil  from  him,  and  spread  out  his  hands  to  God,  and  once  \ 
more  he  shall  enjoy  the  light  of  brighter  days,  11  ^^-i^.     But  a  | 
very  different  future  awaits  the  impenitent,  v.^o. 

Job  (c.  12-14).  Zophar  had  appealed  against  the  verdict  of 
Job's  conscience  to  the  omniscience  of  God,  and  had  alluded  to 
Job's  wisdom  in  terms  6f  Stfcmg'Sepreciation  (i  i^^).  Job  keenly 
resents  this  assumption  of  insight  into  God's  ways,  12!'^;  he 
points  out  that  it  is  of  a  very  ordinary  character,  12'^-'^^;  and 
proceeds  to  rival  Zophar  j?y  showing,  12^1-25,  that  he  has  a  wider 


4l6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

knowledge  of  God's  omnipotence  than  Zophar  of  His  omni- 
science. Zophar  had  said,  ii^^^^-,  that  God's  action  was  directed 
by  a  moral  purpose :  Job  draws  a  picture  of  great  social  and 
national  catastrophes,  which  illustrate  (so  he  implies)  God's  ab- 
soluteness rather  than  His  moral  discrimination.  The  method 
by  which  his  friends  seek  to  condemn  him  is  indefensible :  in 
maiorem  Dei  gloria m^  as  they  imagine,  they  even  dare  to  distort 
the  truth,  13^"^^.  But  his  own  conscience  gives  him  courage; 
and  he  bids  them  listen  while  he  pleads  his  case  with  God, 
J  ^13-22^  His  tone  is  calmer  than  in  y^^^-  or  iqI^- :  an  appeal 
for  forbearance  takes  the  place  of  his  [392]  former  irony  and 
defiance.  Will  God  persecute  a  creature  so  shattered  as  he  is, 
so  imperfect  and  shortlived  as  is  every  child  of  man  ?  Does  the 
sadness  of  human  life  and  the  hopelessness  of  its  close  awaken 
in  Him  no  pity?  1323-1412.  Would  only,  he  passionately  ex- 
claims, that  the  prospect  of  its  close  were  different !  ,  Would 
only  that  another  life,  however  long  delayed,  were  possible  for 
man  !  1 412-15  (RV.).  And  the  blissful  possibility  entrances  hirn ; 
but  the  hope  is  too  remote  a  one  to  be  seriously  entertained,  and 
it  dies  away  almost  before  it  is  distinctly  expressed  upon  his  lips, 
14I6-22. 

.   /^  /the  friends  have  all  failed  to  convince  Job  by  dwelling  upon 

p-^  the  nature  or  attributes  of  God.     Eliphaz's  appeal  to  His  uni- 

^    )  versal  goodness,  Bildad's  to  His  discriminating  justice,  Zophar's 

J     to  His  omniscient  insight,  have  equally  failed  to  dislodge  Job 

/     from  his  positioi^  he  still  maintains  that  his  afflictions  are  un- 

'^-  merite^    Accordingly  the  friends  adopt  now  a  different   line. 

/They  turn  from  the  nature  of  God  to  His  government  of  men, 

drawing  more  distinctly  than  before  (5^"^  8^2  ii20)  pictures  of 

the  vexations  which,  as  experience  shows,  befall  the  sinner,  in 

the  hope  thereby  of  awakening  Job's  conscience,  and  inducing 

him  to  see  himself  reflected  in  the  mirror  thus  held  up  before 

him.'   Job,   on   the   other   hand,   becomes   more   conscious   of 

his  isolation.     Hitherto  the   alienation   of  God   has   been   the 

burden  of  his  complaint ;  now  he  is  more  keenly  sensible  of  the 

i        alienation  of  men,  to  which,  in  his  speeches  in  the  second  cycle, 

I        he  often  pathetically  refers.     God  and  man  are   both   ranged 

against  him.     The  only  support  which  remains  to  him  is  his 

own   sense  of  innocence,  and  to  this  he  clings  all  the  more 

tenaciously. 


JOB  41; 

Second  cycle  of  speeches  (c.  1 5-2 1 ). 

As  before,  Eliphaz  (c.  15)  opens  the  debate.  He  begins  more 
severely  than  in  c.  5  :  Job's  principles  and  conduct  seem  to  him 
to  cut  at  the  root  of  all  religion  (v.*)  ^e  is  displeased  also  at 
Job's  assumption  of  superior  wisdom/^nd  at  his  rejection  of  the 
consolatory  views  of  God's  providence  suggested  by  himself 
(v.  1^,  with  reference  to  58flF.  iTff.j^  After  repeating  briefly,  15^*"^^  ^ 
what  he  had  urged  before  (cf.  4^''^')j  ^^  proceeds  to  meet  Job's 
contention  (q^^^-  12^),  that  wickedness  rules  unchecked  in  the 
world,  by  pointing  to  the  retribution  which  overtakes  the  sinner, 
— in  particular,  to  the  troubled  conscience  and  presentiments 
of  evil  which  haunt  him  during  life,  is^^"-"^,  and  to  his  [393] 
calamitous  end,  15^®^'-.  The  picture  of  thcJ^^Vil  conscience  is 
drawn  here  with  great  force,  and  is  without  a  parallel  in  the  OT. 
(cf.,  however,  Isa.  57^^). 

Job  (c.  16-17).  After  a  few, words  of  contempt  for  the  empty 
solace   of  his   friends,    i62-5y^ob  proceeds  to  draw  a  graphic 
but  pitiable  picture  of  the  condition  to  which,  in  spite  of  the       ^ 
innocence  of  his  life,  he  nov/  finds  himself  reduced — God,  his 
unrelenting  adversary ;  man,  his  too  eager  foe,yo^-i^.     Death  is 
approaching  with  rapid  steps, — death,  which  to  Job  means  the 
reprobation   of  God,  and   the  reproach  and   obloquy  of  men.^ 
Nevertheless,  the  conviction  is  strong  within  him  that  he  has 
still  a  Witness  in  heaven,  a  witness  to  whom  he  accordingly 
appeals  to  uphold — at  least  after  death — his  right,  and  to  grant 
him  even  now  (17^)  a  pledge  that  in  the  end  He  will  cause  his 
innocence  to  appear,    16^^-17'^  (v.^  in   direct  contradiction  to 
15*).     He  ends,   17^^"^^,  with  repudiating  as  folly  the  counsel   • 
of  his  friends  (S^o^-  ii^^^-),  to  hope  for  restoration  in  the  present  v^ 
life. 

Bildad  (c.  18).  Job's  piteous  expression  of  his  mental  con- 
flict wins  no  sympathy  from  Bildad;  rather,  he  shows  himsell 
(i82-4)  deeply  vexed  by  the  hard  terms  which  Job  had  applied  to 
his  friends  (i62'  20  1^2.  4. 10^^  ^nd  by  his  impious  words  respecting 
God  (16^, — which  18^  is  intended  directly  to  meet).  This  is 
followed,  as  an  answer  to  Job's  protestation  of  innocence  (i6is), 
by  a  picture,  more  elaborated  and  pointed  than  the  one  drawn  by 
Eliphaz  (15"®^-),  of  the  misery  in  life,  and  the  dishonour  after  ' 
death,  which  are  the  certain  lot  of  the  sinner,  iS^-^i.  The  i 
figures   used  by  Bildad  are  drawn  largely  from  the  common*     L 


41 8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

places  of  moralists  and  prophets  {e.g.  18^%  see  Pr.  13^  24^0 ;  v.7% 
opp.  to  Pr.  4^-),  though  in  several  instances  they  seem  to  be 
selected  with  the  view  of  suggesting  the  circumstances  of  Job 
himself;  and  no  doubt  it  is  Bildad's  desire  that  Job  should  so 
apply  them. 

Job  (c.  19).  This  application,  however,  Job  disowns.  Never- 
theless, he  is  acutely  pained  by  his  friends'  cruel  insinuations/ 
1 92-6  ;  and  he  breaks  out  into  a  yet  more  agonized  and  pathetic 
description  than  he  had  given  before  of  his  sufferings, — assailed 
remorselessly  by  God,  abandoned  by  his  acquaintances,  an 
object  of  aversion  to  his  closest  relations,— Tending  with  a  moving 
appeal  to  his  friends  to  show  him  pity,  ig'^'^^.  But  [394]  from 
his  friends  he  can  expect  nothing;  and  so  with  the  wish  that 
the  protestation  of  his  innocence  might  be  inscribed  in  im- 
perishable letters  upon  the  rock,  there  passes  from  his  lips  the 
sublime  utterance  of  his  faith,  his  conviction  that  his  Vindicator 
liveth,  and  that  even  though  his  human  frame  succumb  to  his 
disease,  He  will  reveal  Himself  to  him  after  death,  and  manifest 
his  right,  1923-27. 

On  19^""-  see  esp.  Davidson,  pp.  291-296.  The  stages  in  Job's  brighten- 
ing faith  should  be  noticed,  y'^^^-  g^^^-  his  attitude  towards  God  is  defiant : 
jq8-12  j^g  YiSLS  the  thought  of  a  beneficent  God,  but  it  is  immediately  obscured 
under  the  frightful  suggestion  of  10^^""  :  I4^"^-^^  the  vision  of  a  reconciliation 
of  God  in  a  future  life  dawns  momentarily  upon  him  :  i6^^^*  ^^^-  17^  his  con- 
viction that  God  in  His  real,  inmost  nature  will  ultimately  own  his  innocence 
breaks  forth  :  1926-27  o^q  same  conviction,  combined  with  the  thought  that  he 
will  then  himself  see  God,  is  expressed  still  more  strongly.  The  thought  of  a 
future  beatific  life  is  nascent  in  the  Book  of  Job ;  it  is  expressed,  not  as  a 
generally  accepted  doctrine,  but  first  as  an  aspiration,  afterwards  as  a  moral 
persuasion  or  conviction  on  the  part  of  Job  personally.  Had  it  been  a  dogma 
at  the  time  when  the  Book  was  written,  it  must  have  formed  one  of  the 
premises  of  the  argument,  which  is  not  the  case.  The  term  "  redeemer,"  it 
will  be  noticed,  is  used  here  in  a  sense  the  very  opposite  of  the  Christian 
application,  to  denote,  viz.  a  deliverer,  not  from  sin,  but  from  affliction  and 
wrong  twi  due  to  sin  (RV.  marg.  vindicator).* 

Zophar  (c.  20).  Zophar,  like  Bildad,  is  unmoved  by  Job's 
appeal ;  he  had  spoken  before  (c.   11)  somewhat  impetuously ; 

*  !?Ka  is  to  assert  (by  purchase)  a  right,  Lev.  25^"^-  27^'-  ^^ ;  hence  fig.  to 
reclaim,  rescue,  esp.  from  servitude,  oppression,  &c.  Ex.  15",  Ps.  72^*,  freq, 
in  II  Isaiah,  as  41"  43^  442^  :  here,  from  unjust  and  cruel  imputations.  And 
so  mn  '?KJ  is  the  vindicator  of  the  rights  destroyed  by  bloodshed  =  the  avenger 
of  blood. 


JOB  419 

and  now  he  declares  that  his  spirit  is  roused  by  Job's  perverse . 
bhndness  to  the  teachings  of  experience  (v."*).  The  general' 
aim  of  his  speech  is  similar  to  that  of  EHphaz  (c.  15),  and  of| 
Bildad  (c.  18),  but  he  takes  a  different  point  for  illustration. 
Emphasizing  the  brevity  of  the  wicked  man's  prosperity,  and  the 
dissatisfaction  which  it  brings  him,  Zophar  draws  the  picture  of 
a  man  of  substance,  whqse  riches,  amassed  by  injustice,  turn  to 
wormwood  within  hirrij'' who  is  overtaken  by  sudden  destruction 
in  the  midst  of  his  days,  and  whose  greed  is  satisfied  at  last  with 
the  fire  of  God's  judgments. 

Job  (c.  21).  Thrice  have  the  friends  sought  to  arouse  Job's 
conscience  by  pointing  to  the  retribution  which  in  one  shape  or 
[395]  another  inevitably  awaits  the  ungodly.  Twice  (c.  16  f.  ; 
c.  19)  Job  has  contented  himself  with  reasserting  his  own  inno- 
cence :  he  has  made  no  attempt  to  controvert  the  principle  of  his 
friends'  teaching.  The  third  time  he  is  impelled  to  do  this,  and 
in  c.  21  he  meets  Zophar's  closing  words  (202^)  with  a  direct 
contradiction.  The  doubt  is  a  terrible  one;  as  he  says  (v.-^^-), 
it  makes  him  tremble  when  he  thinks  of  it.  He  arraigns,  in  its 
entirety,  the  justice  of  God's  rule  of  the  world  (cf.  922-24),  xhe 
wicked  prosper  and  die  in  peace;  they  do  not^  as  the  friends 
maintain,  meet  with  sudden  and  ignominous  deaths,  212-26^  the 
friends,  in  asserting  that  they  do,  deliberately  pervert  the  truth/ 
2127-34  (v.30.32f.  ^g  RV.  marg). 

Third  cycle  of  speeches  (c.  22-28). 

All  the  means  adopted  hitherto  by  the  friends  to  dislodge  Job  ^^ 
from  his  position  have  proved  ineffectual,  and  they  are  reduced 
a  second  time  (see  p.  416)  to  alter  their  line  of  attack.  yAccord- 
ingly  they  now  charge  Job  explicitly  with  the  great  sins  which 
before  they  had  only  hinted  at  or  imputed  to  him  indirectly^ 
^his  charge  is  laid  against  Job  by  Eliphaz  (c.  22).     Job  had 
implied  that  God's  dealings  with  men  were  dictated  by  arbitrary 
motives :  Eliphaz  answers  that  God  deals  with  men  according  to 
their  ways ;  and  as  it  is  inconceivable  that  He  should  punish  Job 
for  his  piety,  the  cause  of  his  afflictions  must  lie  in  his  sins/ 
222-5.     These  sins  Eliphaz  does  not  scruple  to  enumerate, — they'''*] 
are  chiefly  those  of  inhumanity,  avarice,  and  abuse  of  power/r 
most  commonly  associated  in  the  East  with  wealth  and  influence,  J  / 
all   being,    of  course,   merely   inferred  by   him,   on   theoretical     \ 
grounds,  from  the  fact  of  Jab's  calamities,  226'2o  (see  the  detailed 


420  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

reply  to  this  charge  in  c.  31).  In  conclusion,  he  exhorts  Job, 
in  tones  which  show  that  he  still  (see  51^^-)  cherishes  feelings  of 
affection  towards  him,  to  reconcile  himself  with  God,  assuring 
him,  if  he  will  do  so,  of  his  restoration  to  both  spiritual  and 
material  prosperity. 

Job  (c.  23-24).  Job  makes  no  direct  reply  to  the  imputations 
of  Eliphaz;  he  is  still  absorbed  in  the  painful  thought  of  the 
mystery  of  God's  providence,  which  had  formed  the  theme  of 
c.  21.  The  marks  of  a  righteous  providence  he  can  discern,  he 
says,  neither  in  God's  dealings  with  himself  (c.  23),  nor  in  His 
dealings  with  mankind  generally  (c.  24).  /Did  he,  indeed,  know 
where  he  could  find  God,  and  gain  a  hearing  from  Him,  he  is 
[396]  confident  that  he  could  establish  his  innocence  before  Him,/ 
23^-'''.  But  God,  though  He  knows  His  servant's  innocence,  has 
withdrawn  Himself  from  him,  2^^-'^'^;  nor  will  He  rescind  the 
strange,  inscrutable  decree  which  He  has  passed  against  him, 
2^13-17^  "Why,"  he  exclaims,  "are  times"  of^tribution  "not 
reserved  by  the  Almighty"  for  the  guilty?  Why  is  the  world 
abandoned  to  violence  and  wrong?  And  he  illustrates  by  many 
examples  the  oppressions  which  reign  unavenged  even  in  the 
unsophisticated  life  of  the  country,  and  the  crimes  that  prevail 
unchecked  in  the  populous  city,  24^'^'^.  In  vain  do  his  friends 
repeat  that  the  prosperity  of  the  godless  is  but  for  a  moment, 
2 4I8-21 ;  experience  shows  that  God  only  too  often  supports  the 
oppressor  through  life,  and  brings  him  to  a  natural  and  painless 
death,  2422-25. 

Bildad  (c.  25)  makes  no  attempt  to  reply  to  the  facts  adduced 
in  such  abundance  by  Job ;  and  his  short  speech  is,  in  truth,  an 
indication  that  the  friends  have  exhausted  their  arguments. 
But  he  cannot  avoid  protesting  against  Job's  presumption  in 
imagining  that  he  would  be  declared  innocent  at  God's  tribunal 
(233-7),  and  in  indicting  the  justice  with  which  the  world  is 
administered.  Accordingly,  in  words  borrowed  partly  from 
Eliphaz  (4I''  15^*^-),  he  restates  the  two  main  principles  which 
have  throughout  underlain  the  arguments  of  the  friends,  viz.  the 
majesty  of  God,  and  the  imperfection  in  His  eyes  of  all  things 
human. 

Job  (c.  26).  After  a  sarcastic  allusion  to  the  vain  comfort 
afforded  by  Bildad's  last  speech.  Job  proceeds  to  meet  Bildad's 
^rsf  contention  (252^-),  by  demonstrating  that,  if  the  explanation 


JOB  421 

of  his  troubles  is  to  be  sought  in  a  knowledge  of  God's  great- 
ness, he  possesses  that  not  less  than  he  does  (cf.  g^-^^  12^^-^^). 
And  he  forthwith  draws  a  picture,  far  more  imposing  than 
Bildad's,  of  the  greatness  of  God  as  manifested  in  nature,  ending 
with  the  sublime  thought  tha^  the  visible  operations  of  God, 
majestic  as  they  are,  are  but  the  "  outskirts  "  of  His  real  ways, 
and  convey  but  a  "whisper"  of  His  full  power.  Jo^x  thus 
indirectly  reminds  his  friends  that  the  question  at  issue  turns, 
not  on  God^s  greatness^  but  on  Yiisjusike^- 

C.  27-28.  Job's  final  words  to  his  friends.  Zophar  fails  to 
come  forward ;  and  Job  accordingly,  after  a  pause,  resumes  his 
discourse.  27^-^  with  reference  specially  to  Bildad's  second  [397] 
contention  (2  5'*-^),  but  implicitly  at  the  same  time  to  similar 
words  on  the  part  of  his  other  friends,  he  enters  a  solemn  pro- 
testation before  God  of  his  innocence  :  2^-^^  he  describes,  with 
great  emphasis  and  feeling,  the  dreary,  God-abandoned  mental  >( 
condition  of  the  wicked  man, — it  is  a  fate  which  he  could  himself 
wish  only  for  his  enemy  1  27^1-^  he  proceeds  to  instruct  his 
friends  at  some  length  respecting  the  terrible  material  ruin  which 
befalls  the  sinner  at  the  hand  of  God. 

C.  28.  The  wisdom  of  God  unattainable  by  man.  Man,  says 
Job,  pointing  to  the  methods  by  which  in  ancient  times  mining 
operations  were  conducted,  can  wring  from  the  earth  its  hidden 
treasures,  28^-^^;  but  wisdom  has  no  place  where  it  can  be 
found;  it  cannot  be  purchased  by  gold  or  precious  stones;  it 
cannot  be  discovered  either  in  the  land  of  the  living  or  in  the 
realm  of  the  dead,  28^2-22.  \^  jg  known  to  God  only,  who  was 
guided  by  it  in  His  work  of  creation,  and  who  prescribed  to 
man,  as  his  wisdom,  the  pursuit  of  a  religious  and  virtuous  life, 

2823-28^ 

The  gist  of  this  extremely  striking  and  beautiful  chapter  is  sometimes  mis- 
understood.    By  wisdom  is  meant  the  intellectual  apprehension  of  the  prin- 
ciples by  which  the  course  of  the  physical  world  and  the  events  of  human  ^  ^ 
life  are  regulated ;  and  it  is  declared  to  belong — at  least  in  its  fulness — only 
to  God,   who  has  appointed  for  man,   as  its  substitute^   the   practice  of  a       J 
righteous  and  holy  life.  y-^ 

Hitherto  the  argument  of  the  poem  has  been  consistent  and  intelligible ; 
but  27'"^  and  c.  28  have  been  a  source  of  great  perplexity  to  commentators.  * 
(i)  27'^"^*'.     These  verses  appear  to  be  inconsistent  with  Job's  position.     The 

*  See  also  Wellhausen  in  Bleek's  Einl.  (ed.  4),  p.  540  f. ,  and  especially 
Budde,  ZATW.  1882,  p.  i93ff.« 


422  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

state  of  mind  which  he  here  denies  to  the  ungodly,  seems  manifestly  to  be  one 
of  which  he  has  experience  himself.  V.  ^'  ^°  would  not,  indeed,  be  out  of 
place  in  Job's  mouth  (of.  i6^^  19^*-  23^"-) ;  but  v.*  is  in  direct  contradiction 
with  his  repeated  declarations  that  God  refuses  to  hear  him  (g^^'-  is^-*  19'  238^-). 
Two  solutions  are  offered.  The  words  being  inconsistent  with  the  condition 
of  Job's  mind  as  revealed  in  his  speeches,  it  is  supposed  {a)  that  he  has  at 
last  found  his  way  to  an  assured  trust  in  God,  or  that  such  a  trust  has  suddenly, 
after  the  attacks  of  his  friends  are  ended,  flashed  upon  him,  and  filled  his 
mind  with  the  hope  of  a  restoration  to  God's  favour  (Ewald,  Dillm.).  This 
altered  frame  of  mind,  however,  though  not  in  itself  inadmissible,  is  difficult 
to  reconcile  with  what  follows ;  for  in  yy^^'  "^  Job  expresses  again  the  same 
thought,  which  ex  hypothesi  he  would  here  have  overcome :  he  denies,  pre- 
cisely as  he  has  done  throughout  the  debate,  that  God  listens  to  his  cry.  And 
[398]  similarly  in  3i35-37  }^e  treats  God  still  as  his  adversary.  At  the  same 
time,  it  is  conceivable  that  the  author  only  intended  to  represent  Job  as  having 
regained  a  temporary  calmness  of  mind,  which  afterwards,  as  the  contrast 
between  his  past  and  present  position  forces  itself  upon  him  (c.  30-31),  he 
fails  to  maintain.  The  alternative  {b)  is  to  conclude  that  the  implicit  reference 
is  to  Job's  past  condition,  and  to  suppose  that  the  state  of  mind  which  Job 
denies  to  the  ungodly  is  suggested  by  memories  of  his  own  former  condition, 
as  described  in  c.  29,  when  the  tokens  of  God's  friendship  were  abundantly 
bestowed  upon  him.  Upon  this  view  the  words  are  considered  to  be  intro- 
duced here  as  a  confirmation  of  v.^"^,  as  though  to  say  :  How  could  one  have 
ever  been  tempted  to  sin,  who  knew  so  well  the  miserable  mental  state  into 
which  the  sinner  falls?  (Hengstenberg  partly,  Budde,  pp.  205-210,  and  in 
his  Comm.). 

(2)  27"'^.  Here  it  is  remarkable  (a)  that  Job  should  undertake  to  teach 
his  friends  what  they  had  continuously  maintained,  viz.  the  evil  fate  which 
overtakes  the  wicked  ;  {b)  that  he  should  himself  affirm  the  opposite  of  what 
had  been  his  previous  position,  viz.  that  an  evil  fate  does  not  overtake  the 
wicked  (922-24.  c.  21  ;  c.  24)  ;*  {c)  that  while  coinciding  with  his  friends  in 
opinion,  he  should  reproach  them  with  folly  (v. ^2^;  "to  appropriate  their 
sentiments,  and  cover  the  operation  by  calling  them  foolish  persons,  was  not 
generous"  (Davidson).  The  solution  commonly  offered  of  this  difficulty  is 
that  Job  is  here  modifying  his  former  extravagant  expressions  respecting  the 
prosperity  of  the  wicked,  and  conceding  that,  as  a  rule,  or  often,  a  disastrous 
fate  overtakes  them.  But,  as  Professor  Davidson  remarks,  (a)  the  limita- 
tion "as  a  rule"  has  to  be  read  into  the  passage,  for  the  language  is  as 
absolute  as  that  of  any  of  his  friends ;  (/S)  if  the  passage  be  a  retractation  of 
Job's  previous  language,  it  is  a  retractation  which  errs  equally  in  extravagance 
on  the  other  side ;  for  it  asserts  a  law  of  temporal  retribution  without  any 
apparent  qualification  whatever ;  (7)  it  is  singular  that  in  describing  the  fate 
of  the  wicked  at  God's  hands,  Job  should  use  the  same  figures,  and  even 
sometimes  the  same  words,  which  he  employs  when  speaking  of  his  own 
destruction  by  God  (v. 21,  cf.  9"  3022;  v. 22,  cf.  16^=^;  v.23,  cf.  I7«  30»-i4). 
Perhaps,  however,  this  coincidence  is  accidental.     A  decidedly  better  ex- 

*  Contrast  v.^"  with  218-  "  ;  v.  is  with  2i32 ;  v.^^  with  21^  &c. 


JOB  423 

planation  is  that  of  Schlottmann  and  Budde  (ZA  TW.  p.  211  ff.),  who  suppose 
the  passage  to  be  spoken  by  Job  with  an  eye  to  his  three  friends  \  v.^^  he 
ironically  declares  that  he  will  "teach"  them,  which  he  does  by  forthwith 
turning  their  own  weapons  against  them ;  they  know  (v.^^)  what  the  fate  of 
ihe  wicked  man  is,  and  yet  they  strangely  do  not  see  that  by  their  wicked 
linsinuations  against  Job  they  are  invoking  it  deliberately  upon  themselves ! 
Ijob  has  spoken  strongly  before  of  the  wrong  done  to  him  by  his  friends, 
134-7.  a  iQ2f.  21^4^  and  has  threatened  them  with  Divine  vengeance,  i-^^^-  192^; 
and  here,  upon  this  view,  he  holds  up  to  them,  if  they  will  make  the  applica- 
tion, a  more  distinct  warning.  * 

More  violent  remedies  have  been  proposed.  Kennicott,  for  instance,  a 
[399]  century  ago,  suggested  that  27^^"^  should  really  be  assigned  to  Zophar. 
But  the  brevity  of  Bildad's  last  speech  (c.  25)  seems  a  clear  indication,  on  the 
part  of  the  author,  that  the  friends  had  exhausted  their  arguments,  and  that  a 
third  speech  of  Zophar — especially  a  longer  one  than  Bildad's — is  not  to  be 
expected  ;  the  terms  of  27^^,  moreover,  show  that  27^^  cannot  be  the  end  of  a 
speech.  Professor  Cheyne  (pp.  38,  114)  conjectures  that  the  text  is  dislocated, 
and  rearranges  it  thus :  c.  25,  2^^-^^  (Bildad) ;  2^:^  271-'  (Job) ;  278-10- 13-23 
(Zophar, — the  opening  verses  being  supposed  to  be  lost) ;  271"-  c.  28  (Job). 

(3)  C.  28.  As  regards  the  relation  of  this  chapter  to  what  precedes,  it 
might  no  doubt  be  supposed  that  Job,  no  longer  irritated  by  the  retorts  of  his 
friends,  has  reached  a  calmer  mood ;  and  abandoning  the  attempt  to  discover 
a  speculative  so\\x\Xoxi  of  the  perplexities  which  distress  him,  finds  man'sst' 
wisdom  to  consist  in  the  practical  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  life.  But  a 
serious  difficulty  arises  in  connexion  with  what  follows.  If  Job  has  risen  to 
this  tranquil  temper,  how  comes  it  that  he  falls  back  {'ip''^''^^)  into  complain- 
ings, and  dissatisfaction  at  not  having  been  justified  by  God  (31^)?  And, 
further,  if  he  has  reached  by  the  unaided  force  of  his  own  meditations  this 
devout  and  submissive  frame  of  mind,  how  is  the  ironical  tone  of  the  Divine 
speeches  (c.  38 ff.)  to  be  accounted  for?  If  he  is  already  resigned  to  the 
inscrutability  of  the  Divine  ways,  how  does  it  need  to  be  again  pointed  out  to 
him?  The  difficulty  is  analogous  to  that  arising  out  of  27'"^ :  the  changed 
frame  of  mind,  which  both  appear  to  imply,  is  not  preserved  in  the  subsequent 
parts  of  the  book.  It  is  hardly  possible  that  such  a  noble  and  characteristic 
passage  can  have  been  inserted  into  the  poem  by  a  later  hand.  May  it  be 
.supposed,  as  was  suggested  above,  on  27''-^°,  that  Job's  tranquil  state  of  mind 
riwas  conceived  by  the  author  as  temporary  only?  It  must,  however,  be 
allowed  that  there  is  an  imperfect  psychological  basis  even  for  a  temporary 
recovery  of  calmness :  Job  is  unmoved  by  all  the  arguments  of  his  friends ; 
and  no  other  independent  influence  (as  in  c.  38-39)  has  been  brought  to  bear 
upon  him.  The  truth,  perhaps,  is  that  the  author's  psychology  must  not  be 
measured  by  the  standard  that  would  be  applied  to  a  Western  poet ;  and  that 
he  represents  Job,  in  this  part  of  the  book,  as  passing  through  moods  of 
feeling  without  what,  as  judged  by  Western  s^ndards,  would  be  deemed  the 
necessary  psychological  motives. 

According  to  Budde,  Job's  intellectual  inability  to  reconcile  his  sufferings 

*  Against  Delitzsc||^'s  solution,  see  Davidson,  p.  190. 


424  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

with  his  innocence  having  reached  its  climax  in  c.  27,  he  gives  up  the  problem, 

t  explaining  his  incapacity  from  the  fact  that  wisdom  is  reserved  by  God  for 
Himself :  what  He  has  given  to  man  under  this  name  is  a  practical  substitute 
for  wisdom,  not  wisdom  itself  Job,  upon  this  view,  accepts  the  ordinance  of 
Providence,  though  not  in  a  spirit  of  resignation,  but  {Comm.  pp.  xxvii,  156) 
in  dissatisfaction  and  despair.  This  explanation  brings  the  chapter  into  con- 
sistency with  the  context;  but  it  is  open  to  the  grave  objection  that  (as 
Davidson,  p.  201,  already  remarked)  no  trace  of  such  a  state  of  mind  is 
discernible  in  the  entire  chapter :  on  the  contrary,  the  writer  seems  to  be 
stating,  with  an  eloquence  and  warmth  which  surely  cannot  be  misunderstood, 
the  conclusions  which  satisfy  himself.  Cf.  Dillm.^  p.  238,  who,  however, 
owns  that  the  chapter,  so  understood,  cannot  state  the  ground  (v.^  "For")  of 
what  has  immediately  preceded,  and  is  consequently  obliged  to  assume  that 
something  different  stood  originally  in  the  place  of  what  is  now  27""^ 
(p.  234). 

C.  29-31.  Job's  final  survey  of  the  whole  circumstances  of 
his  case.  C.  29  Job  draws  a  pathetic  picture  of  his  former 
prosperity,  of  the  days  when  God's  favour  rested  visibly  upon 
him,  and  especially  of  the  high  respect  which  his  benevolence, 
and  philanthropy,  and  justice,  won  for  him  from  his  fellow-men. 
C.  30  there  follows  a  contrasted  picture  of  his  present  humilia- 
tion :  he  is  derided  by  the  meanest ;  even  the  outcasts  of  society 
(v.2-8)  hold  him  in  disdain ;  he  is  tormented  by  the  anguish  of 
his  [400]  disease :  instead  of  sympathy  such  as  he  himself  once 
extended  to  others,  a  painful  and  intolerable  solitude  is  his 
portion.  Such  has  been  Job's  strange  change  of  fortune.  And 
yet  he  is  conscious  that  nothing  that  he  has  done  can  be  the 
cause  of  it :  accordingly  in  c.  3 1  he  utters  his  final  and  solemn 
protestation  of  the  innocence  of  his  former  life  (cf.  27^"^).  The 
chapter  is  a  remarkable  one;  it  contains  the  portrait  of  a 
character  instinct  with  nobility  and  delicacy  of  feeling,  which 
not  only  repudiates  any  overt  act  of  violence  or  wrong,  but  also 
disowns  all  secret  impulses  to  impure  or  dishonourable  conduct. 

3.  (c.  32-37).  After  Job's  appeal  to  God,  at  the  end  of  c.  31, 
it  would  seem  that  the  crisis  of  the  poem  was  at  hand,  and  that 
God  must  appear  to  declare  His  award  upon  the  struggle. 
Instead  of  this,  however^ -felihu,  a  speaker  who  has  not  been 
named  or  alluded  to  before,  steps  forward,  and  expresses  his 
judgment  upon  the  matter  in  dispute.  Elihu  is  represented  as  a 
bystander  who  has  listened  to  the  course  of  the  debate  with  some 
dissatisfaction  at  the  line  taken  in  it  by  both  partie^';  being 
/^ounger/however,  than  any  of  the  principal  disputants,  he  has 


JOB  425 

waited  until  now  before  venturing  to  join  in  the  discussion.  He 
is  introduced,  like  the  other  speakers  (c.  2),  in  a  few  verses  of 
prose  :  his  own  discourse  is  in  poetry.  It  falls  into  five  parts — 
the  first  is  introductory ;  in  the  second^  thirds  and  fourth^  Elihu 
criticises  Job's  positions ;  the  fifth  contains  Elihu's  positive  con- 
tribution to  the  solution  of  the  problem,  (i)  32^-2^.  In  this 
rather  long  and  laboured  introduction/Elihu  explains  the  reasons'^") 
which  prompted  him  to  interpose ;  he  is  vexed  with  Job,  because  V 
he  justified  himself  as  against  God;  he  is  vexed  with  his  three ^ 
friends,  because  they  failed  to  refute  Job/  (2)  C.  33.  Turning 
now  to  Job,  Elihu  begs  his  attention :  he  addresses  him  as  a 
fellow-man,  not  as  a  God  who  would  overwhelm  him  with  His 
might  (v.^,  with  allusion  to  9^*  13^^)-  Thereupon,  after  quoting 
some  of  Job's  words,  he  observes  that  Job  is  wrong  in  insisting 
that  God  is  His  enemy,  and  does  not  answer  his  cries :  God 
speaks  to  man,  if  he  will  but  listen,  in  many  ways;  by  visions 
of  the  night  He  withdraws  the  sinner  from  his  evil  purpose, 
or  He  sends  upon  him  the  chastening  influences  of  sickness ;  if 
His  warnings  are  obeyed.  He  afterwards  restores  hyn  to  health, 
and  fills  his  heart  with  grateful  joy.  (3)  C.  34.,/Elihu  protests 
against  Job's  complaint  that  God  afflicts  him  unjustly,  and  that 
[401]  it  is  no  profit  to  a  man  to  be  righteous :  injustice,  he 
replies,  is  inconsistent  with  the  very  idea  of  God,  2)^^'^'^  \  2i%^ 
Author  and  Sustainer  of  the  Universe,  He  can  have  no  motive  to  . 
injustice;  as  its  Supreme  Ruler,  He  must  be  incapable  of  it,/ 
3412-1^.  And  history  confirms  this  judgment,  for  it  abounds  with 
instances  in  which  He  has  struck  down  the  wicked,  and  Hstened 
to  the  cry  of  the  oppressed;  Job,  in  questioning  God's  principles 
of  action,  has  displayed  both  ignorance  and  impiety/342<^-3''.  (4) 
C.  35.  Elihu  here  applies  himself  to  meet  Job's  contention  that 
righteousness  does  not  profit  a  man :  righteousness,  he  arguesA 
must  profit  some  one;  but  God  is  too  lofty  to  be  affected  bjf) 
human  conduct ;  it  follows  that  man's  righteousness  must  benefit 
himself,  35^"^ :  the  reason  why  the  cry  of  the  oppressed  often 
remains  unanswered  is  that  it  is  merely  the  animal  cry  of  suffer- 
ing, not  the  voice  of  trust  and  submission,  35^"^^.  (5)  C.  36-37. 
Elihu,  having  corrected  Job's  false  ideas,  now  sets  before  him 
what  he  deems  a  truer  and  worthier  conception  of  the  Creator. 
For  this  purpose  he  points  to  different  illustrations  of  the  great- 
ness of  God,  especially  as  qj^emplified  in  His  providential  dealings 


426  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

with  men.  {a)  Afflictions  are  not,  as  Job  had  supposed,  evidence 
of  God's  wrath,  but  of  His  goodness ;  they  are  a  discipline^  designed 
for  the  warning  and  purification  even  of  the  righteous,  36I-15 ;  let 
Job  understand  this,  and  refrain  from  rebelHng  under  God's 
chastening  \i2ind/^2>^^^-'^^.  (b)  The  incomprehensibihty  of  the 
Divine  nature  is  manifest  in  the  wonderful  phenomena  of  the 
skies,  z^'^~Zl^^  y  ^^^  J^^)  learn  the  greatness  of  God,  who  is  just 
as  well  as  mighty,  who  afflicts  none  without  cause,  but  who 
regards  not  those  who  are  wise  in  their  own  understanding, 
3714-24. 

4.  (38^-42^).  Here  Jehovah  intervenes^  and  answers  Job  out 
of  the  whirlwind.  His  answer  consists  of  two  parts,/each  fol- 
lowed by  a  few  words  from  Job. 

The  aim  of  these  speeches  is  to  bring  Job  back  into  a  right 
frame  of  mind  towards  God.  Job  has  sustained  the  trial  success- 
fully ;  for  though  he  has  sinned  by  impatient  utterances  under 
the  weight  of  his  afflictions,  he  has  not^as  the  Satan  predicted, 
/  cast  off  his  religion  ym  spite  of  the  doubts  by  which  he  has 
been  assailed,  he  has  preserved  his  faith  in  a  just  and  holy  God 
(13!^  1 619  1925^^  and  in  a  righteous  order  of  the  worlc^i;^ 
2y8-io^^  Nevertheless,  the  cloud  of  discontent  and  doubt  is 
not  yet  dispelled  from  his  mind  (30^0-23  ^i^^^- ;  and  while  this 
remains,  his  trial  cannot  be  said  to  be  ended.  What  is  [402] 
needed  is  thus,  firstly,  to  convince  him  that  in  his  demeanour 
toward  God  he  has  not  been  free  from  blame ;  and  secondly,  to 
raise  him  effectually  into  peace  of  mind.  For  this  purpose 
Jehovah,./)fr^//j^38^-4o2,  in  a  series  of  questions,  each  of  which 
admits  of  but  a  single  humiliating  reply,  causes  to  pass  before 
Job  a  "  panorama  of  creation,"  exemplifying  {a)  the  wonders  of 
inanimate  nature,  both  upon  earth,  2)^^'^^,  and  in  the  heavens, 
2819-38  .  ^^^  j-j^g  astonishing  variety  of  instincts  and  powers  pos- 
sessed by  the  animal  creation,  2>^^^~2>9^^'  The  effect  of  this 
brilliant  display  upon  Job  is  indicated  in  his  brief  reply,  4o'*^-:  he 
is  overwhelmed  by  it :  it  brings  home  to  him  in  a  degree  which, 
in  spite  of  what  fell  from  him  in  9^"^^  12 12-25  2(y>-^^  (esp.  1^),  he 
had  not  before  realized,  ^^o.  C077iprehensive7iess  and  infinite 
resource  of  the  Divine  intelligence;  it  fills  him  with  a  vivid 
and  ^..overpowering  sense  of  the  transcendent  majesty  of  the 
Creatqi^in  the  presence  of  which  his  doubts  vanish,  and  he 
owns  his  presumption  in  having  dared  to  contend  with  God. 


JOB  427 

The  aim  of  Jehovah's  second  speech,  40^-41 3*,  is  to  convince 
Job  of  his  error  in  charging  God  with  injustice  in  His  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  and  especially  in  His  treatment  of  himself/ 
As  Job  had  questioned  the  principles  of  God's  rule,  he  is 
/ironically  invited  to  assume  the  Divine  attributes,  and  rule  the 
EWorld  himself,  40^"^*.  And,  as  a  test  of  his  capabilities,  two 
formidable  creatures,  the  work  of  God's  hand,  like  himself  (40^^), 
are  described  to  him  at  some  lengjth,  and  he  is  asked  whether 
he  can  even  subdue  ^/lem,  40^^-41 3*.  Job's  answer  to  these  ^ 
demands  follows  in  421-6.  He  is  keenly  sensible  of  the  folly  of 
his  doubts,  and  he  solemnly  retracts  his  hasty  and  ill-considered 
words. 

The  first  speech  of  Jehovah  transcends  all  other  descriptions  of  the 
wonders  of  creation  or  the  greatness  of  the  Creator,  which  are  to  be  found 
either  in  the  Bible  or  elsewhere.  Parts  of  II  Isaiah  {e.^.  c.  40)  approach  it ; 
but  they  are  conceived  in  a  different  strain,  and,  noble  as  they  are,  are  less 
grand  and  impressive.  The  picturesque  illustrations,  the  choice  diction,  the 
splendid  imagery,  the  light  and  rapid  movement  of  the  verse,  combine  to 
produce  a  whole  of  incomparable  brilliancy  and  force.  "  The  attempt  which 
is  here  made  to  group  together  the  overwhelming  marvels  of  nature,  to 
employ  them  for  the  purpose  of  producing  an  approximate  impression  of  the 
majesty  of  the  Creator,  though  dependent  upon  the  childlike,  but  at  the  same 
time  deeply  poetical,  view  of  nature  prevalent  in  antiquity,  still  retains  not 
only  its  full  poetical  beauty,  but  also  an  imperishable  religious  worth.  For  ^ 
though  many  of  the  phenomena  here  propounded  as  inexplicable  are  referred 
by  [403]  modern  science  to  their  proximate  causes,  and  comprehended  under 
the  general  laws  of  nature,  yet  these  laws  themselves  by  their  unalterable 
stability  and  potent  operation  only  the  more  evoke  our  amazement,  and  will 
never  cease  to  inspire  the  religious  mind  with  adoring  wonder  of  the  infinite 
Power,  Wisdom,  and  Love  by  which  the  individual  laws,  and  forces,  and 
elements,  are  sustained  and  ruled  "  (Dillmann). 

The  long  description  of  Behemoth  and  Leviathan  (40^'^-4i^  [Heb.  ^])  is 
considered  by  Ewald,  Dillm.,  Cheyne  {Job  and  Sol.  p.  56),  Kuenen  (§  loi.  17), 
and  others,  to  be  out  of  harmony  with  the  idea  of  Jehovah's  second  speech, 
as  well  as  (in  parts)  poetically  unworthy  of  the  author  of  c.  38-39  ;  and  hence 
it  is  regarded  by  these  scholars  as  having  been  inserted  in  the  original  poem 
by  a  later  hand  (see  most  fully  Dillm.^  p.  342  f.  ;  and  cf.  Dav.  p.  liv). 
Budde,  limiting  the  interpolated  part  to  ^\^'^-'^^  [Heb.  "^--^j  (which  is  certainly 
the  most  laboured  and  prolix),  retains  the  rest,  supposing  that  40^^-411^ 
[Heb.  ^J  formed  originally  the  close  of  c.  38-39,  being  followed  by  ofi^''^-  ^■^*- 
3-B  422.  3bc.  0-6.  7ff.^  But  4oi°-2'i  jg  conceivcd  in  a  different  style  from  c.  38-39 
(the  characteristic  questiotis,  addressed  to  Job,  are,  for  instance,  entirely 
absent)  ;  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  think  that  it  could  ever  have  been  the  con- 
tinuation of  these  chapters. 

5.  The  Epilogue,  42''-i^»     The  end  of  Job's  trials,  ^/ttaving 


428  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

thus  regained  a  right  frame  of  mind  towards  God,  Job  is 
restored  to  prosperity  twofol^as  great  as  that  which  he 
enjoyed  before.  .'Job's  friends  are  condemned  for  what  they 
have  said,  and  Job  is  commended^^vJ^-). 

Of  course  Job's  friends  had,  in  fact,  said  much  that  was  just 
and  true ;  their  fault  was  that  they  had  misapplied  it ;  upon  a 
vJimited  basis  they  had  framed  universal  theories  of  the  methods 
of  God's  providence,  and  upon  strength  of  them  had  imputed 
to  Job  sins  of  which  he  was  innocent.  Job,  though  he  had  said 
much  that  was  blameworthy  and  false,  had  nevertheless  adhered 
to  the  truth  in  the  matter  under  dispute.  The  three  friends 
"  had  really  inculpated  the  providence  of  God  by  their  professed 
defence  of  it.  By  disingenuously  covering  up  and  ignoring 
its  enigmas  and  seeming  contradictions,  they  had  cast  more 
discredit  upon  it  than  Job  by  honestly  holding  them  up  to  the 
light.  Their  denial  of  its  apparent  inequalities  was  more  untrue 
and  more  dishonouring  to  the  Divine  administration,  as  it  is  in 
fact  conducted,  than  Job's  bold  affirmation  of  them  "  (Dr.  W.  H. 
Green^  quoted  by  Prof.  Davidson). 

It  is  all  but  certain  that  the  speeches  of  Elihu  are  not  part  of 
the  original  poem.  This  is  the  general  opinion  of  commentators 
and  critics,  and  rests  (principally)  upon  the  following  grounds  : — 

1.  Elihu  is  not  mentioned  in  either  the  Prologue  or  the  Epilogue.  That 
he  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Prologue  is  indeed  of  slight  weight  :  he  does  not 
join  with  the  others  in  the  debate  ;  and  he  is  introduced  with  sufficient  par- 
ticulars in  32^"^  But  his  non-mention  in  the  Epilogue  is  remarkable.  A 
definite  judgment  is  passed  on  both  Job  and  his  three  friends  :  if  Elihu  had 
been  one  of  the  original  speakers,  would  not  some  verdict  have  been  pro- 

O^nounced  on  what  he  had  said  ? 

2.  The  speeches  of  Elihu  are  attached  but  loosely  to  the  poem  as  a  whole. 
They  might  be  removed  from  it  without  any  detriment  to  the  argument,  and 
without  the  reader  being  sensible  of  a  lacuna.  Not  only,  however,  are  these 
speeches  loosely  connected  with  the  poem,  they  are  a  disturbing  element  in 
it.  They  interrupt  the  connexion  between  the  words  of  Job  (c.  29-31)  and 
Jehovah's  reply  (for  the  terms  of  38^  naturally  suggest  that  Job  is  almost  in 
[404]  the  act  of  speaking  when  the  reply  begins),  and  weaken  the  force  of  the 
latter  by  anticipating  (c.  36  f. ),  at  least  in  part,  its  argument. 

3.^  Elihu  occupies  substantially  the  same  position  as  the  three  friends, 
especially  Eliphaz  :  he  explains  Job's  sufferings  as  arising  from  his  sins 
(34^') ;  the  only  point  in  which  he  differs  from  the  friends  is  in  his  empha- 
sizing^ the  goodness  of  God,  as  the  principle  determining  His  dealings  with 
man,  and  in  his  laying  greater  stress  than  they  did  on  the  chastening 
chdiracter  of  affliction  (33"-^"  Z'^^''^) :   but   this  had  already  been  taught  in 


JOB  429 

effect  by  Eliphaz  (5^^-  ^'•"')  ;  and  Job  had  rejected  the  theory  as  inapplicable 
to  his  own  case.  Moreover,  from  both  the  Prologue  and  the  Epilogue 
(42'"^),  as  well  as  from  the  general  tenor  of  Job's  discourses,  it  is  apparent 
that  in  the  view  of  the  author  of  the  Book  this  principle,  however  just  and 
true  in  itself,  was  noi  the  explanation  of  the  sufferings  of  righteous  Job.  No 
doubt  Elihu  censures  the  friends  for  not  sufficiently  developing  these  aspects 
of  the  case  ;  but  as  they  are  touched  upon  by  Eliphaz,  it  is  strange  that  the 
author  should  not  have  allowed  Eliphaz  to  develop  them,  but  should  have 
introduced  an  independent  speaker  for  the  purpose. 

4.  The  siyle  of  Elihu  differs  considerably  from  that  of  the  rest  of  the 
Book.  It  is  prolix,  laboured,  and  sometimes  tautologous  (32*  «"<*•  ^^^-  "**) : 
the  power  and  brilliancy  which  are  so  conspicuous  in  the  poem  generally  are 
-^ftsibly  missing.  The  reader,  as  he  passes  from  Job  and  his  three  friends  to 
EnKu7  IS  conscious  at  once  that  he  has  before  him  the  work  of  a  writer,  not 
indeed  devoid  of  literary  skill,  but  certainly  inferior  in  literary  and  poetical 
genius  to  the  author  of  the  rest  of  the  Book.  The  language  is  often  involved 
and  the  thought  strained  :  these  speeches  are  marked  also  by  many  peculi- 
arities of  expression,  and  by  a  deeper  colouring  of  Aramaic  than  the  poem 
generally.  It  is  possible,  no  doubt,  that  these  features  have  sometimes  been 
exaggerated  by  critics  ;  and  Budde,  in  his  elaborate  and  interesting  study  on 
the  subject  {Beiir.  p.  65  ff. ),  has  shown  that  parallels,  or  analogies,  to  many 
of  them,  which  had  not  previously  been  observed,  may  be  found  in  other 
parts  of  the  Book  :  but  he  does  not  by  this  process  succeed  in  obliterating 
the  differences :  the  peculiarities  are  not  aggregated  in  other  parts  of  the 
Book  as  they  are  here ;  and  the  impression  which  the  reader  derives  from  a 
perusal  of  the  entire  group  of  speeches  is  unmistakably  different  from  that 
which  any  other  six  chapters  of  the  Book  leave  upon  him.  * 

The  most  probable  view  of  the  Elihu-speeches  is  thus  that 
they  are  an  addition  to  the  original  poem,  made  by  a  somewhat 
later  writer,  for  the  purpose  of  supplementing  certain  points  in 
which  it  appeared  to  him  to  be  defective.  He  wished,  in  con- 
trast with  the  spirit  of  Job's  speeches,  to  insist  on  the  reverence 
due  to  God  :  he  wished,  in  contrast  to  the  friends,  to  meet 
Job's  positions  by  considerations  drawn  more  directly  from  the 
essential    character    and    attributes    of    God :    he    wished    to 

•  Budde  admits  now  (Comm.  p.  xix)  that  the  more  he  fixes  his  attention 
on  the  whole  rather  than  on  individual  details,  **  the  stronger  the  impression 
upon  him  becomes  that  there  remains  nevertheless  a  great  difference  between 
the  style  of  Elihu  and  that  of  the  rest  of  the  Book  "  ;  and  allows  that  he 
would  be  obliged  to  grant  that  these  chapters  were  the  work  of  a  different 
hand,  did  he  not  think  it  possible  to  refer  this  difference  to  interpolation 
and  corruption  of  the  text :  when  the  speeches  of  Elihu  have  been  freed 
from  interpolated  (322-»-  "-12.  w-iv  334.  isb.  33  3^9.  loa.  26-28.  29c  3^4  3613-14. 17.  23. 
26.  29-30  3^13.  15-16)  ^nd  corrupt  passages,  he  claims  that  they  are  (from  a 
literary  point  of  view)  worthy  of  the  author  of  the  rest  of  the  Book. 


430  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

emphasize,  more  fully  than  Eliphaz  (c.  5)  had  done,  the  dis- 
ciplinary function  of  suffering.  These  are  all  points  which,  it 
is  difficult  not  [405]  to  think,  the  original  author,  had  he  desired 
so  to  notice  them,  would  have  introduced  into  the  main  debate, 
instead  of  leaving  them  to  be  dealt  with,  as  it  were,  in  an 
appendix,  by  a  supernumerary  speaker.  Such  an  appendix  is, 
however,  the  form  that  would  naturally  be  chosen  by  a  subse- 
quent writer  desirous  of  supplementing  the  poem  as  it  stood. 
The  resemblances,  such  as  they  are,  in  phraseology  and  general 
treatment  are  sufficiently  explained  by  the  supposition  that  the 
author  was  a  student  of  the  Book,  and  accommodated,  so  far  as 
he  was  able,  his  tone  and  style  to  it.  It  is  not,  however,  fair  to 
describe  the  speeches  of  Elihu  by  a  term  of  disparagement,  as  if, 
for  instance,  they  were  an  unauthorised  "  interpolation  "  :  though 
not  part  of  the  original  plan  of  the  Book,  they  are  a  valuable 
supplement  to  it ;  they  attach  prominence  to  real  and  important 
truths  which  in  the  rest  of  the  poem  might  seem  not  to  have 
received  their  proper  due. 

A  different  view  of  the  scope  of  the  Book  is  taken  by  those  who — as 
Schlottmann,  Hengst.,  Riehm  f^Einl.  ii.  263  f.  278  f.),  and  especially  Budde 
— acknowledge  the  Elihu-speeches  as  an  original  part  of  the  poem.  These 
writers  consider  that  what  was  indicated  above  (p.  410)  as  a  collateral  aim 
of  the  Book,  viz.  the  doctrine  of  the  disciplinary  or  purifying  value  of  suffer- 
ing, is  in  reality  its  main  aim — or,  at  least  (Riehm),  its  main  positive  aim. 
Thus  Budde  {Comm.  pp.  xxv,  xxx  ff.  &c.)  observes  that  Job,  though  right- 
eous before  the  visit  of  his  friends,  in  defending  his  righteousness  against  their 
silent  reproaches  (2^')  and  (c.  4-5,  &c.)  open  attacks,  fell  into  sin  :  spiritual 
pride,  a  sin  subtler  even  than  the  selfishness  of  his  piety,  which  was  what  the 
tempter  suspected,  was  latent  in  his  nature  from  the  first  (cf.  Riehm,  p.  263)  ; 
and  the  object  of  the  suffering  sent  upon  him  was  to  bring  this  hidden  sin  to 
his  consciousness,  to  lead  him  to  confess  it,  as  he  does  in  42^"^,  and  so  to 
purify  and  confirm  his  spiritual  nature.  The  materials  supplied  by  tradition 
did  not,  according  to  Budde,  embrace  more  than  1^-2^°  (to  evil),  and  42I''-" 
(except  v.^''*^) ;  these  portions  of  the  Prologue  and  Epilogue  constituted 
substantially  the  original  folk- tale  (**  das  Volksbuch  ")  of  Job,  in  which  the 
question  was.  Is  Egoism  the  root  of  piety  ?  Is  there  such  a  thing  as  dis- 
interested piety  ?  This  folk-tale  the  poet  adopted  as  the  framework  for  his 
thoughts.  With  him,  however,  the  question  becomes  a  deeper  and  broader 
one,  Can  the  righteous  suffer?  and  if  so,  why?  and  the  trial  of  Job's  right- 
eousness (which  is  the  theme  of  the  Prologue)  becomes  the  purification  of  his 
character,  and  the  confirmation  of  his  faith.  The  discussion  of  the  problem 
which  thus  arises  forms  the  subject  of  the  dialogue  which  the  poet  has 
inserted  between  the  two  parts  of  the  "Volksbuch"  {Comm.  p.  xxii  ff.). 
Consistently  with  this  view  of  the  general  scope  of  the  Book,    the    same 


JOB  431 

writers  consider  not  only  that  the  Elihu-speeches  are  the  work  of  the  original 
author,  but  that  they  present  his  own  solution  of  the  problem.  And  so 
Budde  remarks  (pp.  xxxvff.,  213)  that  Eliphaz  (c.  4-5)  explains  suffering 
only  as  a  punishment  for  actual  sin  :  Job  takes  the  same  view  of  it ;  Elihu, 
on  the  contrary,  explains  it  as  designed  to  make  a  man  conscious  of  latent 
sin,  and  thereby  to  enable  him  to  repent  and  overcome  it.  Budde  defends 
his  theory  of  the  Book  with  marked  skill  and  ability  ;  but  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  a  doctrine,  which,  however  true  and  profound  in  the  abstract,  is  so 
little  developed  by  the  poet  himself,  can  have  formed  the  main  idea  of  his 
work.  The  doctrine  of  the  disciplinary  function  of  suffering  is  very  sub- 
ordinate in  the  Book  ;  even  in  Elihu,  it  does  not  stand  out  with  the  clearness 
and  directness  that  would  be  expected,  if  the  poet  were  there  presenting  his 
own  solution  of  the  problem,  Nor,  though  it  is  true  that  Elihu  sees  in 
suffering  a  purpose  of  grace,  is  it  at  all  clear  that  he  views  it  as  sent  only  (or 
even  chiefly)  for  the  correction  of  latent  sin  ;  and  pride  is  alluded  to  by  him 
only  in  33"  36^  (cf.  further  Dillm.^  pp.  xv,  274  ;  Davidson,  pp.  xlivf.,  Hi ; 
Kuen.  §101.  20). 

With  regard  to  the  text  of  Job,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  genuine  LXX 
text  of  the  Book  (which  has  been  recovered  lately  from  the  Sa'idic  (Coptic) 
version,  published  by  Ciasca)*  is  shorter  than  the  Hebrew  text  by  nearly 
400  ffrixoi.  The  origin  of  these  differences  between  the  two  texts  is  not  in 
all  cases  apparent  ;  but  the  omission  of  the  lines  net  expressed  by  the  LXX 
does  not  relieve  the  logical  difficulties  presented  in  parts  {e.g.  zy^^'^)  by  the 
poem  ;  and  there  are  no  sufficient  reasons  for  supposing — except,  at  most, 
here  and  there — that  the  LXX  preserves  a  more  original  form  of  the  poem 
than  the  Hebrew  (see  especially  Dillm.'s  Abhandlung,  cited  above,  p.  408). 
Bickell's  restoration  {ibid. :  it  may  be  read  in  English  in  E.  J.  Dillon's 
Sceptics  of  the  OT.  1895,  P*  l59ff-)>  though  clever  in  details,  is,  as  a  whole, 
exceedingly  arbitrary  :  comp.  the  present  writer's  article  in  the  Contemp. 
Review y  Feb.  1896,  p.  257  ff. ;  and  Budde,  Comm.  p.  xlvi  ff. 

Date  of  the  Poem. — Formerly,  in  days  when  the  Book  was 
commonly  treated  as  a  narrative  of  literal  history,  and  the  truth 
of  a  progress  in  the  revelation  and  beliefs  of  the  OT.  had  not 
been  reached,  its  composition  was  assigned  to  the  supposed  age 

*  Sacrorum  Bibliorum  fragmenta  Copto-Sahidica,  vol.  ii.  (1889)  :  see  the 
table  of  passages  omitted,  p.  xxiii  ff.  Ordinary  editions  of  the  LXX  (as  well 
as  the  majority  of  MSS.)  exhibit  the  text  as  it  was  corrected  by  Origen  (who 
in  his  Hexapla  supplied  what  to  him  seemed  to  be  its  deficiencies  from 
Theodotion  or  other  sources),  the  asterisks  by  which  he  himself  marked  the 
insertions  having  been  neglected  by  transcribers,  though  they  are  preserved, 
more  or  less  completely,  in  5  MSS.  (two  Greek,  viz.  Co)b.  1952  in  the  Paris 
Library,  and  Vat.  346  ;  two  of  the  Old  Latin  version,  printed  by  Lagarde  in 
his  Mittheilungen,  ii.  1887,  p.  189  ff. ;  and  the  Ambrosian  MS.  of  the 
Syro-Hexaplar  text  of  the  LXX).  The  Sa'idic  version  was  made  from  the 
uncorrected,  pre-Hexaplar  text  of  the  LXX,  See  more  fully  Beer's  studies, 
cited  above,  p.  408.  • 


432  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

of  the  patriarch  himself,  and  Moses  was  sometimes  suggested 
as  a  possible  author.  But  though  the  narrative  of.  the  Prologue 
and  Epilogue  is  in  the  general  style  of  parts  of  the  Book  of 
Genesis,  and  though  Job  is  represented  as  a  patriarch,  sur- 
rounded by  his  dependants,  rich  in  pastures  and  flocks,  offering 
sacrifice  as  the  head  of  his  family,  and  attaining  patriarchal 
longevity,  these  constitute  very  insufficient  grounds  for  assigning 
the  Book  itself  to  such  an  early  age.  Indeed,  a  careful  con- 
sideration of  its  contents  brings  to  light  unmistakable  indications 
that  it  belongs  to  a  far  later  and  maturer  stage  of  Israelitish 
history.  The  antique,  patriarchal  colouring  of  the  portrait  of 
Job  in  c.  1-2,  42  must  be  attributed  to  the  skill  of  the  author, 
who  preserved  the  general  features  of  the  age  that  he  was 
describing,  aided  no  doubt  by  his  own  knowledge  of  the 
character  of  an  Arab  sheikh,  which  can  hardly  have  differed 
materially  from  what  it  had  been  many  centuries  before. 

It  is  not  possible  to  fix  the  date  of  the  Book  precisely ;  but 
it  will  certainly  not  be  earlier  than  the  age  of  Jeremiah,  and  most 
probably  it  was  written  either  during  or  shortly  after  the  Baby- 
lonian captivity.* 

[406]  The  following,  in  the  main,  are  the  grounds  on  which 
this  opinion  rests  : — 

1.  Though  references  to  distinctive  observances  of  Israel's 
religion  (as  in  the  Wisdom-literature  generally,  p.  393)  are  rare, 
an  acquaintance  with  the  law  seems  here  and  there  to  betray 
Itself:  e.g.  22^  24^  (pledges:  Ex.  2226^-,  Dt.  24^''),  2  2^7  (vows) 
242  (landmarks;  Dt.  19^*  ar/.),  319-11-26-28  (^Judicial  iprocedme 
against  those  guilty  of  adultery,  or  worship  of  the  sun  or  moon  ; 
cf.  Dt.  2222:  4I9  173-7)^  31I1  (piDi:  p.  49,  No.  11). 

2.  The  Book  presupposes  an  advanced  social  state,  and  a 
considerable  range  and  faculty  of  observation  on  the  part  of  its 
author.  A  wide  and  varied  experience  lies  behind  him.  His 
illustrations  are  abundant ;  and  they  are  drawn  from  many  dif- 
ferent departments  of  the  natural  world,  from  history  (c.  12), 
from  various  grades  and  ranks  of  society  (c.  24;  30^"^).  The 
"gate"  (29''  3121),  as  the  place  of  judgment,  implies  the  settled 
life  of  Palestine  (Am.  510  &c.).  The  forensic  terms  in  which 
Job's  plea  with  God  is  regularly  stated,  imply  an  established 
system  of  judicature. 

*  Budde  (p.  xlv  f.)  places  it  about  (but  not  later  than)  B.C.  400. 


JOB  433 

3.  The  Book  presupposes  much  reflexion  on  the  problems  of 
life  and  society.  The  period  of  unquestioning  faith  has  passed 
by  :  the  laws  of  providence  are  no  more  stated  merely,  they  are 
made  the  subject  of  doubt  and  discussion.  "  The  very  problem 
which  the  Book  discusses,  the  riddle  which  vexes  the  soul  of  Job, 
is  not  one  which  springs  into  full  life,  or  would  form  the  subject 
of  a  long  and  studied,  an  intensely  argued  and  elaborate  discus- 
sion, in  any  early  or  simple  stage  of  a  nation's  progress  "  (Bradley, 
p.  171).  The  Book  exhibits  a  struggle  between  a  traditional 
creed  which  taught  that  all  suffering  was  a  penalty  for  sin,  all 
prosperity  a  reward  for  goodness,  and  the  spectacle  of  undeserved 
suffering  afforded  by  more  complex  social  conditions  ;  it  presents 
speculations  on  the  relation  subsisting  between  virtue  and  happi- 
ness, and  on  the  compatibility  of  God's  justice  and  benevolence 
with  His  sovereignty  and  greatness,  which  can  hardly  be  con- 
ceived as  arising  in  the  infancy  of  a  nation's  life.  Thinking  men 
must  have  pondered  often  on  moral  problems  before  they  could 
have  been  treated  with  the  fulness  and  many-sidedness  displayed 
in  the  Book  of  Job.  Apart  from  Psalms  of  uncertain  date  (but 
which  it  is  clear  are  not  early  ones — Ps.  37,  49,  73),  the  first 
[407]  notice  which  such  questions  receive  is  in  the  age  of 
Jeremiah  (Jer.   12^  &c.:  p.  410). 

4.  A  condition  of  disorder  and  misery  forms  the  background 
of  the  poem  (Davidson,  p.  Ixiii;  Dillm.^  p.  xviif.).  Passages 
such  as  3^®  7^  9^*  12^  24^2,  seem  to  reflect  something  beyond  the 
personal  experiences  of  Job  himself:  121^^-  points  to  nations 
overthrown,  the  plans  of  statesmen  wrecked,  kings,  princes,  and 
priests  led  into  exile.  Is  not  the  author's  eye  fixed  here  on  the 
great  political  changes  wrought  by  the  Assyrians  or  the  Chal- 
daeans  among  the  principalities  of  Palestine  and  Syria  (Isa. 
jq7.  i3f.^  p  Have  not  the  disasters  involving  the  righteous  with 
the  wicked,  which  his  own  nation  has  experienced,  forced  upon 
men's  attention  the  question  of  God's  moral  government  of  the 
world,  and  moulded  in  some  degree  the  author's  argument  ? 

5.  The  great  literary  power  of  the  poem,  its  finished  form,  and 
the  ability  which  its  author  displays  of  not  merely  expounding 
a  subject  briefly  (as  in  a  prophecy  or  a  Psalm),  but  of  develop- 
ing it  under  different  aspects  in  a  regularly  progressing  argument, 
implies  that  a  mature  stage  of  literary  culture  has  been  reached. 
The  nearest  parallel  is  Isa.  4g-66 ;  but  Job,  viewed  as  a  work  of 


434  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

art,  is  more  finished  and  powerful  even  than  that  great  prophecy. 
Though  the  author's  originality  is  very  great,  and  though  he 
displays  singular  freshness  and  independence  in  his  mode  of 
handling  his  subject,  the  points  of  view,  the  illustrations,  the 
poetical  figures,  the  terminology,  must  in  many  cases  have  been 
found  by  him  ready  to  his  hand  (notice,  for  instance,  the  illustra- 
tions in  20^^  22-'^  24-^-  29!-^-  31^^^-,  so  familiar  from  the  law  and 
the  prophets). 

6.  The  developed  form,  both  of  the  morality  and  the  doctrine 
of  God,  points  in  the  same  direction.  "  The  teaching  of  Eliphaz 
regarding  human  nature  (4^^^-),  and  the  inwardness  of  the  moral 
conceptions  of  Job  (c.  31),  are  very  surprising"  (Davidson). 
The  doctrine  of  God  is  expressed  with  a  breadth  and  loftiness 
which  are  without  parallel  elsewhere  in  the  OT.,  except  in  its 
later  portions  (as  Isa.  40-66,  Ps.  139).  The  "Satan"  is  named 
besides  only  in  Zech.  3  and  i  Ch.  21I :  had  the  conception  been 
familiar  to  the  Hebrews  in  the  days  of  Solomon,  for  instance,  it 
is  probable  that  it  would  have  been  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the 
earlier  literature  (especially  in  2  Sa.  24^,  the  parallel  passage  to 

I  Ch.  21I). 

7.  The  language  of  Job  points  likewise  to  a  relatively  late 
[408]  date.  The  syntax  is  extremely  idiomatic ;  but  the  vocabu- 
lary contains  a  very  noticeable  admixture  of  Aramaic  words,  and 
(in  a  minor  degree)  of  words  explicable  orlly  from  the  Arabic. 
This  is  an  indication  of  a  date  more  or  less  contemporary  with 

II  Isaiah;  though  it  appears  that  the  author  came  more  de- 
finitely within  the  range  of  Aramaizing  influences  than  the  author 
of  Isa.  40-66,  and  perhaps  had  his  home  in  proximity  to 
Aramaic-  and  Arabic-speaking  peoples.* 

8.  The  comparison  of  parallel  passages  in  other  books  leads  seldom  to 
conclusive  results,  partly  because  the  dates  of  the  books  referred  to  are  often 
doubtful,  partly  from  the  frequent  difficulty  (p.  312  f.),  even  where  the  dates 
are  clear,  of  determining  on  which  side  the  dependence  lies.  The  principal 
parallels  presented  by  Job  are  with  Amos,  Isaiah  (both  parts),  Jeremiah, 
Lamentations,  Proverbs,  and  several  Psalms  (esp.  Ps.  39,  88,  107).!     Ps.  8' 

*  The  far  south-east  of  Palestine  has  been  suggested  (Dillm.^  p.  xxxvii ; 
Cheyne,  pp.  75,  295).  But  doubtless  it  is  only  tradition  that  leads  the  author 
to  represent  both  Job  and  his  friends  as  non- Israelites  ;  the  thoughts  expressed 
by  them  are  thoroughly  Hebraic,  and  the  entire  work  is  manifestly  a  genuine 
product  of  the  religion  of  Israel. 

t  Comp.  Cheyne,  yi?^  and  Solomon^  p.  83  fif. ;  Isaiah,'^  ii.  p,  259  ff. 


JOB  435 

is  no  doubt  parodied  in  Job  y^'^ ;  but  the  date  of  the  Psalm  is  uncertain. 
It  appears,  however,  to  be  more  probable  that  Isa.  19°  is  the  original  of  Job 
14^^  than  that  the  prophet  is  the  imitator  (cf.  Davidson,  p.  Ixii).  With 
regard  to  the  relation  between  Job  3^'^*'  and  Jer.  20^^"^^  opinions  differ.  The 
former  has  been  usually  regarded  as  the  original ;  but  the  argument  that  the 
passage  in  Job  is  more  vivid  and  powerful  is  not  decisive  :  the  author  of  the 
poem  possesses  greater  literary  power  than  Jeremiah,  and  he  may  have 
adapted  some  of  Jeremiah's  artless  phrases  to  his  own  more  elaborate  and 
finished  picture.  Both  Pr.  10-22  and  Pr.  1-9  appear  to  be  anterior  to  Job  : 
Pr.  13''  is  taken  by  Bildad  (i8^- '')  as  the  text  of  his  discourse ;  it  is  contro- 
verted by  Job  (21^'^).*  Job  15"^  (esp.  taken  in  connexion  with  v.^^)  might 
seem  to  be  an  ironical  allusion  to  Pr.  8^^ :  and  Wisdom,  who,  in  Pr.  1-9, 
offers  herself  to  men  as  their  guide,  is  represented  in  Job  28  as  beyond  the 
intellectual  reach  of  man  (contrast  Pr.  3^3-15  giof.  ^jt^  Job  2S^^-'^^).f  Whether 
Isa.  53^  is  the  original  of  Job  16",  and  Isa.  5i'*''-  ^°*  of  Job  26^21.^  qj.  whether 
the  reverse  is  the  true  relation,  is  uncertain  :  Kuenen  (7%.  T.  1873,  ?•  54of-> 
Onderz.  §  102.  6)  decides  in  favour  of  the  former  alternative,  Prof.  Cheyne 
{^Job  and  Solomon,  pp.  75,  84)  supports  the  latter.  There  are  points  of  con- 
tact— in  some  cases  subtle  ones — between  Job  and  Isa.  40-66,  which  make 
it  probable  that  the  authors  of  both,  in  Prof.  Davidson's  words  (p.  Ixvif.), 
"  lived  surrounded  by  the  same  atmosphere  of  thought." 

*  So  Eliphaz  (5^')  takes  as  his  starting-point  the  teaching  of  Pr.  3^^. 

t  Comp.   Budde,  ZATW.   1882,  pp.   241  f.,  251;  Davidson,  p.  Ixi  f . ; 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE  FIVE  MEGILLOTH, 

§  I.  The  Song  of  Songs. 

Literature. — K.  F.  Umbreit,  Lied  der  Liebe,  ^1828;  E.  J.  Magnus, 
ICrit.  Bearb.  n.  Erkl.  des  Hohenlieds  Sal.  1842;  F.  Hitzig  (in  the  Kgf. 
Hdb.),  1855  ;  C.  D.  Ginsburg,  The  Song  of  Songs,  with  a  Conim.,  historical 
and  critical,  1857  ;  H.  Ewald  in  the  Dichter  des  AB.s  (^1867),  iii.  333-426  ; 
F.  Delitzsch,  Hohesliedu.  Koheleth,  1875  ;  H.  Gratz,  Shirha-Shirim ,  1871  ; 
W.  R.  Smith,  art.  "Canticles"  in  the  Encycl.  Brit.^ ;  J.  G.  Stickell,  Das 
Hohelied  in  seiner  Einheit  u.  dram.  Gliederung,  1888  ;  S.  Oettli  in  Strack 
and  Zockler's  Kgf,  Kommeniar,  1889 ;  W.  E.  Griffis,  The  Lily  among 
Thorns,  New  York,  1890 ;  C.  Bruston,  La  Sulammiie,  1891  ;  D.  Castelli, 
//  Cantico  dei  Cantici,  sttidio  esegetico,  1892 ;  R.  Martineau  in  the  Amer, 
Journ.  of  Phil,  Oct.  1892,  p.  307  ff.;  J.  W.  Rothstein,  Das  Hohe  Lied. 
Ein  Vortrag  nebst  einer  mit  Anmerkungen  versehenen  Vbersetzung  des  Hohen 
Liedes,  1893. 

In  the  Jewish  Canon  the  Song  of  Songs  forms  the  first  of  the 
five  Megilloth^  or  "Rolls,"  which  are  read  publicly  at  certain 
sacred  seasons  in  the  synagogues.* 

The  Song  of  Songs  is  a  poem,  the  subject  of  which  is  evidently 
love,  though,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  this  subject  is  dealt 
with,  opinions  have  differed.  It  is  evident,  from  the  change  of 
number  and  (in  the  Hebrew)  of  gender,  that  different  parts  of 
the  poem  are  spoken  by,  or  addressed  to,  different  persons,  or, 
in  other  words,  that  the  form  is  that  of  a  dialogue ;  but  who  the 
speakers  are,  or  how  the  poem  is  to  be  distributed  between  them, 
is  not  in  all  cases  equally  apparent.  Some  scholars  (of  whom 
the   chief  are  Herder,!   de  Wette,   Magnus,  and  Bleek)  have, 

*  The  Song  of  Songs  at  the  Passover ;  Ruth  at  Pentecost ;  Lamentations 
on  the  9th  of  Ab  (the  day  on  which  Jerusalem  was  destroyed) ;  Qoheleth  at 
the  Feast  of  Booths ;  Esther  at  the  Feast  of  Purim. 

t  Herder,  Salomon's  Lieder  der  Liebe,  die  dltesten  und  schonsten  aus  dem 
Morgenlande,  1778  (in  Miiller's  edition  of  Herder's  works,  vol.  iv.),  who  dis^ 
plays,  however,  a  high  appreciation  of  the  aesthetic  value  of  the  Song» 

436 


THE  SONG  OF  SONGS  437 

indeed,  supposed  that  the  Book  consists  of  a  number  of  inde- 
pendent songs,  the  only  link  binding  them  together  being  the 
[410]  common  subject,  love ;  but  the  frequent  repetition  of  the 
same  words  and  phrases  (including  some  remarkable  ones)*  and 
indications,  not  to  be  explained  away,  that  the  same  characters 
are  speaking  in  the  latter  as  in  the  earlier  parts  of  the  poem, 
have  convinced  most  modern  commentators  and  critics  that  this 
view  is  not  correct,  and  that  the  poem  forms,  in  some  sense  or 
another,  a  real  unity,  t 

As  regards  the  sense,  however,  in  which  the  poem  is  a  unity, 
there  exist  two  fundamentally  different  opinions.  According  to 
one  of  these,  the  traditional  view,  there  are  but  two  main  charac- 
ters by  whom  the  dialogue  is  sustained,  viz.  King  Solomon  and 
a  Shulamite  %  maiden  {(P)  of  whom  he  is  enamoured ;  and  the 
poem  describes  how  this  maiden,  who  is  endowed  with  sur- 
passing grace  and  loveliness,  is  taken  away  from  her  rustic  home 
by  the  king  and  raised  to  the  summit  of  honour  and  felicity  by 
being  made  his  bride  at  Jerusalem  (3^-5^).  The  dialogue, 
upon  this  view,  §  consists  substantially  of  mutual  expressions  of 
love  and  admiration  on  the  part  of  the  two  principal  characters. 
According  to  the  other  view,  propounded  first  in  modern  times 
by  J.  S.  Jacobi,  ||  developed  in  a  masterly  manner  by  Ewald,  and 
accepted  by  the  majority  of  modern  critics  and  commentators, 
there  are  three  principal  characters,  viz.  Solomon,  the  Shulamite 
maiden,  and  her  shepherd  lover :  a  beautiful  Shulamite  maiden, 
surprised  by  the  king  and  his  train  on  a  royal  progress  in  the 
north  (6ii"^2),  has  been  brought  to  the  palace  at  Jerusalem 
(i^  &c.),  where  the  king  hopes  to  win  her  affections,  and  to 
induce  her  to  exchange  her  rustic  home  for  the  honour  and 
enjoyments  which  a  court  life  could  afford.  She  has,  however, 
already  pledged  her  heart  to  a  young  shepherd ;  and  the  admira- 
tion and  blandishments  which  the  king  lavishes  upon  her  are 

*  See  Kuenen,  Onderzoek  (ed.  i),  §  148.  3;  or  Oettli,  p.  156. 

t  The  marks  of  unity  in  the  poem  are  well  drawn  out  by  W.  R.  Smith. 

X  Probably  a  by-form  of  Shunammite  (i  Ki.  i^ ;  2  Ki.  4^''^')>  i-^-  a  native 
of  Shunem,  a  town  in  Issachar  (Josh.  19^^). 

§  In  modern  times  supported  chiefly  by  Hengstenberg,  Delitzsch,  Keil,  and 
Kingsbury  in  the  Speaker's  Commentary. 

II  Das  durch  eine  leichte  u.  ungekiinstelte  Erkl.  von  seinen  Vorwiirfen 
gerettete  Uohelied  {!']'] \).  Ibn  Ezra  (12th  cent.)  had  also  distinguished  the 
lover  and  the  king  :  Ginsburg,  p.  46  (cf.  p.  56  f.). 


438  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

powerless  to  make  her  forget  him.  In  the  end  she  is  permitted 
to  return  to  her  mountain  home,  where,  at  the  close  of  the  poem, 
[411]  the  lovers  appear  hand  in  hand  (8^),  and  express,  in  warm 
and  glowing  words,  the  superiority  of  genuine,  spontaneous 
affection  over  that  which  may  be  purchased  by  wealth  or  rank 
(86-'). 

The  following  synopses  of  the  traditional  view,  as  represented 
by  Delitzsch;  and  of  the  modern  view  as  represented  by  Ewald,"^ 
together  with  certain  slight  modifications,  in  some  cases  improve- 
ments, adopted  by  Oettli,  the  most  recent  commentator  on  the 
Book,  will,  it  is  hoped,  assist  the  reader  to  estimate  the  two 
alternatives  correctly. 

In  case  some  surprise  should  be  felt  at  the  amount  which  (upon  either  view) 
has,  as  it  were,  to  be  read  between  the  lines,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that,  if 
the  poem  is  to  be  made  intelligible,  its  different  parts  mtist,  in  one  way  or 
another,  be  assigned  to  different  characters ;  and  as  no  names  mark  the 
beginning  of  the  several  speeches,  these  must  be  supplied^  upon  the  basis  of 
such  clues  as  the  poem  contains,  by  the  commentator.  The  problem  which 
is,  if  possible,  to  be  decided  is,  which  of  the  proposed  schemes  does  fullest 
justice  to  the  language  of  the  poem,  or  to  casual  hints  contained  in  particular 
passages.  The  traditional  view  may  seem  to  be  the  simpler  and  the  more 
obvious,  but  this  does  not  decide  the  question  of  its  truth  ;  for,  as  it  cannot 
be  shown  to  reach  back  to  the  time  when  the  poem  was  composed,  it  may, 
just  on  account  of  its  simplicity,  have  been  adopted,  and  have  gained  currency, 
at  a  time  when  the  true  view  had  been  forgotten. 

I.  The  scheme  of  the  poem  according  to  Delitzsch  f  : — 

Act  I.  (i2-27). 

The  Lovers'  Meeting. 

Scene  i. — Ladies  of  the  Court, J  i-"^  (praising  Solomon,  and  desiring  his 
caresses). — The  Shulamite,  i^"'  (excusing  her  sunburnt  looks,  and  inquiring 
where  her  lover  [Solomon]  is). — Ladies  of  the  Court,  i^  (in  reply). 

Scene  2. — Solomon  (entering),  i^"^^ — The  Shulamite,  i^-"^^. — Solomon, 
1^5.— The  Shulamite,  i^«-2^— Solomon,  2^.— The  Shulamite,  d?-'^. 

Act  II.  (2^-3*^). 

Monologues  of  the  Shulamite^  relating  two  scenes  from  her  past  life. 

Scene  i  (2^""). — The  Shulamite  relates  how  the  king  on  an  excursion  had 
once  visited  her  in  her  mountain  home,  and  proposed  to  her  to  accompany 


*  With  whom  \V.  R.  Smith  substantially  agrees. 

t  Short  explanations  of  the  drift  of  the  speeches  are  inserted   where 
necessary. 

X  The  ''daughters  of  Jerusalem"  (see  i^  2^  &c.). 


THE  SONG  OF  SONGS  439 

him  oh  a  lovers'  walk  through  the  fields,  v.^"-^'^,  repeating  the  words  of  a 
vinedresser's  ditty  which  she  had  then  sung  to  him,  v.^^'i^,  and  telling  how 
she  had  invited  him  to  return  to  her  again  in  the  evening,  when  his  excursion 
was  ended. 

[412]  Scene  2  (3^'^). — The  Shulamite  narrates  a  dream,  in  which  she  had 
once  seemed  to  go  in  search  of  her  lover  through  the  city  till  she  found  him. 


The  Royal  Espousals. 

Scene  l.  {Jerusalem  and  the  neighbourhood.  A  pageant  seen  approaching 
in  the  distance. ) — A  citizen  of  Jerusalem,  3^  (inquiring  what  the  pageant  is). 
— Another  citizen,  3'-^  (in  reply). — A  third  citizen,  3^-i^^The  people 
generally,  3^^. 

The  procession  is  supposed  to  be  conducting  to  the  king  his  future  bride. 

Scene  2.  {Banqueting-hall  of  the  palace.) — Solomon,  4^"^  (in  praise  of  his 
beloved's  charms). — The  Shulamite,  4^  (interrupting  the  king's  commenda- 
tions of  her  beauty,  and  proposing  to  withdraw  till  the  evening). — Solomon, 
47-15  (inviting  the  Shulamite  to  forsake  her  northern  home,  and  to  become 
his  bride). — The  Shulamite,  4^^  (accepting  the  king's  invitation). — Solomon, 
5^  (a  morning  greeting  to  his  bride). 

(The  bridal  night  is  supposed  to  intervene  between  4^*^  and  5^ ) 

Act  IV.  (52-6^). 
Love  lost  and  found  again. 

Scene  i.  {Jerusalem.) — The  Shulamite,  5-*^  (narrating  a  dream  in  which 
she  seemed  to  hear  her  beloved  calling  her,  but  upon  rising  to  open  to  him, 
he  had  vanished,  and  she  sought  him  vainly  through  the  city). — Ladies  of  the 
Court,  5^.— The  Shulamite,  ^^-^^  (praise  of  her  beloved,  elicited  by  the  reply 
in  59).— Ladies  of  the  Court,  6^— The  Shulamite,  62-3. 

The  dream  is  accounted  for  psychologically  by  the  supposition  that  an 
estrangement  had  taken  place  between  the  newly-married  pair. 

Scene  2. — Solomon  (entering),  6^-^. 

Act  V.  (6i''-8''). 

The  lovely,  but  modest  Queen. 

Scene  i.  {Solomon^ s  park  at  Etam.) — Ladies  of  the  Court  (meeting  the 
Shulamite  wandering  in  a  nut-grove),  6^". — The  Shulamite,  6^^''^'^  (declaring 
that  in  her  enjoyment  of  the  country  she  had  almost  forgotten  the  rank  to 
which  she  had  been  elevated). — Ladies  of  the  Court,  6^3a.  b_ — yj^g  Shulamite, 
5i3c  *^ — Ladies  of  the  Court,  (P^.  (Here  the  Shulamite  complies  with  the 
request  expressed  in  G^^,  and  dances. ) — Ladies  of  the  Court  (watching  her  as 
she  dances,  and  admiring  her  beauty),  'J^'^\ 

*  Rendering,  "What  would  you  see  in  the  Shulamite?  "  *'  As  it  were  the 
dance  of  Mahanaim." 


440  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Scene  2.— Solomon,  7*,  (addressing  the  Shulamite)  ^''^^. — The  Shulamite, 
y»b.o.io_g4  (interrupting  the  king,  and  inviting  him  to  revisit  with  her  her 

rustic  home). 

[413]    Act  VL  (8«-"). 

The  bridal  pair  together  in  the  Shulamite^  s  home. 

Scene  i.  {A  valley  near  Shulem.  Solomon  and  the  Shulamite  enter ^  arm 
in  arm. ) — A  villager  of  Shulem,  %^'  *». — Solomon,  8^-  ^'  *  *  (pointing  to  the  fruit 
tree  under  which  he  first  aroused  the  Shulamite's  love,  and  to  a  cottage  hard 
by  which  was  her  birthplace). — The  Shulamite,  8^"'. 

Scene  2.  {The  Shulamite's  home.) — The  Shulamite,  8^  (speaking  in  the 
name  of  her  family,  and  inquiring  how  her  little  sister,  when  she  reaches 
marriageable  age,  is  to  be  dealt  with). — The  Shulamite's  brothers,  8^  (replying 
to  their  sister's  question). — The  Shulamite,  8^°"^2  (recalling  the  care  taken  of 
herself  formerly  by  her  brothers,  in  consequence  of  which  she  was  secured  to 
her  lover ;  and  commending  them  to  the  king's  grateful  regard  for  a  douceur), 
— Solomon,  8^^  (addressing  his  bride,  and  begging  her  to  gratify  the  com- 
panions of  her  youth — who  are  now  supposed  to  be  thronging  round  her — 
and  himself,  with  a  song). — The  Shulamite,  8^^  (singing  [cf.  2^'],  and  inviting 
the  king  to  join  her  over  the  hills). 

11.  The  scheme  of  the  poem  according  to  Evv^ald  : — 

Act  I.  (i2-27). 

Scene  i.  {The  Shulamite  and  Ladies  of  the  Court.) — The  Shulamite,  i^"' 
(longing  for  the  caresses  of  her  absent  shepherd-lover,  complaining  that  she  is 
detained  in  the  royal  palace  against  her  will,  and  inquiring  eagerly  where  he 
may  be  found). t — The  ladies  of  the  Court,  i^  (in  reply — ironically). 

Scene  2.  {Solomon  enters.) — Solomon,  i^"^^  (seeking  to  win  the  Shulamite's 
love).t — The  Shulamite,  i^2§,  {aside)  ^^'^^  (parrying  the  king's  compliments 
with  reminiscences  of  her  absent  lover). — Solomon,  i^^ — The  Shulamite 
{aside),  i^^-2}  (taking  no  notice  of  the  king's  remark  in  v.^^,  and  applying  the 
figures  suggested  by  it  to  her  shepherd-lover). — Solomon,  2^. — The  Shulamite 
{aside),  2^"'  (applying  similarly  to  her  lover  the  comparison  suggested  by  v. 2. 
In  v."'-  she  sinks  down  in  a  fit  of  half-delirious  sickness  j  in  v.'^  she  reminds 
the  ladies  of  the  Court  that  love  is  an  affection  which  arises  spontaneously,  and 
entreats  them  not  to  excite  it  artificially  in  Solomon's  favour). 

*  Punctuating  (with  Pesh.)  the  pronouns  zsfemiftines.  But  the  paraphrase 
of  '*  aroused  "or  "  awakened  thee  "  is  questionable. 

t  Oettli's  distribution  of  i'^''^  is  perhaps  preferable  :  viz.  a  lady  of  the 
Court,  i'^"^  (in  praise  of  Solomon,  endeavouring  thereby  to  arouse  in  the 
Shulamite  an  affection  for  the  king). — The  Shulamite,  i^*  ^  (expressing  her 
eagerness  to  be  with  her  absent  lover). — Ladies  of  the  Court,  i^-  ^-  ®  (in  praise 
of  Solomon).— The  Shulamite,  i**"'. 

X  Render  i^  &c.  as  RV.  marg.  (see  Jud.  1 1^^) :   "  my  love  "  is  too  strong. 

§  I.e.  while  the  king  was  away  from  me,  at  table  with  his  guests,  my  love 
(for  another)  was  active,  and  filled  me  with  delicious  memories. 


THE  SONG  OF  SONGS  44I 

[414]    Act  II.  (28-36). 

The  Shulamite  and  Ladies  of  the  Court. 

Scene  l.  {The  Shulamite' s  reminiscence  of  her  lover's  visit.)  —  The 
Shulamite  recounts  a  scene  from  her  past  life,  2^"^*.  The  scene  is  of  a  visit 
which  her  shepherd-lover  once  paid  her  in  her  rural  home,  inviting  her  to 
accompany  him  through  the  fields,  v.^°"^* ;  and  she  repeats  the  words  of  the 
ditty  which  she  then  sang  to  him,  v.^^  V.^^""  she  declares  her  present 
unaltered  devotion  to  him,  and  expresses  the  .wish  that  the  separation  between 
them  may  quickly  be  at  an  end.  * 

Scene  2.  {The  Shulamite' s  first  dream.) — The  Shulamite  narrates  a  dream 
which  she  had  recently  had  whilst  in  the  royal  palace,  3^"* :  she  had  seemed 
to  go  in  search  of  her  absent  lover  through  the  city,  and  to  her  joy  she  had 
found  him,  v.^"'*.     V.*  she  repeats  the  refrain  of  2'. 

The  dream  reflects  the  waking  feelings  and  emotions.  In  the  economy  of 
the  poem  it  serves  to  explain  to  the  chorus  the  state  of  the  heroine's  feelings ; 
and  the  adjuration  in  3"  follows  appropriately  :  let  them  not  seek  to  stir  up  an 
unwilling  love ;  even  in  her  dreams  she  is  devoted  to  another. 

Act  III.  (3«-58). 

Scene  i.  (Citizens  of  Jerusalem  assembled  in  front  of  one  of  the  gates.  In 
the  distance  a  royal  pageant  is  seen  approaching.) — First  citizen,  3^.t — Second 
citizen,  3'"®.— A  third  citizen,  3^"^^. 

The  intention  of  the  spectacle  is  to  dazzle  the  rustic  girl  with  a  sense  of  the 
honour  awaiting  her  if  she  will  consent  to  become  the  king's  bride.  In  the 
palanquin  is  Solomon  himself,  wearing  the  crown  of  state  which  his  mother 
gave  him  on  his  wedding-day. 

Scene  2.  [In  the  Palace.  Solomon,  the  Shulamite,  and  Ladies  of  the 
Court. ) — Solomon,  4^"'  (seeking  to  win  the  Shulamite's  love). 

Scene '^.  {The  Shulamite  and  Ladies  of  the  Court.  The  Shulamite  and 
her  lover  in  ideal  interview. ) — The  Shulamite,  4^-5^  (hearing  in  imagination 
her  lover's  impassioned  invitation,  4^"^^,  giving  him  her  reply,  v.^',  and 
seeming  to  hear  again  his  grateful  response,  5^  %).% 

*  Oettli  treats  this  interview  with  the  lover  as  a  real  one,  supposing  the 
scene  to  lie  in  one  of  Solomon's  summer  residences,  perhaps  near  Shulem 
itself,  where  her  lover  visits  her  at  the  window. 

t  Render  "  What  is  this  .  .  .  ?"  see  Gen.  338  Heb. 

+  ^le.  f  tj^g  lover,  in  view  of  the  anticipated  bridal  feast  (Jud,  14^^),  inviting 
his  guests  to,  partake  of  it.  But  RV.  marg.  is  perhaps  right ;  in  which  case 
the  words  may  be  supposed  to  be  spoken  by  the  chorus,  watching  at  a  distance, 
or  overhearing,  the  scene,  and  bidding  the  pair  enjoy  the  delights  of  love. 

The  perfects  in  5^  describe  the  future  imagined  as  already  accomplished. 
Upon  Delitzsch's  view  they  are  construed  as  actual  pasts.  Either  interpreta- 
tion is  consonant  with  Hebrew  usage. 

§  Oettli,  as  before  {2^''^%  treats  this  as  an  actual  visit  made  during  the 
king's  absence  (v.®),  in  which  th^  shepherd-lover  invites  her  to  flee  with  him 


442  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

[415]  Scene  4.  ( The  Shulaniite's  second  dream. ) — The  Shulamite  relates  a 
dream  of  the  past  night,  in  which  she  had  imagined  herself  to  hear  her 
shepherd-lover  at  the  door,  but  upon  rising  to  open  to  him,  had  found  him 
vanished,  and  sought  him  in  vain  through  the  city,  5^"'.  The  memory  of 
the  dream  still  haunts  her,  and  impels  her,  v. 8,  to  make  a  fresh  (2')  avowal 
of  her  love. 

The  dream  of  her  lover  visiting  her,  and  of  her  failing  to  secure  him, 
coming  at  the  moment  when  the  king's  importunities  are  threatening  to  tear 
her  from  him  for  ever  (and,  upon  Oettli's  view,  immediately  after  her  lover's 
departure),  is  conceived  with  great  psychological  truth. 

Act  IV.  (5»-84). 

Scene  i.  {The  Ladies  of  the  Court  and  the  Shulamite.  Dialogue  respecting 
the  lover. ) — Ladies  of  the  Court,  5^  (in  surprise  at  the  Shulamite's  persistent 
rejection  of  the  king's  advances,  and  her  devotion  to  one  absent). — The 
Shulamite,  510-16  (an  enraptured  description  of  her  lover). — Ladies  of  the 
Court,  6^— The  Shulamite,  62-3. 

Scene  2.  ( The  king  enters. ) — Solomon,  6^-^3  (renewed  endeavour  to  win 
the  Shulamite's  affection  by  praise  of  her  beauty,  and  description  of  the 
honour  in  store  for  her,  v.^'^.  V.^"  the  king's  memory  passes  back  to  the 
occasion  of  his  first  meeting  the  Shulamite  in  the  nut-orchard,  and  he  repeats 
the  words  with  which  the  ladies  of  the  Court  then  accosted  her,  v.^",  together 
with  her  reply,  in  which  she  excuses  herself  for  having  wandered  there  alone, 
and  allowed  herself  to  be  surprised  by  the  king's  retinue,  v.^^"^" :  v.^'*-^  he 
quotes  similarly  the  request  which  they  then  made  to  her  to  remain  with 
them,  with  her  reply,  v.^^,  and  their  answer,  v.^**,  that  they  desired  to  see 
her  dance).* 

Scene  3. — Solomon,  *p'-^\  (making  a  final  endeavour  to  gain  the  Shulam- 
ite's heart  by  praising  her  charms  in  more  effusive  terms  than  before).  J 

from  her  perilous  position,  and  makes  a  fresh  avowal  of  his  passion  for  her. 
Oettli  thinks  that  Ewald's  "psychologically  powerful"  conception  of  an 
imagined  interview  is  too  violent ;  and  points  out  that  the  actual  visit  takes 
place  dramatically  at  the  right  moment,  when,  after  the  king's  withdrawal  till 
the  evening  (4^),  there  is  a  pause  in  the  progress  of  the  action,  and  when  the 
position  of  the  Shulamite  is  on  the  point  of  becoming  more  critical. 

*  Oettli  assigns  6^^-^3  ^q  ^j^g  Shulamite,  supposing  Solomon's  quotation 
of  the  ladies'  exclamation  in  G^  to  elicit  from  her  the  excuse  G^''^^  now  ; 
6^3  he  explains  as  Ewald,  but  treats  it  as  containing  her  reminiscences,  not 
Solomon's.     (Ewald  and  Oettli  render  G'^-  ^  as  Delitzsch,  p.  439,  note.) 

t  Oettli  assigns  7^'^  to  the  chorus. 

J  Reading  in  7^^  "for  lovers"  (onn^)  in  place  of  "for  my  beloved" 
(nn*?).  But  the  existing  text  may  be  preserved,  by  assigning  v.^**- "  to  the 
Shulamite,  supposing  her  to  interrupt  the  king,  by  declaring  that  such 
delights  are  only  for  her  true  love.  So  Oettli.  (V.^^- "  cannot  be  assigned  to 
Solomon  as  it  stands,  "my  beloved"  being  in  the  Heb.  a  masculine,  so  that 
it  cannot  be  addressed  to  the  Shulamite.) 


THE  SONG  OF  SONGS  443 

[416]  Scene  4. — The  Shulamite,  7i"-8*  (heedless  of  the  king's  admiration, 
declaring  her  unswerving  devotion  to  her  shepherd-lover,  and  her  longing  to 
be  with  him  again  in  the  open  fields.  The  refrain,  8^,  slightly  altered  in  form 
[see  RV.  marg.\  as  2''  3^  7^°  (where  "my  beloved's''''  should  be  pronounced 
with  some  emphasis)  is  her  final  repulse  of  the  king). 

Act  V.  (8»-"). 
Shepherds.     The  Shula7nite  and  her  lover. 

Scene  i. — Shepherds  of  Shulem  (perceiving  the  Shulamite  approaching, 
leaning  on  her  lover's  arm),  8**-  ^— The  Shulamite,  8°<'-  **•  «*•  ^-'^  (addressing  her 
lover,  and  pointing  to  the  apple-tree,  under  which  she  had  once  aroused  him 
from  his  sleep,  and  the  spot  where  he  had  first  seen  the  light,*  and  declaring 
passionately  the  irresistible  might  of  true  love).  %^'^^  (addressing  all  present, 
recalling,  v.^**,  words  in  which  her  brothers  had  planned  formerly  for  her 
welfare,!  and  declaring  how  she  had  fulfilled  their  best  expectations).  J — The 
lover,  8^^  (asking  his  love  for  a  song). — The  Shulamite,  8"  (singing  [cf.  2"], 
and  inviting  her  lover  to  join  her  over  the  hills). 

Upon  either  view  of  its  purport  and  scope  it  will  be  seen  that 
though  much  of  the  poetry  is  lyrical  in  character,  the  Song,  as  a 
whole,  is  of  the  nature  of  a  drama,  with  dialogue,  and  action, 
and  character  consistently  sustained,  constituting  a  rudimentary 
kind  of  plot.  The  action  is  not,  however,  as  in  the  drama 
properly  so  called,  represented  in  person  throughout,  or  (in  sub- 
ordinate matters)  related  directly  by  one  of  the  characters :  in 
several  passages,  according  to  Ewald,  and  in  at  least  one  or  two, 
according  to  Delitzsch  and  Oettli,  the  speakers  acquaint  the 
hearers  with  incidents  of  their  previous  life,  by  introducing 
passages  supposed  to  have  been  spoken  before  the  drama  opens, 
forming,  as  it  were,  "a  picture  within  a  picture,"  out  of  per- 
spective [417]  with  the  main  action  of  the  piece.     As  read,  the 

*  In  8^'=*  ^'  ®  Ewald  adheres  to  the  Massoretic  punctuation,  recording  to 
which  the  pronouns  are  masculine  :  Oettli  (with  Pesh.  Hitz.  Del.  and  others) 
points  them  as  feminines,  assigning  the  three  lines  to  the  lover. 

t  8*'  ^  are  assigned  by  Oettli  to  two  of  the  Shulamitc's  brothers,  who  view 
their  sister,  returning  after  her  absence,  with  some  suspicion,  which  the  poet 
makes  them  express  by  recalling  their  former  plans  for  her  welfare. 

:J:  V.^"  means  that  in  her  resistance  to  Solomon's  advances  she  had  been 
as  an  impregnable  fortress,  and  had  secured  from  her  assailant  terms  of  peace, 
y  11-12  gj^g  plays  upon  a  double  application  of  the  term  "vineyard":  let 
Solomon,  and  his  vineyard-keepers,  receive  the  proceeds  of  the  king's  actual 
vineyard,  if  they  please  :  her  own  vineyard — i.e.  her  person  and  charms 
(cf.  i^)— is  at  her  own  disposal  ("before  me,"  Gen.  24°^)  still  ;  neither  he,  nor 
they,  will  get  that ! 


444  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Song  is  so  difficult  of  comprehension,  that  it  would  seem  to  have 
been  originally  designed  to  be  acted,  the  different  parts  being 
personated  by  different  characters,  though  even  the  varied  gesture 
and  voice  of  a  single  reciter  might  perhaps  be  sufficient  to  enable 
a  sympathetic  circle  of  hearers  to  apprehend  its  purport.  The 
scene  till  8*  appears  to  be  laid  in  the  royal  palace  at  Jerusalem, 
or  (3^'")  before  one  of  the  gates ;  *  but  in  8^  it  evidently  changes, 
and  is  supposed  to  be  in  the  heroine's  native  place. 

An  attentive  study  of  the  poem  can  leave  little  doubt  that  the 
modern  view  is  decidedly  more  probable  than  the  traditional 
view,  (i)  It  has  several  distinct  advantages  on  the  ground  of 
general  considerations.  Thus,  that  Solomon  should  appear  in 
the  garb  and  character  of  a  shepherd  (i''-  ^^^'\  62^-),  visiting  a 
country  girl  in  her  home  (2^^-),  proposing  to  make  her  his  bride 
(3^^-),  and  appearing  with  her  in  the  closing  scene,  not  in  his 
own  palace,  which,  ex  hypothesis  was  to  be  her  future  abode,  but 
in  her  native  village  (8^^-),  is  improbable  in  itself,  and  incon- 
sistent with  all  that  we  know  respecting  the  king's  character 
and  tastes  :  on  the  other  hand,  if  her  lover  really  was  a  Shulamite 
shepherd,  all  these  traits  are  natural  and  appropriate.  The  fine 
description  of  love  in  8^^-,  from  its  emphatic  position,  and  the 
emotion  which  breathes  in  it,  seems  clearly  to  be  intended  by  the 
poet  to  express  the  main  idea  of  the  poem:  it  is,  however, 
thoroughly  unsuitable  in  the  mouth  of  one  who  could  at  most 
expect  to  be  introduced  into  a  harem  of  "threescore  queens, 
fourscore  concubines,  and  virgins  without  number "  (6^) :  not 
only  has  a  maiden  who  consents  willingly  to  such  a  position  no 
sense  of  womanly  dignity,  but  the  terms  in  which  (in  8^^-)  she 
describes  her  passion  demand,  and  imply  that  she  expects  to 
receive,  an  undivided  affection  in  return.  But,  addressed  to  a 
lover  in  her  own  position  of  life,  the  words  are  perfectly  natural 
and  true :  and  the  allusion  in  v.'^^  to  the  wealthy  suitor  whose 
love  is  despised  has  an  evident  force.  Again,  upon  the  modern 
view,  the  entire  poem  is  far  more  significant  than  upon  the 
traditional  view :  upon  the  traditional  view  it  consists  sub- 
stantially of  nothing  but  mutual  declarations  of  admiration  and 
affection  which  lead  to  no  result  (for  the  marriage  is  evidently 
[418]  determined  on  when  the  poem  opens),  and  all  that  follows 

*  Or  (Oettli)  in  a  summer  residence  of  the  king  in  Lebanon  (till  %% 
+  Where  the  lovers'  future  woodland  home  is  anticipated. 


THE  SONG  OF  SONGS  445 

the  Royal  Espousals  in  3^-5^  lacks  dramatic  justification ;  upon 
the  modern  view,  the  idea  of  the  poem,  the  triumph  of  plighted 
love  over  the  seductions  of  worldly  magnificence,  is  one  of  real 
ethical  value.  And  the  plan  corresponds  with  the  idea — the 
heroine  appears  in  the  first  chapter  in  a  difficult  and  painful 
situation,  from  which  the  last  chapter  represents  her  as  extri- 
cated; thus  the  interest  culminates  in  its  proper  place,  at  the 
end,  not  in  the  middle  of  the  poem.  It  is  to  be  noted  also 
that  the  admiration  expressed  in  the  poem  is  not  (on  either  side) 
evoked  by  graces  of  character,  but  solely  by  the  contemplation 
of  physical  beauty :  and  it  is  only  relieved  from  being  purely 
sensuous  by  the  introduction  of  an  ethical  motive,  such  as  is 
supplied  by  the  modern  view,  giving  it  a  purpose  and  an  aim. 
The  two  dreams  are  much  more  expressive  upon  the  modern 
than  upon  the  traditional  view :  they  are  in  evident  contrast  to 
one  another,  for  in  one  (3^-*)  the  heroine  finds  her  lover,  while 
in  the  other  she  fails  to  find  him  (5^'''),  and  the  distinction 
between  them  must  have  some  psychological  basis.  The 
estrangement  between  Solomon  and  the  Shulamite,  almost  on 
the  morning  after  their  marriage  (5^),  assumed  by  the  advocates 
of  the  traditional  view,  in  explanation  of  the  second  dream, 
is  extremely  artificial  and  improbable ;  but  that  the  Shulamite, 
after  the  vision  of  her  lover  (4^-5^) — whether  this  took  place 
in  reaUty  or  only  in  the  vividness  of  her  imagination — when 
the  crisis  of  her  resistance  to  the  king  was  approaching,  should 
experience  such  a  dream,  is  in  the  highest  degree  true  to  nature. 
(2)  While  there  are  many  passages  in  the  poem  which  may  be 
accommodated  without  violence  to  either  view,  and  which  can- 
not consequently  be  quoted  on  one  side  or  the  other,  there  are 
certain  crucial  passages  which,  upon  the  view  that  the  Shulamite 
and  Solomon  are  the  only  principal  characters,  are  deficient  in 
point ;  whereas,  if  there  be  a  rival  to  Solomon,  they  are  at  once 
forcible  and  significant. 

Thus  2'  Delitzsch  supposes  the  heroine  to  sink  into  Solomon's  arms, 
aitranced  by  an  **  ecstasy  of  love,"  which  she  adjures  the  chorus  not  to  inter- 
rupt or  disturb.  But  miy,  Tyn,  do  not  mean  to  disturb  (so  as  to  bring  to 
an  end)  an  emotion,  but  to  arouse  it  into  activity  (Ps.  80',  Pr.  lo^^,  Isa.  42^), 
which  exactly  suits  Ewald's  interpretation  that  it  is  an  adjuration  to  [419] 
the  chorus  not  to  excite  in  her  the  passion  of  love  artificially  (for  Solomon). 
The  repetition  of  the  adjuration  in  "^  8*  is  also  extremely  forcible  upon  Ew.  's 
view  of  the  poem.  • 


446  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

3^'\  Even  in  a  dream  it  is  more  probable  that  the  heroine  would  have 
thought  of  bringing  a  shepherd  of  her  own  rank  into  her  "  mother's  house" 
than  a  king.  So  S^"*''  suggests  the  picture  of  one  who  has  the  actual 
occupations  of  a  shepherd  (Gen.  31^"). 

4".  Is  it  probable  that  a  bride,  011  her  wedding  day  (Del.),  would  propose 
thus  to  withdraw  herself  from  the  company  of  her  husband  ? 

6*'=-^  Solomon's  dread*  of  the  heroine's  eyes  is  surely  incredible  if  she 
were  his  bride  ;  but  it  is  intelligible  if  she  is  resisting  his  advances. 

78-  i2d  gi  j^u  imply  that  the  marriage  is  not  yet  consummated,  and  are  thus 
inconsistent  with  Del.'s  view. 

6^  is  too  difficult  and  uncertain  to  have  much  weight  on  either  side ;  but 
Ew.'s  explanation  is  at  least  preferable  to  Del.'s.  Ew. :  "I  knew  not  that 
my  soul  [i.e.  my  desire  [as  often  in  Heb.,  e.g.  Dt.  2^^,  Eccl.  6^],  viz.  to 
roam  about)  had  set  me  by  the  chariots  of  my  noble  people  "  {i.e.  had  led  me 
unawares,  as  I  wandered  in  the  nut-orchard,  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  king's 
retinue).  Del.:  "  I  knew  not  that  my  soul  {i.e.  my  desire,  viz.  for  Solomon) 
had  set  me  on  the  chariots  of  my  people,  (even)  of  a  noble  (prince),"  i.e.  in 
the  enjoyment  of  rambling  through  the  royal  park,  she  hardly  remembered  (?) 
that  she  had  won  the  right  to  a  seat  beside  the  king  on  his  chariots  of  state. 
nuano  Db  in  the  sense  brought  /^  ...  is  not  an  easy  construction  ;  but 
the  sense  set  on  to,  as  Hitzig  remarks,  would  seem  to  be  precluded  by  the 
absence  of  the  preposition  (i  Sa.  8"  '3  db'  to  set  among,  which  Del.  refers 
to,  is  quite  different). 

The  reader  will  find  some  other  passages  noted  by  Oettli. 

Further,  if  the  speeches  ascribed  to  Solomon  (i^-^- 1^  32  4I-7 
64-10  7I-9)  I  and  to  the  lover  (210-14  48-15  ^i  313)  j  be  compared, 
a  difference  may  be  observed,  which,  though  it  might  not  be 
sufficient  to  establish  the  distinction,  nevertheless  agrees  with  it 
when  made  probable  upon  other  grounds :  Solomon's  speeches, 
though  a  progress  is  traceable  in  them,  and  7^^^  represents  a 
climax,  are,  on  the  whole,  cold  in  tone,  and  contain  little  more 
than  admiration  of  the  heroine's  beauty :  those  ascribed  to  the 
lover  are  much  warmer,  and  4^"^^  5^  especially  is  an  outburst  of 
genuine  passion  (notice  the  warm  response  in  4^^).  § 

[420]  From  an  artistic  point  of  view,  it  is  to  be  observed  that 

*  yrryn  cannot  mean  "overcome"  in  the  sense  oi  fascinate:  the  sense 
make  proud  (Ps.   138^)  being  unsuited  to  the  context,  it  must  be  the  Syr. 

«^ai5],  Arab,  ^.^j^  \  (Ex.  15"  Saad.),  to  confuse,  perturb  (of  RV.  marg.). 

t  According  to  Oettli  i^""  2^  41-"^  6'*-^*'  f'^. 

t  According  to  Oettli  i^-  is  2I0-14  48-15  ^1  gsc.  d.  e.  13^ 

§  Solomon  calls  her  only  "my  friend"  [Jud.  ii^'  Kt.]  i^- "  2^  41-7  6* 
(also  in  the  mouth  of  the  lover  2^^-'^^  5^) :  the  lover  alone  calls  her  "my 
sister,  bride  "  (49-  ^o- 12  5I),  or  "  bride  "  48-  ".  The  term  used  by  the  chorus  is 
"the  fairest  among  women,"  i^  5^^  6^ 


THE  SONG  OF  SONGS  447 

the  characters  are  clearly  distinguished  from  one  another,  and 
are  consistent  throughout.  The  permanent  element  in  the  poem 
are  the  "Daughters  of  Jerusalem"  (i^  2^"  3^  5^- 1^  8*) — i.e.  no 
doubt  the  ladies  of  the  Court,  who  play  a  part  somewhat  like 
that  of  the  chorus  in  a  Greek  play :  they  watch  the  progress 
of  the  action ;  and  their  presence,  or  a  question  asked  by  them, 
is  the  occasion  of  declarations  of  feeling  on  the  part  of  the 
chief  actors  (cf.  i^-  ^  2^  5^-  ^  6^  8*).  The  principal  character  is, 
of  course,  the  Shulamite  maiden,  a  paragon  of  modesty  and 
beauty,  who  awakens  the  reader's  interest  in  the  first  chapter, 
and  engrosses  it  till  the  end :  surrounded  by  uncongenial  com- 
panions, amid  the  seductive  attractions  of  the  Court,  her  thoughts 
are  ever  with  her  absent  lover ;  her  fidelity  to  him  enables  her 
to  parry  time  after  time  the  king's  advances;  in  the  end  her 
devotion  triumphs,  and  she  appears  happy  in  the  companionship 
of  him  whom  her  heart  loves.  Her  lover  is  regularly  termed  by 
her  nn,  "  my  love  "  (i^^- 1*.  is  2^  &c.).*  The  speeches  attributed 
to  the  king  are  somewhat  stiff  and  formal ;  those  of  the  lover, 
on  the  contrary,  breathe  a  warm  and  devoted  affection.  The 
brothers  are  represented  as  having  treated  their  sister  with 
some  brusqueness  (1^),  and  viewed  her  future  behaviour  with  a 
suspiciousness  which  the  event  proves  to  be  wholly  unfounded 
(8^).  The  poem  can  hardly  be  said  to  exhibit  a  "  plot "  in  the 
modern  sense  of  the  term. ;  the  action  is  terminated,  not  by  a 
favourable  combination  of  circumstances,  but  by  the  heroine's 
own  inflexible  fidelity  and  virtue.  Ewald  considered  that  each 
act  embraced  the  events  of  one  day,  the  close  of  which,  he 
observed,  appeared  in  each  case  to  correspond  with  a  stage  in 
the  heroine's  series  of  trials  (2^  3^  5^  8*). 

The  poetry  of  the  Song  is  exquisite.  The  movement  is 
graceful  and  light ;  the  imagery  is  beautiful,  and  singularly  pic- 
turesque ;  the  author  revels  among  the  delights  of  the  country ; 
one  scene  after  another  is  brought  before  us — doves  hiding  in 
the  clefts  of  the  rocks  (2^"^)  or  resting  beside  the  water-brooks 
[421]  (5^'^),  gazelles  leaping  over  the  mountains  (2^)  or  feeding 
among  the  lilies  (4^),  goats  reclining  on  the  sloping  hills  of 
Gilead  (4^  6^) :  trees  with  their  varied  foliage,  flowers  with  bright 
hues  or  richly-scented  perfume  are  ever  supplying  the  poet 
with  a  fresh  picture  or  comparison :  we  seem  to  walk,  with  the 
*  Or  "  he  whom  my  soul  loveth,"  i'^  3^-  3-  ■*. 


448  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

shepherd-lover  himself,  among  vineyards  and  fig-trees  in  the 
balmy  air  of  spring  (2^^'^^),  or  to  see  the  fragrant,  choicely 
furnished  garden  which  the  charms  of  his  betrothed  call  up 
before  his  imagination  (413-15).  The  number  of  animals  and 
plants,  as  well  as  works  of  human  art  and  labour — many  not 
mentioned  elsewhere — which  are  named  in  the  Song,  is  remark- 
able. The  poet  also  alludes  to  many  localities  in  a  manner 
which  usually  shows  him  to  have  been  personally  familiar  with 
them — Kedar,  En-gedi,  the  Sharon,  Bether  (if  this  be  a  proper 
name),  Lebanon  (several  times),  the  hills  of  Gilead,  David's 
Tower  in  Jerusalem  with  its  hanging  shields  (4^),  Amana,  Senir, 
Hermon,  Tirzah  (6*),  Mahanaim,  Heshbon  (the  pools  by  the 
gate  Bath-rabbim),  the  "  Tower  of  Lebanon  looking  out  towards 
Damascus  "  (7^),  Carmel,  Baal-hamon  :  those  with  which  he  seems 
to  be  most  familiar,  and  to  which  he  turns  most  frequently  being 
localities  in  North  Palestine,  especially  in  or  near  Lebanon. 

Authorship  and  Date  of  the  Poem. — It  is  improbable,  even 
upon  the  traditional  view,  that  the  author  is  Solomon ;  if  the 
modern  view  be  correct,  his  authorship  is  evidently  out  of  the 
question.  The  diction  of  the  poem  exhibits  several  peculiarities, 
especially  in  the  uniform  use  of  the  relative  -v)  (except  in  the 
title  i^)  for  "IK^'k,  and  in  the  recurrence  of  many  words  found 
never*  or  [422]  rarely f  besides  in  Biblical  Hebrew,  but 
*  TB3  i'  8"*  12  for  n!£3  (noj  in  pure  Heb.  is  used  only  of  retaining  wrath) ; 
r\T^  =  wherei  i'  as  2  Ki.  d^^  Kt.  (see  p.  i88)  =  ]£la1  5  •"'9^^  i'  analogous  to 
the  Aram.  |V)\^,  noV  'i  Ezr.  *j^  ;  nn2  for  myi  i"  ;  pp  2^ ;  D'ann  2' ; 
Vna  2»  ;  mo  2"  ;  moo  2}^'  «  7I8  ;  js  2«  ;  '?"?  ib.  Kt.  as  2  Ki.  42  Kt.  (>  «  "^V) ; 

-Sv  3'  (i«  8")  after  the  suff.,  as  in  the  Mishna,  and  like  ^)  ;  nnM  38  con- 
strued as  a  deponent  (Gen.  25^6,  Jud.  5^  Targ.;  ^j-k*"))  ;  D'D'DT  52  (Ps.  65" 

Targ.  Pesh.) ;  »]30  5*  ;  yrt^n^to  perturb  6"  (*^CJl5l);  JSN  7^  (^-^o]  =  Heb. 
B'-jij,  Ex.  28"  Pesh.,  likewise  of  gems);  JiD  (elsewhere  IDD,  iddd  ;  cf.  the 
verb  noD)  and  njio  7'  ;  d'jdjo  7^  (cf.  (1  fr>  «  rrt) 

tn;]^b  i7  (Pesh.  Symm.  Vulg.  RV.  m.)  as  Ezek.  \z^^  \,  and  in  Aram. 
(Gen.  21"  Onq.) ;  52- "  \  nijn,-?  (fZ^CLO  Ez.  4420) ;  n}a  6"  if  the  punctuation 
is  to  be  trusted,  as  Est.  !»  f- »  \  \Kxz.m.  Nj'a ;  Heb.  nja) ;  8«  n3n'?B'  as  Job 
15'"',  Ez.  218  \  (Hn'nin'^B') :  perhaps  also  nan  413-  is  714^  Dt.  ss^^-w  |  (cf. 
li-V*;-^^-    Words  found  besides  only  in  late  Hebrew  are  oma  41*,  Neh.  2^, 

Eccl.  26 1  ;  n33'«  58,  Est.  8«  \  ;  VSl  rod  51",  Est.  i«  |  ;  m  marble  S^\  Est. 
I«,  I  Ch.  292  [v^v)  t. 


THE  SONG  OF  SONGS  449 

common  in  Aramaic,  which  show  either  that  it  must  be  a 
late  work  (post-exilic),  or,  if  early,  that  it  belongs  to  North 
Israel,  where  there  is  reason  to  suppose  that  the  language 
spoken  differed  dialectically  from  that  of  Judah."^  The  general 
purity  and  brightness  of  the  style  favour  the  latter  alternative, 
which  agrees  well  with  the  acquaintance  shown  by  the  author 
with  localities  of  North  Palestine,  and  is  adopted  by  many 
modern  critics.  The  foreign  words  in  the  poem,  chiefly  names 
of  choice  plants  or  articles  of  commerce,  are  such  as  might  have 
reached  Israel  through  Solomon's  connexions  with  the  East.t 
The  title  was  probably  prefixed,  at  a  [423]  time  when  the  true 
origin  of  the  poem  had  been  forgotten,  on  account  of  Solomon 
being  a  prominent  figure  in  it.  The  precise  date  of  the  poem  is, 
however,  difficult  to  fix.     From  the  manner  in  which  Tirzah  and 

*  V  occurs  in  Deborah's  Song  (Jud.  5'),  and  in  narratives  seemingly  of 
Ephraimite  origin,  Jud.  6"  7^2  g26  .  2  Ki.  &^  (p.  188)  ;  elsewhere,  only  in 
exilic  or  post-exilic  writings,  as  Lam.  (4  times),  Jonah  (p.  301),  Eccl.  (often), 
late  Psalms  (p.  352  n. ),  Chr.  and  Ezr.  (thrice) :  Gen.  6^  Job  192^  are  both 
uncertain.  [Sayce  {Acad.  Aug.  2,  1890,  p.  94),  and  Neubauer  {Athenceum, 
Aug.  2,  1890,  p.  164),  thought  that  hv,  exactly  as  in  Cant.  3',  was  to  be  read 
on  a  hematite  weight,  found  on  the  site  of  Samaria ;  but  the  reading  and 
interpretation  are  both  doubtful :  see  W.  R.  Smith's  very  careful  and  minute 
description  of  the  weight  in  the  Academy,  Nov.  18,  1893,  p.  443  ff.,  reprinted 
in  the  Quarterly  Statement  of  the  Palest.  Explor.  Fund,  July  1894,  p.  225  ff. 
(The  characters  of  the  original,  Prof.  Smith  observes,  lend  no  support  to 
Euting's  reading  (of  the  cast)  fjifJ  (for  J«),  ap.  Konig,  Einl.  p.  425).]  It 
should  be  explained,  to  avoid  misconception,  that  tf  itself  is  not  Aramaic  ; 
but  neither  is  it  normal  Hebrew.  It  seems  that,  as  the  language  of  Moab, 
while  nearly  identical  with  Judaic  Hebrew,  yet  differed  from  it  dialectically 
(see  the  writer's  Notes  on  Samuel,  p.  Ixxxvff.)  in  one  direction,  so  the 
language  of  North  Israel  differed  from  it  slightly  in  another  :  especially  in 
vocabulary,  it  showed  a  noticeable  proportion  of  words  known  otherwise 
only,  or  chiefly,  from  the  Aramaic,  while  in  the  use  of  v  it  approximated  to 
the  neighbouring  dialect  of  Phoenicia,  in  which  the  relative  was  k^n. 

t  m'?nN,  JDinK,  \Xii^  (these  three  also  occurring  elsewhere),  nnj  i^^  ^is.  i4^ 
IVTBK  3^^,  DDns  4^*,  are  probably  Indian  ;  dtib  4^^  is  the  Zend  pairidaiza, 
properly  an  enclosure  ;  nJN  6^^  is  Persian  ;  ^v  also  is  doubtless  foreign  ; 
jvnSN  (also  in  the  Talmud,  &c.)  is  foreign  in  appearance,  and  has  no  plausible 
Semitic  etymology  (those  mentioned,  or  suggested,  by  Delitzsch  being  most 
precarious) :  if  it  be  not  the  Sk.  paryanka,  a  couch-bed,  whence  Hind,  palki, 
a  '■^ palanquin  ^"^  (so  W.  R.  Smith,  ap.  Yule,  Glossary  of  Anglo-Indian 
Words,  S.V.),  it  must  be  the  Greek  (pope'iov ;  which  would  imply  that  the 
poem  was  a  work  of  the  Greek  age.  The  origin  of  "^sj  =  Ktjirpos  (also  in 
Syriac)  i^^  4^^  calls  for  further  investigation  j  but  it  will,  at  least,  not  be  the 
verb  ns3. 


450  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Jerusalem  are  mentioned  together  in  6*,  it  has  been  thought  by 
many  (Ew.  Hitz.  Oettli)  that  it  was  written  during  the  time  that 
Tirzah  was  the  capital  of  the  N.  kingdom  (i  Ki.  141^-1623'-), 
i.e.  in  the  loth  cent.  B.C.;  but  Tirzah  is  named  afterwards,  2  Ki. 
1514.  w  so  that  this  argument  is  not  exactly  decisive.  Recol- 
lections of  Solomon,  and  the  pomp  of  his  Court,  appear,  how- 
ever, to  be  relatively  fresh.  The  poem,  it  is  possible,  may  be 
constructed  upon  a  basis  of  fact,  the  dramatic  form  and  the 
descriptive  imagery  being  supplied  by  the  imagination  of  the 
poet. 

The  linguistic  diaracter  of  the  Song  of  Songs  is  certainly  remarkable  ;  and 
it  must  remain  doubtful  whether  the  considerations  just  advanced  are  sufficient 
to  neutralize  the  philological  indications  (esp.  v,  hrtf,  D^^^,  and  jvt£3k)  point- 
ing to  a  late  date.  The  tendency  of  recent  critics  has  been  to  take  this  view 
of  the  poem.  In  1890,  Kuenen,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry,  wrote,  "  On  the 
plan  and  scope  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  I  still  think  much  as  I  did  25 
years  ago  \i.e.  substantially  as  Ewald].  But  about  its  age  I  am  perplexed. 
I  would  gladly  adhere  to  its  pre-exilic  origin.  But  the  language  of  the  book 
is  too  strong  for  me.  However,  before  I  revise  the  chapter  of  my  Onderzoek 
relating  to  it,  I  must  work  through  the  question  thoroughly."  And  it  is 
known  that,  before  his  death,  he  left  a  lecture  in  which  he  assigned  it  to  the 
Greek  period  {/QR.  1892,  p.  595).  The  same  view  had  been  advocated 
before  by  Gratz ;  and  it  has  been  adopted  since  by  Comill,  Wildeboer, 
Cheyne  {Founders  of  OT.  CHt.  p.  351  f.),  Budde,  Kautzsch,  and  others. 
The  grounds  for  it  are  stated  most  fully  (though  with  some  exaggeration)  by 
Gratz,  p.  43  ff. ;  more  briefly,  and  also  more  moderately,  by  Martineau 
(pp.  324-328),  who  follows  Gratz  in  assigning  the  Song  to  the  age  of 
Ptolemy  Euergetes,  B.C.  247-221.  In  the  philological  argument,  the  element 
of  uncertainty  is  our  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  history  and  usage  of  v  (and 
Sv)  prior  to  the  age  of  Ecclesiastes  (and  the  Mishnah) ;  in  other  parts  of  the 
OT.  its  use  is  rare  and  sporadic  (p.  449  n. ) ;  what,  then,  were  the  ante- 
cedents of  its  frequent  appearance  in  Ecclesiastes?  and  to  what  stage  in  the 
history  of  the  word  does  its  exclusive  use  in  the  Song  of  Songs  point  ?  It 
must  be  owned  that  pnsK  resembles  (^opelov  more  than  it  resembles /aryaw^a, 
and  that  it  is  surprising  to  find  in  Hebrew,  at  a  time  long  before  either  the 
Medes  or  the  Persians  had  become  an  influential  power,  a  word  like  cms, 
which  could  not  even,  like  the  name  of  a  commodity,  have  travelled  with  the 
thing. 

The  interpretation  of  the  Song  has  passed  through  many  and 
strange  phases,  which  are  illustrated  at  some  length  in  Dr.  Gins- 
burg's  learned  Introduction.  By  the  Jews  it  was  largely  inter- 
preted as  an  allegory ;  it  is  so  expounded,  for  instance,  in  the 
Targum,  where  it  is  made  to  embrace  the  entire  history  of  Israel, 
from  the  Exodus  to  the  future  Messiah.     The  same  method  was 


THE  SONG  OF  SONGS  451 

adopted  by  the  early  Christian  Fathers,  especially  by  Origen, 
Solomon  and  the  Shulamite  representing  Christ  and  the  Church 
respectively.  But  there  is  nothing  in  the  poem  to  suggest  that 
it  is  an  allegory ;  and  the  attempt  to  apply  it  to  details  results  in 
great  artificiality  and  extravagance.  Bp.  Lowth,  though  not 
abandoning  the  allegorical  view,  sought  to  free  it  from  its  extra- 
vagances ;  and  while  refusing  to  press  details,  held  that  the  [424] 
poem,  while  describing  the  actual  nuptials  of  Solomon  with  the 
daughter  of  Pharaoh,  contained  also  an  allegoric  reference  to 
Christ  espousing  a  Church  chosen  from  among  the  Gentiles.* 
Among  modern  scholars  also  there  have  been  several  who, 
while  refusing  to  allegorise,  have  nevertheless  been  unwilUng  to 
see  in  the  poem  nothing  beyond  a  description  of  human  emotions, 
and  have  adopted  a  view  nearly  identical  with  Lowth's  modified 
allegorical  view :  they  have  regarded,  viz.,  the  love  depicted  in 
the  poem  as  typical  of  a  higher  love,  supposing  it  either  {a)  to 
represent  the  love  of  Jehovah  to  His  people  (Keil),  or  {b)  that  of 
the  soul  to  God  (Moses  Stuart),  or  {c)  to  foreshadow  the  love  of 
Christ  to  the  Church  (Delitzsch,  Kingsbury).  This  is  free  from 
the  vices  which  attach  to  the  old  allegorical  method  of  interpre- 
tation ;  but  there  is  still  nothing  in  the  poem  to  suggest  it :  nor, 
if  the  poem,  as  is  the  case  upon  Ewald's  theory,  contains  an 
ethical  motive^  is  it  necessary.  Both  the  allegorical  and  the 
typical  systems  of  interpretation  owe  their  plausibility  to  the 
assumption  that  the  poem  exhibits  only  two  principal  characters ; 
in  this  case,  if  interpreted  literally,  it  is  destitute  of  ethical  pur- 
pose, and  a  hidden  meaning  has  to  be  postulated  in  order  to 
justify  its  place  in  the  Canon.  Upon  Ewald's  view,  the  literal 
sense  supplies  the  requisite  ethical  justification.  At  the  same 
time,  the  typical  interpretation  is  perfectly  compatible  with  Ewald's 
view,  and  indeed,  if  combined  with  it,  is  materially  improved ; 
the  heroine's  true  love  then  represents  God,  and  Solomon,  in 
better  agreement  with  his  historical  position  and  character,  repre- 
sents the  blandishments  of  the  world,  unable  to  divert  the  hearts 
of  His  faithful  servants  from  Him. 

It  cannot,  ot  course,  be  pretended  that  there  are  no  difficult  passages  in  the 
Song,  or  none  which  may  have  been  incorrectly  understood  by  both  Ew.  and 

*  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews^  Lect.  xxx.-xxxi.    But  the  identification  of 
the  Shulamite  with  Pharaoh's  da*ighter  cannot  be  right. 


452  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Del.  And  some  modern  scholars,  it  is  right  to  add,  are  not  satisfied  with 
either  of  the  above  explanations  of  the  poem  ;  so  e.g.  Reuss  in  his  translation, 
p.  51,  &c.  (who  thinks  that  the  lover  speaks  throughout,  and  merely  repre- 
sents his  betrothed  as  addressing  him  by  a  graceful  poetic  fiction) ;  and 
Gratz,  p.  26  ff.  (who  thinks  similarly  that  the  Shulamite  speaks  throughout). 
But  there  are  passages  which  it  is  impossible  to  accommodate  to  the  theory 
of  either  Reuss  or  Gratz  without  great  [425]  exegetical  liberties :  notice,  for 
instance,  the  violent  rendering  in  both  of  i*,  the  artificial  explanation  of 
3«-",  &c. 

Stickel,  Bruston,  Castelli,  Martineau,  and  Rothstein  (above,  p.  436)  all 
adopt  the  same  general  view  of  the  poem  as  Ewald  (Castelli,  however,  deny- 
ing that  it  is  a  drama),  with  subordinate  modifications  designed  to  remove 
certain  difficulties  which,  in  their  judgment,  attach  to  his  conception  of  it. 
Thus  Stickel  considers  that  i'"^  i^''-2^  4^-5^  form  three  scenes  in  which  a 
second  pair  of  lovers  appear,  in  designed  contrast  to  Solomon  and  the 
Shulamite  :  Bruston  holds  that  3^-5^  represents  the  marriage  of  Solomon  with 
a  Tyrian  princess  ;  Rothstein  (whose  presentation  of  the  poem  is  an  attractive 
one)  assigns  ^'^^  ^  to  the  King,  6^"^  f'^  to  the  lover,  and  &^-  ^^-^  7I-6  to  a 
chorus  of  peasants.  Castelli  and  Martineau  go  further,  both  eliminating 
Solomon  as  a  speaker,  and  the  latter  (whose  view  will  appear  shortly  in 
extensp  in  Haupt's  SBOT.)  assuming  also  many  transpositions  and  interpolations 
in  the  text. 

The  principal  alternative  explanation  is  that  suggested  by  J.  G.  Wetzstein, 
for  many  years  Prussian  Consul  at  Damascus,  in  his  Excursus  on  Syrian 
marriage-customs  in  Delitzsch,  p.  172  w.,  which  has  been  accepted  by  Stade 
{fi.  ii.  I97«.),  Kautzsch  {Abriss,  p.  210  f.  [^p.  134]),  and  esp.  by  Budde 
{New  World,  Boston,  U.S.A.,  1894,  p.  56  ff.).  The  fullest  account  of  these 
marriage-customs  is  that  given  by  Wetzstein  in  an  article  in  Bastian's  Ztsck.  f. 
Ethnologie,  1873,  p.  270 ff.,  on  "Die  Syrische  Dreschtafel,"  explaining  the 
uses  of  it  (which  are  more  varied  than  might  be  imagined),  and  offering  many 
illustrations  of  the  OT.  from  customs  still  prevalent  in  the  East.  In  modern 
Syria,  the  first  seven  days  after  a  wedding  are  called  "the  King's  Week"; 
the  young  pair  play  during  this  time  king  and  queen ;  the  **  threshing-board  " 
is  turned  into  a  mock-throne,  on  which  they  are  seated,  while  songs  are  sung 
before  them  by  the  villagers  and  others,  celebrating  them  on  their  happiness, 
among  which  the  wasfy  or  poetical ' '  description  "  of  the  physical  beauty  of  the 
bride  and  bridegroom,  holds  a  prominent  place.  The  first  of  these  wasfs  is 
sung  on  the  evening  of  the  wedding-day  itself :  brandishing  a  naked  sword  in 
her  right  hand,  and  with  a  handkerchief  in  her  left,  the  bride  dances  in  her 
wedding  array,  lighted  by  fires,  and  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  guests,  half 
men  and  half  women,  accompanying  her  dance  with  a  was/ in  praise  of  her 
charms.  This  sword-dance,  with  its  concomitants,  forms  a  striking  scene 
(Wetzstein,  ap.  Del.  p.  171).  Other  wasfs  follow  on  the  subsequent  days. 
Wetzstein  supposes  the  "Song  of  Solomon"  to  be  a  collection  of  such 
wedding-songs:  according  to  his  view,  as  developed  by  Budde  {I.e.),  the 
bridegroom  is  called  King  Solomon  hyperbolically,  the  sixty  valiant  men  who 
escort  his  litter  (3''-)  being  the  "companions  of  the  bridegroom"  (cf.  Jud. 
14^^);  the  bride  is  designated  the  Shulamite  (6^^),  as  a  term  suggestive  of  the 


RUTH  453 

highest  beauty  (i  Ki.  i^ ;  cf.  Song  !»  58  6^ :  so  first  Stade,  G.  i.  292);  the 
greater  part  of  the  poem  consists  of  imaginative  descriptions  of  love  and 
wedded  bUss,  not  actually  sung  by  the  royal  pair  themselves,  but  placed  in 
their  mouths  by  the  men  and  women  who  sing  before  them ;  'j^^'  might  be 
the  wasf  of  the  sword-dance,  4^"^  6^"'^  would  correspond  to  the  wasfs  of 
the  following  days,  here  placed  dramatically  by  the  poet  in  the  mouth  of  the 
bridegroom,  5^°'^^  the  wtzj/of  the  bridegroom,  is  sung  by  the  bride  :  in  some 
places  connecting  links  were  added  by  the  redactor.  Wetzstein  {ap.  Del.  p. 
172  fF.)  relates  how  at  the  marriage  of  the  daughter  of  the  Sheikh  of  Nawa, 
a  noted  poet  of  the  neighbourhood  was  called  in,  who  composed  a  poem 
suited  to  the  occasion  ending  with  a  wasf^  or  description  of  the  bride's  charms, 
which  is  quoted  at  length,  and  which,  though  longer  and  more  ornate,  is 
similar  in  character  to  those  in  the  Song  of  Songs.  Budde's  view  is  criticised 
byC.  Bruston  in  Z<?  X'  Congrh des  Orientalistes  et  VAnc.  Test.  (Paris,  1895), 
pp.  13-19,  who  points  out  that  it  cannot  be  carried  through  consistently  with- 
out considerable  violence  to  the  text. 


§  2.  Ruth. 

Literature. — The  Commentaries  of  Bertheau  and  Keil  on  Judges  (p. 
160),  at  the  end;  Wellhausen,  Comp.  pp.  357-359;  W.  R.  Smith,  "Ruth" 
in  the  Encycl.  Brit.^ ;  S.  Oettli  in  Strack  and  Zockler's  Kgf.  Komm.  (in  the 
part  entitled  Die  Geschichtlichen  Hagiographen^  1889,  p.  211  ff.). 

The  contents  of  this  Book  are  too  well  known  to  need  a 
detailed  description.  Elimelech,  a  native  of  Bethlehem  in  Judah, 
in  the  days  of  the  Judges,  goes  with  his  wife,  Naomi,  and  his  two 
sons,  Mahlon  and  Chilion,  to  sojourn  in  Moab.  He  dies  there ; 
and  his  two  sons  marry  Moabitish  wives,  Orpah  and  Ruth 
respectively.  After  a  while  Mahlon  and  Chilion  die  likewise, 
and  Naomi  is  left  alone  with  her  two  daughters-in-law.  She 
resolves  upon  returning  to  Bethlehem,  but  bids  her  daughters- 
in-law  remain  in  their  own  country.  Orpah  accepts  her  mother- 
in-law's  offer ;  Ruth  expresses  her  determination  to  accompany 
Naomi  back  (c.  i).  C.  2-4  narrate  how  it  happened  that  after 
their  return  to  Bethlehem,  Ruth  made  the  acquaintance  of  her 
kinsman  Boaz,  and  how  in  the  end  he  took  her  as  his  wife. 
The  offspring  of  their  union  was  Obed,  father  of  Jesse,  and 
grandfather  of  David.  The  narrative  is  told  with  much  pic- 
turesque and  graceful  detail,  and  affords  an  idyllic  glimpse  of 
home  life  in  ancient  Israel. 

Aim  of  the  Book. — The  Books  of  Samuel  contain  no  particu- 
lars respecting  the  ancestry  of  David,  merely  giving  the  names  of 
his  father  Jesse  and  of  hi?  brethren  (t  Sa.  i6i-i3  &c.);  hence 


454  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

the  aim  of  the  Book  appears  to  have  been  partly  to  fill  up  this 
deficiency,  partly  (and  perhaps  particularly)  to  show  how  Ruth, 
a  daughter  of  Moab,  and  a  native  therefore  of  a  country  hostile 
theocratically  to  Israel,  obtained  an  honourable  position  among 
Jehovah's  people,  and  became  an  ancestor  of  the  illustrious  king, 
David.*  Has  the  writer,  however,  any  ulterior  aim,  besides  the 
one  which  is  visible  on  the  surface  ?  Intermarriage  with  foreign 
women  was  one  of  the  practices  which  Ezra  (c.  9-10)  and 
Nehemiah  (13^^*2®)  strove  earnestly  to  suppress ;  and  hence  [426] 
it  has  been  thought,  from  the  favour  with  which  Boaz's  marriage 
with  Ruth  is  regarded  in  the  Book,  that  it  was  written  as  a 
protest  against  the  line  taken  by  these  two  reformers.  But  this 
cannot  be  considered  probable;  nor  can  the  present  writer,  at 
any  rate,  satisfy  himself  that  the  Book  is  as  late  as  the  5th  cent. 
B.C.  It  is,  however,  not  impossible,  considering  the  prominence 
given  to  this  subject  in  c.  3-4,  that  it  is  a  collateral  didactic  aim 
of  the  author  to  inculcate  the  duty  of  marriage  on  the  part  of 
the  next-of-kin  f  with  a  widow  left  childless. 

Date  of  Composition. — Most  modern  critics  consider  Ruth  to 
be  exilic  (Ew.  Hist.  \.  154  f.),  or  post-exilic  (Berth.  Wellh. 
Kuen.  &c.);  the  chief  grounds  alleged  being  (i)  the  learned, 
antiquarian  interest  which  is  thought  to  manifest  itself  in  ^-^'^^ 
poiriting  in  particular  to  the  time  when  the  custom  referred  to  in 
v.^  had  become  obsolete ;  and  (2)  the  language,  which  exhibits 
some  Aramaisms  and  other  late  expressions. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  these  grounds  are  decisive.  The 
general  Hebrew  style  (the  idioms  and  the  syntax)  shows  no  marks 
of  deterioration ;  it  is  palpably  different,  not  mei:ely  from  that  of 
Esther  and  Chronicles,  but  even  from  Nehemiah's  memoirs  or 
Jonah,  and  stands  on  a  level  with  the  best  parts  of  Samuel.  | 

*  Keil,  §  136 ;  Bertheau,  p.  283  ;  Kuenen,  Onderzoek,  §  36.  9.  Notice 
Ii6b  2^      This  reception  of  Ruth  appears  to  conflict  with  Dt.  233. 

t  Not  the  duty  of  the  /^wVa/^-marriage  (Gen.  38  ;  Dt,  25^).  Boaz  is  not 
Ruth's  brother-in-law. 

X  The  style  in  general  is  classical ;  but  among  particular  idioms  notice  i" 
31  'S  '"'  ncj;'  na  (elsewhere  only  in  Sam.  Kgs. :  p.  184) ;  i^»  Tyn  ^3  onni 
(i  Ki.  1*5);  2^1  DK  ny  (only  besides  Gen.  2^^^],  Isa.  30");  4*  pN  rhi  (as 
1  Sa.  9^"  2o2-  "•  13  22^-  ",  2  Sa.  727) ;  and  esp.  2^  na  here,  in  the  local  sense, 
elsewhere  only  in  JE  (Gen.  22^  3187,  Ex.  2^^  Nu.  ii^i  2318)  and  2  Sa.  i8»>, 
which  is  not  a  trait  likely  to  have  been  imitated  by  a  later  writer.  The  suff. 
n]K3  ii»  is  paralleled  also  in  E  (Gen.  21="  42^'). 


RUTH  455 

The  linguistic  traits  alluded  to  are  the  2nd  fem.  sing.  impf.  in  p-,  2**  ^^ 
3^'  ^^  (elsewhere  only  Isa.  45^^  Jer.  31^,  i  Sa.  i^^),  and  the  2nd  fem.  sing, 
pf.  in  'n-  3^*  *  (elsewhere  only  in  Mic.  4^^ ;  Jer.  [frequently]  ;  Ez.  16  *) :  these, 
however,  are  in  fact  the  original  terminations,  which  may  have  remained  in 
use  locally  (cf.  'rk,  o-,  p.  188  note),  and,  as  the  parallels  quoted  show,  are,  at 
least,  not  confined  to  /<7j/-exilic  authors.     Further — 

\rb  therefore  i^^  (as  in  Aram.,  Dan.  2^-  ^  4^^). 

[427]  D'cj  NB-j  to  take  wives  i^  (for  the  usual  '3  npS),  as  i  Ch.  23^2,  2  Ch. 
1,21  1321  243,  Ezr.  92- 12  lo-w,  Neh.  1325  (in  Jud.  2i23  rather  differently  = 
to  carry  away,  secure  ;  Budde,  Kichter  und  Samuel,  p.  1 54). 

Jjy  to  restrain  l^^  {as perhaps  in  Aram.  :  but  comp.  Payne  Smith,  s.v.). 

nab  to  hope  i",  as  Isa.  38I8  (poet.)',  Ps.  1042?  iig^^  14515,  Est.  9^1 
(  =  Aram.  n3D)  :  cf.  the  subst.  nnb  Ps.  119"'  146^  |  (late). 

nB'  Almighty  1^^'  (without  hn  God:  p.  127,  note),  as  never  elsewhere  in 
prose,  and  in  poetry  chiefly  in  Job. 

niVjnD  the  parts  about  the  feet  3^-  '•  *•  ^*,  only  besides  Dan.  10^. 

nsS  to  turn  about  3®,  only  besides  Job  6^^  (but  Arab.,  not  Aram.). 

D!p  to  confirm  4',  as  Ezek.  136,  Ps.  11928-  loe,  Est.  921-  ^-  ^-  31-  32,  and  in 
Aram.  (Dan.  68)|.t 

Of  these  D'p  cannot  be  defended  as  old  Hebrew  ;  but  the  word  occurs  in 
a  verse  which  is  not  needed  in  the  narrative,  and  has  every  appearance  of 
being  an  explanatory  gloss  (cf.  the  gloss  in  l  Sa.  9^  which  begins  similarly). 
Of  the  others,  mVjno  is  formed  in  exact  analogy  with  mcNno  (i  Sa.  19^3 
&c. ) ;  its  not  occurring  elsewhere  till  Dan.  may  be  due  merely  to  its  not 
being  required,  ne'  (which  occurs  in  poetry  in  Nu.  24^*  ^^)  may  be  a  poetical 
term  (cf.  2^2bj  chosen  intentionally  by  the  author  :  poetical  expressions  occur 
from  time  to  time  in  other  pre-exilic  historical  books.  In  reference  to  the 
rest,  it  may  be  remembered  that  words,  with  Aramaic  or  late  Hebrew 
affinities,  occur,  at  least  sporadically,  in  passages  admittedly  of  early  date 
(as  mit^n,  Vik  in  i  Sa.  9^-10^^).  jnV  is  the  word  which  it  is  most  difficult 
to  reconcile  with  an  early  date ;  but  it  is  possible  that  the  Book,  in  spite  of 
its  interest  in  Bethlehem  and  David,  was  yet  written  in  the  N.  kingdom,  and 
preserves  words  current  there  dialectically  (p.  449). 

It  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  general  beauty  and  purity  of 
the  style  of  Ruth  point  more  decidedly  to  the  pre-exilic  period 
than  do  the  isolated  expressions  quoted  to  the  period  after  the 
exile.  The  genealogy,  418-22^  which  also  appears  to  suggest  an 
exilic  or  post-exilic  date  (T'i'in  [p.  134,  No.  45]  ;  and  comp. 
I  Ch.  2^^-),  forms  no  integral  part  of  the  Book,  and  may  well 

*  This  very  peculiar  distribution  of  an  anomalous  form — in  books  neither 
specially  early  nor  specially  late,  and  in  one  chapter  only  of  a  long  book — 
must  be  due,  in  some  measure,  to  accidental  causes. 

t  tiya  (2^^)  is  wrongly  cited  as  an  Aramaism.      It  is  pure  Heb.  =Arab. 

liX^  =  Aram.   >^*^\,  according  to  the  regular   interchange    of  consonants 
{Tenses,  §  178.  i).     Nor  is  nns  (a^^j  an  Aramaic  word. 


456  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

have  been  added  long  after  the  Book  itself  was  written,  in  an 
age  that  was  devoted  to  the  study  of  pedigrees,  in  order  to 
supply  the  missing  links  between  Boaz  and  Perez  (4^^). 

That  David  had  Moabite  connexions  is  probable  independ- 
ently from  I  Sa.  2  23^-.  The  basis  of  the  narrative  consists,  it 
may  reasonably  be  supposed,  of  the  family  traditions  respecting 
Ruth  [428]  and  her  marriage  with  Boaz.  These  have  been  cast 
into  a  literary  form  by  the  author,  who  has,  no  doubt,  to  a 
certain  extent  idealised  both  the  characters  and  the  scenes. 
Distance  seems  to  have  mellowed  the  rude,  unsettled  age  of  the 
Judges.  The  narrator  manifestly  takes  delight  in  the  graceful 
and  attractive  details  of  his  picture.  His  principal  characters 
are  amiable,  God-fearing,  courteous,  unassuming;  and  all  in 
different  ways  show  how  a  religious  spirit  may  be  carried  un- 
ostentatiously into  the  conduct  of  daily  life. 


§  3.  The  Lamentations. 

Literature. — H.  Ewald  in  Die  Psalmen  (above,  p.  359),  p.  321  fF. 
(ii.  99  ff.  of  the  translation);  Otto  Thenius  (in  the  Kgf.  Hdb.\  1855; 
Nagelsbach,  Keil,  Payne  Smith,  Cheyne,  Plumptre,  at  the  end  of  their 
Commentaries  on  Jeremiah  (above,  p.  247);  "W.  R.  Smith,  art.  "Lamenta- 
tions" in  the  Encycl.  Brit.^ ;  S.  Oettli  in  Strack  and  Zockler's  ICgf.  Komm.-, 
M.  Lohr,  Die  Klagelieder  Jeremiads  (1891)  ;  and  in  Nowack's  "  Hand- 
komm.,"  1893  ;  S.  Minocchi,  Le  Lamentazioni  di  Geremia  (Roma,  1897) ;  G. 
Bickell  (p.  340«.). 

In  Hebrew  Bibles  the  title  of  this  Book,  derived  from  its 
first  word,  is  nD''S  Echdh;  another  name  by  which  it  is  also 
known  among  the  Jews  is  ni3''p,  i.e.  Lamentations  or  Dirges'^ 
(LXX  Oprjvoi).  The  Book  consists  of  five  independent  poems, 
all  dealing  with  a  common  theme,  viz.  the  calamities  that  befell 
the  people  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  in  consequence  of  the  siege 
and  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldaeans,  B.C.  586.  The 
poems  are  constructed  upon  an  artificial  plan ;  and  though  the 
details  are  varied,  they  are  evidently  all  conformed  to  the  same 
type.  In  the  first  four  poems  the  verses  are  arranged  alpha- 
betically :  in  the  first  and  second  each  verse  consists  of  three 
members,  and  the  verses  begin  severally  with  the  successive 
letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet ;  in  the  third,  the  verses  consist 
*  Cf.  the  yixxiex^s  Joel  and  Amos,  p.  184. 


THE  LAMENTATIONS  457 

of  single  members,  and  three  verses,  each  having  the  same 
initial  letter,  are  assigned  to  each  successive  letter,  so  that  the 
poem  contains  in  all  66  verses ;  the  fourth  is  similar  in  structure 
to  the  first,  except  that  each  verse  has  two  members  only ;  the 
fifth  poem  is  not  alphabetical,  but  consists  nevertheless  of  22 
verses,  each  formed  by  two  somewhat  short  members."* 

The  rhythm  of  the  first  four  pv\)ems  is  peculiar.  It  was 
observed  [429]  long  ago  by  Lowth  f  that  the  verses  here  were 
of  unwonted  length  ;  De  Wette  |  noticed  that  each  member  of  a 
verse  was  marked  by  a  ccBSura^  corresponding  both  with  the 
accent  and  with  the  sense :  afterwards  Keil  §  made  the  further 
observation  that  the  ccesura  divided  the  verse  into  two  unequal 
parts;  but  the  subject  was  only  systematically  investigated  by 
C.  Budde,  professor  (at  that  time)  in  Bonn,  in  an  essay  in  the 
ZATW.  1882,  pp.  1-52,  entitled  "Das  Hebraische  Klagelied." 
In  this  essay  Budde  showed  that  the  form  of  verse  characteristic 
of  Lam.  1-4  recurred  in*  other  parts  of  the  OT.,  written  in  an 
elegiac  strain,  and  that  it  was  in  fact  the  rhythm  peculiar  to 
Hebrew  elegy.  The  verse  itself  may  consist  of  one  or  more 
members,  but  each  member,  which  contains  on  an  average  not 
more  than  five  or  six  words,  is  divided  by  a  ccesura  into  two 
unequal  parts,  the  first  being  usually  about  the  length  of  an 
ordinary  verse-member,  the  second  being  decidedly  shorter,  and 
very  often  not  parallel  in  thought  to  the  first.  An  example  or 
two,  even  in  a  translation,  will  make  the  character  of  the  rhythm 
apparent : — 

Lam.  i^  How  doth  the  city  sit  solitary, — she  that  was  full  of  people  ! 

She  is  become  as  a  widow, — she  that  was  great  among  the  nations  : 
The  princess  among  the  provinces, — she  is  become  tributary. 

2^  He  hath  hewn  off  in  fierceness  of  anger — all  the  horn  of  Israel : 
He  hath  drawn  back  his  right  hand — from  before  the  enemy  : 
And   he   hath   burned  up  Jacob  as  a  flaming  fire, — it   devoureth 
round  about. 

*  In  c.  2-4  the  S  precedes  the  y  (cf.  p.  368,  note)  :  it  would  seem  either 
that  when  the  Lamentations  were  composed  the  order  of  the  Hebrew 
alphabet  was  not  definitely  fixed,  or  that  different  orders  prevailed  in 
antiquity. 

+  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews,  Lect.  xxii. 

:J:  Comment,  zu  den  Psalmen  (ed.  4),  1836,  p.  55  f. 

§  In  Havernick's  Einhitung^xx.  (1849),  p.  512. 


458  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

3^-3  I  am  the  man  that  hath  seen  affliction — by  the  rod  of  his  wrath  : 
Me  hath  he  led  and  caused  to  go — in  darkness  and  not  in  light : 
Surely  against  me  he  ever  turneth  his  hand — all  the  day. 

Occasionally  the  first  member  may  be  abnormally  lengthened 
(as  2^^*  3^^  4^^^-  2^*),  or  if  it  consists  of  long  and  weighty  words, 
it  may  contain  two  only  (as  i^*'-*'  already  quoted,  i*<^-  ^^  &c.),  or, 
again  (though  this  happens  more  rarely),  there  may  be  a  slight 
collision  between  the  rhythm  and  the  thought  (as  i^^*^*  i^*  2^^) : 
but  the  general  relation  of  the  two  members  to  one  another 
continues  the  same  ;  the  first  member,  instead  of  being  balanced 
and  reinforced  by  the  second  (as  is  ordinarily  the  case  in  Hebrew 
poetry),  is  echoed  by  it  imperfectly,  so  that  it  [430]  seems,  as  it 
were,  to  die  away  in  it,  and  a  plaintive,  melancholy  cadence  is 
thus  produced.  There  are,  however,  particular  verses  in  Lam. 
1-4  which,  even  with  the  licences  just  noticed,  cannot  be 
reduced  to  the  type  described  :  Budde  himself  supposes  that 
in  these  cases  the  text  has  not  been  transmitted  intact  j  *  but 
whether  the  corrections  proposed  by  him  be  accepted  or  not,  the 
number  of  such  verses  is  relatively  small,  and  the  tendency  of  the 
poet  of  Lam.  1-4  to  cast  his  separate  verse-members  into  the 
type  in  question  cannot  be  denied. 

The  same  scholar  points  to  other  parts  of  the  OT.  as  exhibiting  a  similar 
structure;  of  which  the  principal  are  perhaps  Isa.  14^^-21  f  (the  elegy  on  the 
king  of  Babylon),  Ez.  c.  19,  26"  (from  How)''^^  (see  LXX,  Corn.;  or 
QPB.%  28i«-,  Jer.  Q^b  (from  ^lyc))-!"-  is.  20-21+  22*  (from  nySj)-'-  21-23^  Am.  52  ; 
in  many  of  these  passages  a  r\yp^  or  *'  dirge,"  is  expressly  announced  as  about 
to  be  sung  ;  it  is,  moreover,  to  be  observed  that  the  rhythm  seems  to  be 
chosen  intentionally,  for  in  the  context  the  ordinary  poetical  rhythm,  with 
verse-members  of  equal  length,  is,  as  a  rule,  employed.  In  Jer.  9I*  nijjipo 
women  that  chant  dirges,  in  the  parallel  clause  niDDn  wise  or  cunning  women, 
are  summoned  to  sound  the  strain  of  woe, — an  indication  that  the  T\yp  or 
"dirge"  was  no  simple  spontaneous  outburst  of  grief, §  but  a  work  requiring 
for  its  production  some  technical  skill ;  the  women  referred  to  evidently 
belonged  to  a  profession,  and  not  improbably  ^to  judge  from  the  analogy  of 


*  Budde  has  expressed  most  recently  his  view  of  the  text  of  these  chapters 
in  the  ZATW.  1892,  p.  264 ff. 

t  v.'*''  How  hath  the  oppressor  ceased, — the  raging  [n^rnp]  ceased  ! 
v.°  Jehovah  hath  broken  the  staff  of  the  wicked, — the  sceptre  of  rulers,  &c. 

X  ""'  DK3  na  n3T  v. 21  being  (with  LXX,  Ew.  &c.)  omitted  (or  disregarded, 
as  parenthetic).     See  also  Jer.  3822  (Budde,  ZATW.  1883,  pp.  1-8). 

§  I  Ki.  1330,  Jer.  22I8  34^  (the  interjections). 


THE  LAMENTATIONS  459 

what  prevails  in  modern  Syria*)  knew  by  rote  certain  conventional  types  of 
dirge  which  they  were  taught  how  to  apply  in  particular  cases  (cf.  v.^***). 
Probably  also  the  elegiac  rhythm  which  has  been  described  was  accompanied 
by  a  corresponding  plaintive  melody,  and  in  any  case  it  was  connected  with 
mournful  associations :  hence  its  adoption  by  the  prophets  when  they  were 
anxious  to  make  an  unusually  deep  impression  upon  their  hearers.  Budde  has 
developed  and  applied  his  theory  further  in  the  ZATIV.  1891,  p.  234  ff.:  see 
also  ib.  1892,  pp.  31-33  (on  Isa.  yj^^')>  ^^^  "The  Folk-song  of  Israel  in 
the  mouth  of  the  Prophets,"  in  the  New  World,  March  1893. 

Exquisite  as  is  the  pathos  which  breathes  in  the  poetry  of 
these  dirges,  they  are  thus,  it  appears,  constructed  with  conscious 
art:  they  are  not  the  unstudied  effusions  of  natural  emotion, 
they  are  carefully  elaborated  poems,  in  which  no  aspect  of  the 
common  grief  is  unremembered,  and  in  which  every  trait  which 
might  stir  a  chord  of  sorrow  or  regret  is  brought  together,  for  the 
[431]  purpose  of  completing  the  picture  of  woe.  And  hence, 
no  doubt,  the  acrostic  form  of  the  first  four  dirges.  As  in  the 
case  of  the  Psalms  (p.  368),  the  acrostic  form  is  an  external 
principle  of  arrangement,  where  the  subject  is  one  which  does 
not  readily  admit  of  logical  development ;  and  here  it  secures 
the  orderly  and  systematic  expression  of  the  emotions  with  which 
the  poet's  heart  is  filled. 

Contents  of  the  Poems. — The  aspect  of  the  common  theme, 
which  each  poem  develops,  may  be  said  to  be  indicated  in  its 
opening  words. 

I.  The  desolation  and  misery  of  Jerusalem  ("How  doth  she  sit 
solitary,  the  city  that  was  full  of  people  ! ").  The  poet  bewails 
the  solitude  and  desertion  of  Jerusalem  :  her  people  are  in  exile ; 
the  enemy  have  laid  violent  hands  upon  her  treasures ;  her  glory 
is  departed,  v.^-^^*.  In  the  middle  of  v.^^  the  city  itself  is  sup- 
posed to  speak,  declaring  the  severity  of  her  affliction,  v.^^^-^^ ; 
v.^''  the  poet  speaks  in  his  own  person,  but  v.^^  the  city  resumes 
its  plaint,  though  acknowledging  Jehovah's  righteousness,  and 
prays  that  retribution  may  overtake  its  foes,  v.^^"^^. 

II.  Jehovah's  anger  with  His  people  ("  How  hath  Jehovah 
covered  the  daughter  of  Zion  with  a  cloud  in  His  anger!"). 
Here  the  stress  lies  on  the  cause  of  the  country's  sufferings ; 
Jehovah  has  become  its  enemy ^  and  has  cast  off  His  people.  His 
land.   His  sanctuary,  y}-^\  the  agony  of  the  residents  in  the 

*  Wetzstein,  ap.  Budde,  pp.  25-28.  See  also  Budde,  **  Die  Hehraische 
Leichenklage, "  in  the  Zeitschr.  d^Deuischen  Pal.-  Vereins,  vi.  p.  i8off. 


460  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

capital,  the  famine  in  the  streets,  the  contempt  of  the  passers-by, 
the  malicious  triumph  of  the  foe,  are  depicted,  v.^^-^''.  The 
nation  is  invited  to  entreat  Jehovah  on  behalf  of  its  dying 
children,  v.^^^- ;  and  it  responds  in  the  prayer  of  v.'^'^-^'^. 

III.  The  nation'' s  complaint,  and  its  ground  of  consolation  ("  I 
am  the  man  that  hath  seen  affliction  by  the  rod  of  His  wrath  "). 
Here  the  poet,  speaking  in  the  name  of  the  people — or  the  people 
itself  personified  (p.  390,  note)  * — bewails  its  calamities,  v.^'^o ; 
y  21-39  it  consoles  itself  by  the  thought  of  God's  compassion, 
and  the  purposes  of  grace  which  He  may  have  in  His  visitation ; 
y  40-54  its  members  are  invited  to  confess  their  guilt,  and  turn  to 
God  in  penitence ;  v.^^'^'^  the  tone  becomes  more  hopeful ;  [432] 
and  v.^^-^^  the  poem  ends  with  a  confident  appeal  for  vengeance 
on  the  nation's  foes. 

IV.  Zion^s  past  and  present  contrasted  ("  How  is  the  gold 
become  dim  !  how  is  the  most  pure  gold  changed  ! ").  The  con- 
trast between  the  former  splendour  and  the  present  humiliation 
of  Zion  and  its  inhabitants,  v.^^^^ ;  prophets  and  priests  are  so 
stained  by  guilt  that  they  find  no  resting-place  even  among  the 
heathen,  v.^^-ie^  i^  vain  do  the  people  seek  to  escape  from 
their  pursuers :  the  hopes  fixed  upon  Egypt  were  disappointed, 
the  protection  which  they  looked  for  from  "  the  breath  of  our 
nostrils,"  Jehovah's  anointed  (Zedekiah),  failed  them,  v.^'^"^^.  But 
though  for  a  while  Edom  (see  Ps.  137'')  may  triumph,  Israel's 
punishment  will  ere  long  be  completed,  and  the  cup  of  humilia- 
tion be  passed  on  to  its  foe,  v?'^-^'^. 

V.  The  nations  appeal  for  Jehovah^ s  compassionate  regard 
("  Remember,  O  Jehovah,  what  is  come  upon  us  ").  The  poet 
calls  upon  Jehovah  to  consider  the  affliction  of  His  people,  the 
nature  and  severity  of  which  is  indicated  in  a  series  of  character- 
istic traits,  v.i'i^.  But  Zion's  desolation  brings  to  his  mind  by 
contrast  (Ps.  102"'')  the  thought  of  Jehovah's  abiding  power,  on 
the  ground  of  which  he  repeats  his  appeal  for  help,  v.^^^^^. 

The  poems  all  have  a  national  significance,  the  poet  speaking 
throughout  in  the  name  of  the  nation.  From  the  historical 
references,  it  is  evident  that  they  were  composed  after  the  capture 

*  In  3^*  D'Dy  peoples  for  'oy  my  people  must  doubtless  be  read,  with  the 
Peshitto,  and  many  Heb.  MSS.,  and  modern  authorities.  Either  a  letter  has 
fallen  out,  or  a  mark  of  abbreviation  has  been  disregarded.  Comp.  Cheyne's 
crit.  notes  on  Isa.  5^  Ps.  45^®. 


THE  LAMENTATIONS  461 

of  the  city,  the  people,  including  the  king  (2^),  being  in  exile. 
C.  5  was  perhaps  written  somewhat  later  than  c.  1-4 :  it  dwells 
less  upon  the  actual  fate  of  Jerusalem  than  upon  the  continued 
bondage  and  degradation  which  was  the  lot  of  the  survivors; 
v.^  "  servants  rule  over  us  "  appears  to  allude  to  the  subordinate 
foreign  officials  holding  command  in  Judah ;  and  v. 20  implies 
that  Jehovah's  abandonment  of  Jerusalem  has  lasted  for  some 
time.  From  a  poetical  point  of  view  the  second  and  fourth 
poems  are  generally  considered  to  be  superior  to  the  others. 

Authorship.  There  is  no  statement  in  the  OT.  as  to  the 
authorship  of  the  Lamentations ;  but  the  tradition  that  they  were 
written  by  Jeremiah  can  be  traced  back  to  the  LXX  ;  *  it  is  [433] 
found  also  in  the  Targum,t  and  is  alluded  to  in  the  Talmud 
and  by  the  Fathers.  It  cannot,  however,  be  at  once  assumed 
that  this  tradition  has  a  genuine  historical  basis :  an  interval  of 
at  least  three  centuries  separated  the  LXX  translators  from  the 
age  of  Jeremiah ;  and  the  tradition  may,  for  example,  be  merely 
an  inference  founded  on  the  general  resemblance  of  tone  which 
the  Lamentations  exhibit  with  such  passages  as  Jer.  S^^-c.  9, 
c.  14-15,  and  on  the  reference  assumed  to  be  contained  in 
214.53-56  to  incidents  in  the  prophet's  life  (20^;  386^-).+  The 
question,  therefore,  which  we  have  to  ask  is,  Does  the  internal 
evidence  of  the  Book  confirm  the  tradition  or  not?  Most 
modern  critics  §  answer  this  question  in  the  negative;  Keil, 
and  especially  Hornblower,  ||  seek  to  maintain  the  tradition  of 
Jeremiah's  authorship ;  Thenius  adopts  an  intermediate  position, 
holding  c.  2  and  c.  4  to  be  Jeremiah's,  but  not  more. 

Some  of  the  arguments  advanced  on  both  sides  possess  too 
little  of  an  objective  character  to  have  great  value;  e.g,  the 
improbability  of  the  same  writer  dealing  five  times  with  the  same 
theme,  or  the  different  aesthetic  worth  of  the  different  poems 

*  Who  preface  their  translation  of  the  Book  with  the  words  :  "And  it  came 
to  pass,  after  Israel  was  led  into  captivity,  and  Jerusalem  laid  waste,  that 
Jeremiah  sat  weeping,  and  lamented  with  this  lamentation  over  Jerusalem, 
and  said,  ..." 

t  "Jeremiah  the  prophet  and  chief  priest,  said,  ..." 

X  Though  the  expressions  are,  of  course,  really  figurative  ;  and  3*^  (if  taken 
literally)  is  in  express  contradiction  with  Jer.  38^  {no  water). 

§  Ewald,  Schrader  {Einl.),  Noldeke,  Kuenen,  Nagelsbach,  Cheyne,  &c. 

II  In  notes  appended  to  his  translation  of  Nagelsbach's  Commentary, 
p.  19  ff. 


462  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

(which  leads  Thenius,  for  instance,  to  regard  only  c.  2,  4  as 
worthy  of  Jeremiah's  pen),  or  (on  the  other  side)  the  improb- 
ability of  different  poets  beginning  with  the  same  word  How^ 
c.  I,  2,  4  (which  is  a  common  elegiac  exclamation,  and  might, 
moreover,  have  been  suggested  to  one  writer  from  another).  Of 
more  substantial  arguments,  there  may  be  cited  in  support  ot 
the  tradition : — 

a.  The  same  sensitive  temper,  profoundly  sympathetic  in  national  sorrow, 
and  ready  to  pour  forth  its  emotions  unrestrainedly,  manifests  itself  both  in 
Lam.  andinjer.  {e.g.  c.  14-15)- 

b.  The  national  calamities  are  referred  to  the  same  causes  as  in  Jer.  ; 
comp.  e.g.  the  allusions  to  national  sin  in  i=-  «•  ^4- 18  342  (cf.  v.^)  46-  22  5?.  i6 
with  Jer.  \/!^  i6^°"^2  17I-3  ^^^  .  jq  ^^  gyjit-  of  the  prophets  and  priests  in  2" 
413-15  ^ith  Jer.  2^-  ^  5^^  14^^  23^^*^",  c.  27,  &c.  ;  to  the  people's  vain  confidence 
in  the  help  of  weak  and  treacherous  allies  in  i^-  ^^  4"  with  Jer.  2^^-  ^  30^^ 
375-10. 

c.  Similar  representations  and  figures  occur  in  both  Lam.  and  Jer.,  e.g. 
the  [434]  virgin  daughter  of  Zion  broken  with  an  incurable  breach,  i^^  2^', 
Jer.  821'-  14"  ;  the  prophet's  eyes  flowing  down  with  tears  (below,  d^  3),  the 
haunting  sense  of  being  surrounded  with  fears  and  terrors  {d,  7),  the  appeal 
for  vengeance  to  the  righteous  Judge,  3*^'^,  Jer.  11 20,  the  expectation  of  a 
similar  desolation  for  the  nations  that  exulted  in  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  4^1, 
Jer.  49". 

d.  Similarities  of  expression,  of  which  the  following  are  the  most  striking : — 


Lamentations. 

Jeremiah. 

i^  (no  comforter  of  all  her  lovers). 

30^^. 

l8b-9. 

1322b.  26. 

1 16a  2na.  18b  348.  49  (gygg  running  down 

gl.  18b  1317b   1^17. 

with  tears,  &c.). 

2I1  348  410  (the  breach  of  the  daughter 

614  8"- 21;  cf.  46-20  6iioi»i4i^a/. 

of  my  people)  j  cf.  2"  (the  breach 

great),  3^7. 

2"  4^'*  (sins  of  prophets  and  priests). 

Cf.  28  531  i4i3f.  23". 

220  4I0    (women    eating    their    own 

Cf.  I9»  (Dt.  28^53). 

children). 

2^  ("  my  terrors  round  about "). 

626  20IO  {''terror  round  about  "). 

3"  (I  am  become  a  derision). 

2o7. 

3^^^   (wormwood)  ^^  (wormwood   and 

9I5  2315  (Dt.  29"). 

gall). 

3'*'  (fear  and  the  snare). 

48**  ("fear  and  the  snare  and  the 

pir\ 

3"2  (they  hunt  me). 

I6l«b. 

4=^^''  (the  cup). 

251=  49^^. 

5". 

1318b. 

Against  the  tradition  may  be  urged 


THE  LAMENTATIONS  463 

a.  The  variation  in  the  alphabetic  order,  which  would  tend  at  least  to 
show  that  c.  2,  3,  4  were  not  by  the  author  of  c.  i. 

b.  The  point  of  view  is  sometimes  other  than  that  of  Jeremiah,  viz.  ( i ) 
i'"*  and  359-66^  It  ^as  Jeremiah's  conviction  that  the  Chaldseans  were 
executing  Jehovah's  purpose  upon  Judah ;  this  being  so,  would  he,  even 
when  speaking  in  the  nation's  name,  invoke,  or  anticipate,  retribution  upon 
them?  (2)  2^.  Do  these  words  read  as  if  they  were  spoken  by  Jeremiah? 
do  they  not  rather  read  as  if  they  were  spoken  by  one  who  was  not  himself  a 
prophet?  (3)  4".  The  speaker  here  identifies  himself  with  those  who 
expected  help  from  Egypt,  which  Jeremiah  never  did  [y]'^''^^) ;  would  not  Jere- 
miah have  written  7>4(?z>  rather  than  Our?  (4)  4^.  Considering  Jeremiah's 
view  of  Zedekiah  {24^'^"  &c. ),  is  it  likely  that  he  would  have  alluded  to  him 
in  such  laudatory  terms  as  are  here  employed  ?  * 

[435]  c.  The  phraseology  varies  from  that  of  Jeremiah.  Lam.  contains  a 
very  large  number  of  words  not  found  in  Jer. ;  and  though  the  non-occurrence 
in  Jer.  of  several  of  these  must  be  due  to  accident  (as  'n"?  cAeek,  antr  rod, 
mijs  6i'rd)y  and  the  non -occurrence  of  others  may  be  attributed  to  the  peculiar 
character  of  Lam.,  and  is  thus  of  slight  or  no  significance,  yet  others  are 
more  remarkable ;  f  and,  taken  altogether,  the  impression  which  they  leave 
upon  an  impartial  critic  is  that  their  number  is  greater  than  would  be  the 
case  if  Jeremiah  were  the  author. 

d.  It  may  perhaps  be  doubted  whether  a  writer,  who,  in  his  literary  style, 
followed,  as  Jeremiah  did  (p.  274),  the  promptings  of  nature,  would  subject 

*  5'  is  also  pointed  out  as  inconsistent  with  Jer.  's  general  teaching  ;  but 
see  Jer.  15*,  and  observe  that  the  other  side  of  the  truth  is  expressed  in  v.^***. 

t  As  'jy  affliction  i*-  '• »  '^'  " ;  DOw  i^- 13-  is  3"  ;  nr  i^-  s- 12  332.  33  .  ^,3,^  to 
look  i"- 12  363  4I6  3I .  ,jnK  Lord  (alone)  i"-  ^  2>-  2-  5-  7.  is.  19. 20b  381.  se.  37.  ss  . 
VSiy  {  =  to  do  something  to  a  person)  \^  220  3"  ;  yV?  22-  5. 8.  w  .  njT  2'  3"-  3i ; 
^  (for  ncN)  2^^-^'  4''  5^^;  V^  3^  (In  one  or  two  cases  due  to  the  acrostic.) 
In  the  matter  of  diction  much  that  is  irrelevant  has  been  adduced  on  both 
sides.  See  further  Lohr,  ZA  TW.  1894,  p.  31  fF.,  who  has  analysed  very  fully 
the  diction  of  Lam.,  esp.  in  its  relation  to  Jer.,  Ez.,  II  Isa.  and  the  Psalms. 
All  the  poems  have  literary  affinities  with  the  Psalms,  esp.  the  Psalms  ot 
complaint :  c.  2  (and  to  a  less  extent  c.  4)  has  noteworthy  affinities  with  Ez., 
which  seem  to  be  reminiscences  from  it ;  note  2'*  X)i  nnno  "ra,  cf.  Ez.  24^^'  ^i*  ^ 
[also  I  Ki.  208] ;  2"  Ki?'  niri  {to  see  vanity),  as  Ez.  I3«-  ^-  ^  21**  22'^\,  cf.  pm 
K1B'  122^1,  vm  nmo  13't  5  2"  Vai?,  cf.  (also  in  connexion  with /r^T/J^^/j-)  Ez. 
J310. 11. 14. 16  2228 ;  2^5  '£3'  n*?^'?D  Ez.  if  (cf.  '?''?3  referring  to  'B'  16^*  28^^  and 
'3'  i'?'?3  27*-  ^  [but  also  'S'  ^^?p  Ps.  50^]) ;  4"  (of  rwTX^)  '3  inDn  nVa,  as  Ez.  ^^ 
512  13I61  (cf.  with  iflK  17^  20*-  2i|).  The  points  of  contact  with  II  Isa.  are 
slighter ;  they  occur  chiefly  in  c.  i,  3,  5.  (Lohr's  details  are,  however,  not 
always  exact — see  e.g.  p.  43  on  mp  'D'D  \nevervi\  II  Isa.],  p.  44  piB,  p.  45  nno, 
and  vwp  im  \not  in  Dt.  322^],  p.  46  p^B' :  also  onuD  pp.  44,  46,  t  b'TB  p.  43, 
and  mij  p.  48  have  quite  different  senses  in  some  (or  all)  the  passages  quoted  ; 
nor,  in  particular,  does  he  always  make  it  sufficiently  clear — e.g.  p.  46  under 
□'pB*  nan  and  '?Dn  k"?,  p.  48  n'u — whether  the  expressions  quoted  are  peculiar 
to  the  two  writers  compared,  or  whether  they  are  in  fairly  common,  use.) 


464  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

himself  to  the  artificial  restraint  implied  by  the  alphabetical  arrangement  of 
c.  1-4. 

On  the  whole,  the  balance  of  internal  evidence  may  be  said 
to  preponderate  against  Jeremiah's  authorship  of  the  Book.  The 
case  is  one  in  which  the  differences  have  greater  weight  than  the 
resemblances.  Even  though  the  poems  be  not  the  work  of  Jer., 
there  is  no  question  that  they  are  the  work  of  a  contemporary 
(or  contemporaries) ;  and  the  resemblances,  even  including  those 
of  phraseology,  are  not  greater  than  may  be  reasonably  accounted 
for  by  the  similarity  of  historical  situation.  Many,  in  the  same 
troublous  times,  must  have  been  moved  by  the  experience  of  the 
national  calamities,  as  Jeremiah  was  moved  by  their  prospect; 
and  a  disciple  of  Jeremiah's,  or  one  acquainted  with  his  writings, 
who,  while  adopting  in  some  particulars  (No.  b)  the  general 
standpoint  of  his  nation,  agreed  in  other  respects  with  the 
prophet,  might  very  naturally  interweave  his  own  thoughts  with 
reminiscences  of  Jeremiah's  prophecies.  When  the  general 
uniformity  of  Jeremiah's  style  is  remembered,  there  is  perhaps  a 
presumption  that,  had  he  been  the  author,  the  number  of  expres- 
sions common  to  Lam.  and  his  prophecies  would  have  been 
greater  than  it  is,  and  that  those  found  in  Lam.,  but  not  occur- 
ring in  Jer.'s  prophecies,  would  have  been  less  abundant* 

The  question  whether  or  not  all  the  poems  are  by  one  writer,  is  one  which 
cannot  be  determined  with  certainty.  The  chief  expressions  common  to 
more  than  one  of  the  poems  are  the  following :  ':y,  ddib',  nj',  oun,  ':^N,  [436] 
'?'7iy,  njT,  V  (p.  463,  note),  n^iD  i^-  is  26-  7-  22 .  ^^  ^x>.  7. 10  ^12 .  q,^„o  j?  319 . 
D'TCinD  i^o-"  Qre  (Kt.  oniDnn,  as  i"^)  2^;  rvv^  i^s  5";  ^^-d  nDion  \^^  oP- ;  vh 
(n)'?Dn  22-  "•  21  343 .  py  L,^  nVj  7>^  422 ;  Sv  na  niss  2>^  3^6 ;  njis  2^8,  niaDn  3*9 ; 
nijfin  "po  B'XT  2^^  4^ ;  nj'j:  31*  514  (otherwise  applied).  These  (though  the 
possibility  of  imitation  cannot,  it  is  true,  be  altogether  excluded)  would  tend 
to  show  that  the  author  was  the  same.  Ewald  insisted  strongly  that  this  was 
the  case ;  Prof.  Smith  was  of  the  same  opinion,  remarking  that  the  repeated 
treatment  of  the  same  theme,  from  different  points  of  view,  is  in  harmony  with 
the  aim  that  prevails  in  each  individual  poem,  viz.  to  dwell  upon  every  element 
and  aspect  of  the  common  woe.  Others  (as  Kuen.^  §  147.  9)  so  estimate  the 
poetical  superiority  of  c.  2,  4,  5  above  c.  i,  3,  as  to  conclude  even  on  this 
ground  that  it  is  not  the  same  poet  who  speaks  throughout.  ^Esthetic  criteria 
are,  however,  often  subjective  and  uncertain :  Thenius  declared  that  the 
author  of  c.  2,  4  could  not  have  written  c.  i,  3,  5  ;  Budde,  on  the  other  hand 
(ZATIV.  1882,  p.  45),  considers  that  c.  5  forms  the  climax  to  c.  i,  2,  4,  and 
assigns  only  c.  3  to  a  different  author:  similarly  Stade  {G.  i.  701).     Either 


To  the  same  effect  Lohr,  I.e.  p.  40 f.,  Comm,  (Nowack),  p.  xv. 


ECCLESIASTES  (QOHfiLETH)  465 

opinion  must  be  allowed  to  be  tenable  :  the  opinion  that  the  author  is  through- 
out the  same  has  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  probability  in  its  favour ;  but  the 
criteria  at  our  disposal  do  not  authorize  us  to  pronounce  dogmatically  upon 
either  side.  The  poem  which  stands  out  most  distinctly  from  the  rest  is  c.  3  : 
Lohr  ascribes  c.  2,  4  to  one  author,  writing  c.  570  B.C.,  c.  i,  5  to  a  second, 
c.  530,  c.  3  to  a  third,  writing  at  about  the  same  time  as  the  second,  or  possibly 
a  little  later. 

§  4.    ECCLESIASTES    (QoH^LETH). 

Literature. — H.  Ewald  in  Die  Dichter  des  AB.s,^  ii.  267-329 ;  F. 
Hitzig  (in  the  JQf.  Hdb.\  1847,2  by  W.  Nowack,  1883;  C.  D.  Ginsburg, 
Kohekth^  London,  1861  (transl.  and  comm.,  with  very  full  sketch  of  the  history 
of  the  interpretation  of  the  book,  pp.  27-243,  495  ff.);  H.  Gratz,  Kohekl 
iibersetzt  u.  kritisch  erldutert^  1871  (clever,  but  often  arbitrary  and  forced: 
see  Kuenen,  Th.  T.  1883,  pp.  11 3-144);  T.  Tyler,  Ecclesiastes,  1874;  Fr. 
Delitzsch,  Hoheslied  u.  Koheleth,  1875  ;  E.  H.  Plumptre  in  the  Cambridge 
Bible  for  Schools,  1881  ;  E.  Renan,  V Ecclesiaste,  1882  (see  Kuenen,  l.c.)\ 
C.  H.  H.  Wright,  The  book  of  Koheleth  considered  in  relation  to  modern 
criticism,  and  to  the  doctrines  of  modern  pessimism,  with  a  critical  and 
grammatical  commentary  and  a  revised  translation,  1883  ;  G.  Bickell,  Der 
Prediger  iiber  den  Wert  des  Daseins,  Wiederherstellung  des  bisher  zerstiickelten 
Textes,  Vbersetzung  und  Erkldrung,  1884  (see  Cheyne,  pp.  273-278) ;  G. 
G.  Bradley  [Dean  of  Westminster],  Lectures  on  Ecclesiastes,  1885  (explanatory 
paraphrase) ;  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Job  and  Solomon,  1887,  pp.  199-285,  298-301  ; 
W.  Volck  in  Strack  and  Zockler's  Kgf  Kommentar,  1889 ;  S.  Cox  in  the 
"Expositor's  Bible,"  1890;  S.  Euringer,  Der  Masorahtext  des  Koheleth 
kritisch  untersucht,  1890  ;  A.  Dillmann,  "  tjber  die  griech,  Ubers.  des  Qoh.," 
in  the  Sitzungsberichte  der  Kon.-Preuss.  Akad.  der  Wiss.  1892,  p.  3flF.  [shows 
that  this  is  not,  as  Gratz  and  others  had  maintained,  by  Aquila,  but  is  an 
older  version,  revised  on  the  basis  of  Aquila's  translation] ;  E.  Klostermann, 
De  Libri  Coh.  Vers.  Alex.  1892;  Kuenen,  Onderzoek,'^  m.  i,  p.  167!?.  See 
further  Cheyne,  p.  285  ;  Volck,  p.  no. 

The  word  npnp  Qpheleth,  in  the  Book  of  which  it  forms  the 
title,  is  a  name  given  to  Solomon  (ii-2. 12  ^27  J28. 9. 10^^  and  the 
Book  itself  consists  of  meditations  on  human  life  and  society, 
placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  wise  king.  In  virtue  of  the  subject 
with  which  it  deals,  the  Book  forms  part  of  the  C?wkhmah-  or 
Wisdom-literature  of  the  Hebrews  (p.  392).  It  is  written,  as  a 
[437]  whole,  in  prose ;  but  when  the  thought  becomes  elevated,  or 
sententious,  it  falls  into  the  poetical  form  of  rhythmic  parallelism. 
The  precise  sense  which  the  word  Qoheleth  was  intended  to 
express  is  uncertain ;  but  it  is  most  probable  that  it  is  applied  to 
Solomon,  regarded  as  a  public  teacher  of  wisdom,  a  "preacher" 
or  "debater"  (Plumptre)  in  ai^ assembly,  setting  forth  before  hia 


466  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

listeners  the  conclusions  to  which  experience  or  reflexion  had 
brought  him. 

n^np  is  manifestly  connected  with  Vrtjj  assembly ^  and  V'njsn  to  asseinble  [e.g. 
Nu.  lo')  ;  and  means  probably  (for  the  Qal  conjug.  !?n(3  does  not  elsewhere 
occur)  one  who  takes  part  in  an  assembly,  or  gathers  a  circle  of  hearers  round 
him,  LXX  iKK\7}<nd<rT7]s,  Jerome  **  concionator,"  AV.  "The  Preacher." 
But  the  word,  though  construed  as  a  masculine,*  has  z.  feminine  termination  ; 
and  of  this  two  explanations  are  given.  According  to  some  (Ewald,  Hitzig, 
Ginsburg,  Kuenen,  Kleinert),  the  fem.  alludes  to  no^n  Wisdom,  which  is 
represented  in  Pr.  i'^'^'*  8^""*  as  addressing  men  in  the  places  of  concourse  ; 
and  the  name  is  given  to  Solomon,  as  the  impersonation  of  wisdom.  It  is 
an  objection  to  this  view  that  some  of  the  meditations  in  the  Book  are  un- 
suitable in  the  mouth  of  "Wisdom"  {e.g.  i^^-is  yssf.)^  and  that  where 
Wisdom  actually  speaks  (as  in  Pr.  I -9),  her  discourse  is  in  a  widely  different 
strain  from  that  which  prevails  here.  According  to  others,  the  feminine  is  to 
be  explained  in  a  neuter  sense,  either,  in  a  manner  frequent  in  late  Hebrew, t 
as  denoting  the  holder  of  an  office  (properly  "  that  which  holds  the  office  "),:J: 
or,  as  in  Arabic,  with  an  intensive  force,  the  neuter  gender  exhausting  the 
idea  expressed  by  the  word,  and  so,  applied  to  an  individual,  denoting  him 
as  one  who  realises  the  idea  in  its  completeness.  § 

The  literary  form  of  Qoheleth  is  imperfect.  Except  in  c.  1-2, 
where  the  author  is  guided  by  the  course  of  his  (real  or  imagined) 
experience,  the  argument  is  seldom  systematically  developed : 
the  connexion  of  thought  is  often  difficult  to  seize ;  the  subject 
is  apt  to  change  with  some  abruptness ;  and  the  Book  shows  no 
clearly  marked  subdivisions.  Nor  are  the  views  expressed  in  it 
perfectly  consistent  throughout :  evidently  it  reflects  the  author's 
changing  moods,  and  these,  for  some  reason  (cf.  p.  478),  he 
has  presented  side  by  side  without  always  bringing  them  into 
logical  connexion  with  each  other.] | 

•  In  7^7  n^npn  idn  must,  no  doubt,  be  read  ;  cf.  12^. 

t  Comp.  has-Sofereth  "the  scribe,"  Ezr.  2^;  Pochereth-hazzebaim  "the 
binder  of  the  gazelles,"  ib.  v.";  and  see  Strack  and  Siegfried,  Lehrb.  det 
Neuhebr.  Sprac/ie,  p.  54. 

X  So  Ges.,  Del.,  Nowack,  Cheyne. 

s '    / 
§  So  Dr.  W.  Wright,  Arab.  Gr.  i,  §  233,  Rem.  c  (who  compares  *il' 

a  deep  investigator,  fL:U>-  a  great  collector,  &c.) ;  C.  H.  H.  Wright.     Hence 
RV.  marg.  "  the  great  orator." 

II  Bickell  supposes  these  defects  to  have  arisen  through  the  leaves  of  a 
MS.  (the  "  Unfallshandschrift ")  having  become  accidentally  disarranged,  and 
being  afterwards  faultily  put  together  ;  and  he  rearranges  the  text  in  what  he 
conceives  to  have  been  its  original  order.  His  treatment  of  the  book  is  clever 
and  suggestive  ;  but  the  transpositions,  additions,  and  other  alterations,  which 


ECCLESIASTES  (QOHfiLETH)  467 

[438]  The  author  states  the  conclusions  to  which  his  observa- 
tions of  Ufe  had  brought  him,  in  the  two  sentences  with  which 
his  Book  opens  (i^^-) :  "All  is  vanity.  What  profit  hath  man  of 
all  his  labour  wherein  he  laboureth  under  the  sun?"  He 
establishes  these  conclusions  by  a  survey  of  the  different  fields 
of  human  activity,  and  a  demonstration  of  the  fruitlessness  of 
human  effort  upon  each,  i^'^i  he  shows  that  man's  labour 
achieves  nothing  permanent :  the  course  of  human  life  is  as 
monotonous  and  resultless  as  the  operations  of  nature ;  the  wind 
moves  round  in  its  circuits,  as  it  seems,  aimlessly,  and  human 
activity  advances  similarly,  in  a  perpetual  circle,  without  pro- 
ducing anything  essentially  new.  He  next  recounts  more  par- 
ticularly his  own  experience.  He  assumes  the  character  of 
Solomon,  the  wise  and  powerful  king  of  Israel,  and  identifies  his 
experiences  with  his.  He  describes  how  he  had  sought  happiness 
under  many  forms ;  and  how  his  search  had  uniformly  failed. 
The  pursuit  of  wisdom  had  proved  disappointing;  increase  of 
knowledge  brought  with  it  only  fresh  perplexities,  and  an  increas- 
ingly painful  sense  of  the  anomalies  of  society  (i^^*^^).  From 
wisdom  he  had  turned  to  pleasure ;  he  had  provided  himself  with 
all  the  enjoyments  and  luxuries  which  a  king  could  command ; 
but  this  also  brought  him  no  enduring  satisfaction  (2^'^^).  He 
turned  to  the  study  of  human  nature  in  its  wisdom  and  its  folly ; 
but  though  he  perceived  wisdom  to  be  better  than  folly,  yet  the 
advantage  was  of  short  duration ;  for  death  placed  the  wise  and 
the  fool  upon  the  same  footing ;  and  from  another  point  of  view 
life  again  appeared  to  be  unprofitable  and  vain  (2^2-17)^  Nor  was 
the  acquisition  of  riches  more  satisfactory :  for  none  can  tell 
who  will  inherit  them  (2'^^-^^).  The  only  conclusion  to  which  his 
quest  brought  him  was  that  there  was  "  nothing  better  for  a  man 
than  that  he  should  eat  and  drink,"  and  enjoy  such  pleasure 
as  God  provides  for  him  during  the  brief  span  of  life  that  is  his 

lot  (224-26). 

Qoh^leth  next  contemplates  human  activity  under  another 

his  theory  obliges  him  to  assume,  are  far  too  numerous  and  violent  to  be 
probable,  and  withal  often  do  not  enable  him  to  secure  the  desired  end  (see 
esp.  Budde,  Theol.  Lit.-zt.  1885,  No.  3;  and  of.  Kuen.  §  104.  7;  Cheyne, 
Job  and  Sol.  p.  274  f. ).  Bickell's  theory  is  expounded  at  length  in  English 
(with  a  translation  of  his  text)  by  E.  J.  Dillon,  The  Sceptics  of  the  O.  T.  pp. 
87  ff.,  241  ff.  (cf.  the  writer's  critique,  Contemp.  Rev.,  Feb.  1896,  p.  265(1.). 


468  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

aspect.  Every  action  in  which  man  can  engage  has  its  allotted 
season;  but  who  can  be  sure  that  he  has  found  this  season? 
God's  plan  can  be  known  but  partially  by  man  (3^^);  hence 
man's  efforts  to  secure  success  are  constantly  liable  to  fail ;  and 
again  nothing  remains  for  him  but  to  enjoy  the  present  (3^'^^). 
He  saw  injustice  usurping  the  place  of  justice;  and  if,  for  a 
[439]  moment,  the  thought  crossed  his  mind  that  wrong  here 
might  be  redressed  hereafter,  it  quickly  vanished,  for  man,  he 
argued,  has  no  pre-eminence  above  a  beast :  the  future  of  both 
is  alike ;  and  once  more  the  conclusion  follows  that  there  is 
nothing  better  for  man  than  the  enjoyment  of  the  present 
(31^-22).  jje  surveyed  human  society  generally ;  and  saw  in  it 
only  trouble,  failure,  and  disappointment :  the  evils  of  unre- 
dressed oppression  (4^'^),  rivalry  (4^'^),  isolation  (4'^"^'^), — a  king, 
for  example,  beginning  his  reign  brightly,  in  popularity  and 
favour,  and  ending  it  amid  murmurings  and  discontent  {4^^''^^). 
5I-9  he  introduces  a  series  of  moral  (v.^*'')  and  prudential  (v.^^-  *) 
maxims,  intended,  as  it  seems,  to  show  how  at  least  a  part  of 
the  vexations  of  life  may  be  escaped.  5^°*^^  he  resumes  his 
former  moralising  strain  :  riches  also  are  too  often  but  a  source 
of  anxiety  and  care ;  they  are  a  blessing  only  when  God  grants 
the  faculty  to  enjoy  them  (5 ^^"2^) ;  and  it  happens  often  that  He 
does  not  do  this  (6^"^).  Men  toil  and  toil,  and  are  never  satis- 
fied; in  this  the  wise  and  the  fool  resemble  each  other:  still 
present  enjoyment  is  better  than  insatiable  desire  {6'^'^).  Man's 
fate  was  fixed  long  ago  ;  he  cannot  contend  with  a  power  above 
him ;  and  no  one  knows  what  the  future  will  bring  forth  (6^^-'^^), 
The  question  "  what  is  good  for  man  in  life  "  (6^2),  suggests  a 
series  of  reflexions  on  what  it  is  "good"  for  a  man  to  do  in 
order  to  alleviate  his  vexations  ;  to  cultivate  seriousness  in  pre- 
ference to  frivolity  (7^"'^),  patience  and  resignation  rather  than 
an  over-anxious  temper,  ever  brooding  over  the  wrongs  of  life 
(78"22).  Wisdom,  if  it  could  be  found,  would  indeed  be  man's 
best  guide :  Qoh^leth  has  in  vain  sought  it ;  but  his  attempt  to 
read  the  enigma  of  life  convinced  him  strongly  of  one  fact — and 
it  is  introduced  with  both  abruptness  and  emphasis — that  wotnan 
is  one  of  the  chief  foes  to  human  happiness — "  whoso  pleaseth 
God  shall  escape  from  her;  but  the  sinner  shall  be  taken  by 

*  Under  a  government  which  is  a  hierarchy  of  corruption  and  oppression, 
be  careful  how  you  criticise  the  acts  of  its  representatives. 


ECCLESIASTES  (QOHfiLETH)  469 

her  "  (7-3--^).  81-9  there  follows  another  series  of  maxims,  teach- 
ing how  wisdom  may  display  itself,  and  chiefly  inculcating 
prudent  demeanour  towards  kings  and  others  in  authority  (v.^-® 
against  hastily  taking  part  in  a  revolution).  The  righteous  are 
speedily  forgotten,  the  wicked  are  honoured  and  rewarded ; 
hence  the  best  thing  that  a  man  can  do  is  to  enjoy  life  during 
the  time  that  [440]  God  permits  it  (S^^^-^^).  All  man's  endeavours 
to  understand  the  work  of  God  are  unavailing ;  life  is  evil,  even 
while  it  lasts;  death  comes  and  sweeps  away  all  distinctions; 
and  there  is  no  assured  hope  of  immortality  (S^^-q^)  :  once 
more  the  old  advice  is  repeated,  "Go  thy  way,  eat  thy  bread 
with  joy,  and  drink  thy  wine  with  a  merry  heart ;  for  God  hath 
already  accepted  thy  works  "  :  do  thy  pleasure  and  thy  business 
while  life  permits ;  for  nothing  can  be  done  when  that  is  ended 
(9''-i<^).  Resuming  his  contemplation  of  society,  Qohdleth  is 
struck  by  the  disproportion  of  the  rewards  which  attend  merit 
and  exertion :  "  The  race  is  not  always  to  the  swift,  nor  the 
battle  to  the  strong."  Wisdom  does  more  than  strength;  and 
yet  the  poor  wise  man,  who  delivered  his  city,  was  afterwards 
forgotten  (9^^'^^).  q^'^-io^^  contains  proverbs  on  wisdom,  de- 
signed (as  it  seems)  to  teach  at  least  its  relative  superiority,  as  a 
guide  in  life,  above  folly,  intermingled  with  some  bitter  reflec- 
tions on  the  anomalies  which  the  author  had  witnessed  in  the 
course  of  his  experience  —  misrule,  which  yet  could  not  be 
remedied  without  peril,  folly  set  in  great  dignity,  and  the  rich 
sitting  in  low  places :  "I  have  seen  servants  upon  horses,  and 
princes  walking  as  servants  upon  the  earth"  (lo^-^):  iqI'^-^o 
carries  on  the  strain  of  lo^-'',  contrasting  good  and  bad  govern- 
ment, and  closing  with  a  significant  warning  of  the  danger  of 
criticising  the  acts  of  a  despot  (cf.  5^^-). 

ii^-^  the  author  counsels  benevolence;  for  a  time  of  mis- 
fortune may  come,  when  friends  thus  won  may  prove  serviceable. 
Hesitate  not  unnecessarily  in  thy  daily  work  ;  for  the  issue  rests 
in  God's  hand  (ii*-^).  Life,  in  spite  of  its  trials,  is  a  good,  even 
though  its  enjoyment  be  haunted  by  the  thought  of  the  darkness 
that  must  follow  it  (ii^-^).  Especially,  let  the  young  man 
rejoice  in  his  youth,  ere  the  decrepitude  of  old  age  overtaKes 
him,  yet  not  so  as  to  forget  his  responsibility  to  his  Maker. 
Man's  life  ends,  as  it  begins,  in  vanity :  "  Vanity  of  vanities, 
saith  the  Preacher:  all  is  vaftity"  (11^-12^). 


470  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

The  Book  closes  with  an  Epilogue :  {a)  1 2^-10  describing 
"the  Preacher"  as  a  wise  man,  whose  aim  in  committing  his 
meditations  to  writing  had  been  to  communicate  his  wisdom  to 
others;  {b)  1211-12  counselling  attention  to  the  sayings  of  the 
"  wise,"  and  exhorting  the  reader  to  be  satisfied  with  the  teach- 
ing which  they  contain ;  {c)  12I3-14  defining  the  one  thing  [441] 
needful  for  man,  viz.  "Fear  God,  and  keep  His  command- 
ments." 

In  spite  of  the  disconnected  character  of  some  of  the  author's 
utterances,  the  general  tone  and  drift  of  his  meditations  is  un- 
mistakable. Life  under  all  its  aspects  is  dissatisfying  and  dis- 
appointing :  *  the  best  that  can  be  done  with  it  is  to  enjoy — not 
indeed  in  excess,  but  in  a  wise  and  well-considered  moderation, 
and  as  a  gift  intended  by  God  to  be  enjoyed — such  pleasures  as 
it  brings  with  it.f 

If  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  is  to  be  properly  estimated,  it 
must  be  read  in  the  light  of  the  age  in  which  it  was  written,  and 
the  temper  of  the  author.  Of  course  Qoheleth  is  not  really  the 
work  of  Solomon.  The  language  (see  below),  the  tone,  the 
social  and  political  allusions,  show  that  it  is,  in  fact,  the  product 
of  a  far  later  age.  The  tone  is  not  that  in  which  Solomon  could 
have  spoken.  The  Solomon  who  speaks  here  is  a  different 
character  from  the  Solomon  of  history.  It  is  not  Solomon  the 
righteous  judge,  nor  Solomon  the  builder  of  the  Temple,  nor 
even  Solomon  confessing  his  declension  from  a  spiritual  faith. 
There  is  no  note  of  penitence  in  the  entire  Book.  Nor  are  the 
social  and  political  allusions  such  as  would  fall  from  Solomon's 
lips.  The  historical  Solomon,  the  ruler  of  a  great  and  prosperous 
empire,  could  not  have  penned  such  a  satire  upon  his  own 
administration  as  would  be  imphed  if  3^^  (the  place  of  judgment 
filled  by  wickedness),  4I  (the  wrongs  done  by  powerful  op- 
pressors), 5^  (one  corrupt  ruler  above  another  making  appeal 
for  redress  useless),  were  written  by  him.  |  The  author  of 
Qohekth  evinces  no  kingly  or  national  feeling :  he  lives  in  a 
period  of  political  servitude,  destitute  of  patriotism  or  en- 
thusiasm. When  he  alludes  to  kings,  he  views  them  from 
below,  as  one  of  the  people  suffering  from  their  misrule.     His 

*  The  refrain,  "All  is  vanity,  and  the  pursuit  of  wind,"  i"  2"  &c. 

I  2^4  ^12.  22  clW.  §15  q7-10  j  j9f. 

X  Notice  also  the  anachronisms  in  i^''  2^ 


ECCLESIASTES  (QOH^LETH)  47 1 

pages  reflect  the  depression  produced  by  the  corruption  of  an 
Oriental  despotism,  with  its  injustice  (3^^  4^  5^  8^),  its  capricious- 
ness  (lo^^-),  its  revolutions  (10''),  its  system  of  spies  (lo^o),  its 
hopelessness  of  reform."^  He  must  have  lived  when  the  Jews 
had  lost  their  national  independence,  and  formed  but  a  province 
of  the  Persian  empire, — [442]  perhaps  even  later,  when  they  had 
passed  under  the  rule  of  the  Greeks  (3rd  cent.  B.C.).  But  he 
adopts  a  literary  disguise,  and  puts  his  meditations  into  the  mouth 
of  the  king,  whose  reputation  it  was  to  have  been  the  great 
sage  and  philosopher  of  the  Hebrew  race,  whose  observation  and 
knowledge  of  human  nature  were  celebrated  by  tradition,  and 
whose  position  might  naturally  be  supposed  to  afford  him  the 
opportunity  of  testing  systematically  in  his  own  person  every 
form  of  human  pursuit  or  enjoyment. 

The  Book  exhibits,  in  a  word,  the  reflections  of  a  spirit, 
manifestly  not  of  an  optimistic  temperament,  impelled  to  despair 
and  distrust  of  its  own  future,  as  well  as  of  its  nation's  (6^^),  by 
the  depressed  and  artificial  circumstances  in  which  the  author 
lived.  Qohdleth  is  not,  like  the  prophets,  animated  by  a  great 
religious  enthusiasm,  enabling  him  to  look  beyond  the  present, 
or  sustaining  him  by  the  thought  of  Israel's  Divine  election :  he 
stands— like  the  "wise  men"  of  Israel  generally  (p.  393) — on 
the  footing  of  experience,  and  views  human  life  in  its  sober 
reality.  And  the  age  was  a  darker  one  than  that  which  is 
reflected  in  any  part  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs.  Qoh^leth 
recounts  the  experiences  through  which  he  had  himself  passed, 
and  the  conclusions  which  his  observation  of  society  forced  upon 
him.  He  recounts,  and  as  he  recounts  he  generalises,  the  dis- 
appointments which  had  been  his  own  lot  in  life.  He  surveys 
the  life  of  other  men ;  but  he  can  discover  no  enthusiasm,  no 
energy,  no  faculty  of  grave  and  serious  endeavour.  He  frames 
his  conclusions  accordingly.  It  is  upon  life,  not  absolutely,  but 
as  he  witnessed  and  experienced  it,  that  he  passes  his  unrelenting 
sentence,  "  All  is  vanity."  It  was  the  particular  age  with  which 
he  was  himself  acquainted  that  wrung  from  his  soul  those  melan- 
choly moralizings  on  the  uselessness  of  human  exertion,  and  the 
inability  of  man  to  remedy  the  anomalies  of  society.  He  does 
not,  however,  stop  here.  He  passes  on  to  show  what,  under  the 
existing  conditions,  is  the  highest  good  for  man :  and,  as  the 
*  Comp.  Dean  Bradley,  p.  25. 


472  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

ordinary  enterprises  of  mankind  are  foredoomed  to  failure,  he  finds 
it  in  a  wise  and  temperate  enjoyment  of  the  pleasures  of  life. 

Of  course,  Qoh^leth  takes  a  false  view  of  life.  His  aphorisms 
are  indeed  often  pregnant  and  just :  they  are  prompted  by  a  keen 
sense  of  right ;  and  in  his  satire  upon  society  he  lays  his  finger 
upon  many  a  real  blot.  But  his  teaching,  as  a  whole,  if  followed 
consistently,  would  tend  directly  to  paralyse  human  effort,  to 
[443]  stifle  every  impulse  to  self-denial  or  philanthropy,  to  kill 
all  activity  of  an  ennobling  or  unselfish  kind.  The  circumstances 
of  his  age  obscured  for  him  the  duty  of  man  to  his  fellow-men. 
A  life  not  circumscribed  by  merely  personal  ends,  but  quickened 
and  sustained  by  devotion  to  the  interests  of  humanity,  is  not 
"vanity,"  or  the  pursuit  of  wind.  It  follows  that,  whatever 
justification  Qohdleth's  conclusions  may  have,  it  is  limited  to 
the  age  in  which  he  himself  lived. 

No  doubt  he  would  have  judged  human  nature  less  despair- 
ingly had  he  possessed  a  clear  consciousness  of  a  future  life. 
But  the  revelation  of  a  future  life  was  only  accomplished 
gradually;  and  though  there  are  passages  in  the  prophets  which 
contain  this  great  truth  in  germ,  and  though  the  intuition  of  it  is 
expressed  at  certain  sublime  moments  by  some  of  the  Psalmists 
(Ps.  16,  17,  49,  73),  yet  these  passages  altogether  are  few  in 
number,  and  the  doctrine  formed  no  part  of  the  established 
creed  of  an  ancient  Israelite.*  Qoheleth  shares  only  the  ordinary 
old  Hebrew  view  of  a  shadowy,  half-conscious  existence  in  Sheol 
(^i9f.  56  g5, 10) .  \^Q  (^Qgg  not  believe  in  a  life  hereafter  in  the 
sense  in  which  the  apostles  of  Christ  believed  it.f  Even 
at  the  end  of  his  book  the  description  of  the  decay  of 
the  body  in  old  age,  until  "the  dust  returns  to  the  earth  as 
it  was,  and  the  spirit  returns  to  God  who  gave  it"  is  followed, 
not  by  any  thought  of  the  beatific  vision  which  may  there 
await  it,  but  by  the  refrain  which  is  the  keynote  of  the  book, 
"Vanity  of  vanities,  saith  the  Preacher:  all  is  vanity."  Not 
life    in  the  body  merely,  the  life  of  the  spirit  even,  including 

*  Comp.  the  writer's  Sermons  on  the  OT.  p.  72  flf. 

t  In  the  Targum  to  Qoheleth  (which  is  very  paraphrastic),  as  if  to 
counteract  what  seemed  to  a  later  age  the  negative  teaching  of  the  Book,  a 
reference  to  a  future  life  and  retribution  ('nNT  i<r:h]},  H'\nn  Ko'jy,  N3n  Njn)  is 
introduced  with  great  frequency,  and  the  pessimistic  utterances  of  the  author 
are  expressly  limited  to  the  present  life  (jnn  nrh];).     Cf.  ibid.  pp.  92,  98. 


ECCLESIASTES  (QOHfiLETH)  473 

its  return  to  God,  appears  thus  to  be  counted  by  him  as 
"  vanity."  * 

Nevertheless  the  author  is  no  "pessimist,"  in  the  sense  in 
which  the  word  is  used  in  modern  times.  He  does  not  believe 
that  the  world  is  growing  worse  and  worse,  and  hastening  to  its 
ruin.  Nor  is  he  ever  tempted  to  abandon  his  theistic  faith.  He 
[444]  retains  his  belief  in  God :  he  is  conscious  of  a  moral  order 
in  the  world,  though  its  operation  is  often  frustrated  :  he  is  aware 
of  cases  in  which  the  man  who  fears  God  has  an  advantage  over 
others  (see  226  57  7I8. 26  8i2f.)^  jje  holds  that  it  is  man's  duty  to 
enjoy  the  gifts  of  God,  and  also  to  fear  Him.  His  fear  is  indeed 
a  "  pale  and  cheerless "  fear ;  but  it  nevertheless  exerts  a  con- 
straining power  over  him.  The  contradictions  in  his  book 
spring  out  of  the  conflict  between  his  faith  and  his  experience, — 
his  faith  that  the  world  is  ordered  by  God,  and  his  experience 
that  events  often  do  not  fall  out  as  he  would  have  expected  God 
to  order  them.  His  theory  of  life  is  imperfect,  because  it  is  one- 
sided. But  the  Bible  contains  not  only  the  record  of  a  history ; 
it  exhibits  also,  as  in  a  mirror,  the  most  varied  phases  of  human 
emotion,  suffused  and  penetrated  in  different  degrees  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  And  so  there  is  a  mood  of  melancholy  and 
sadness  to  which,  in  one  form  or  other,  the  human  soul  is 
liable;  and  this  has  found  its  most  complete  expression  in 
Ecclesiastes.  It  would  seem  that  "in  the  great  record  of  the 
spiritual  history  of  the  chosen  and  typical  race,  a  place  has  here 
been  kept  for  the  sigh  of  defeated  hopes,  for  the  gloom  of  the 
soul  vanquished  by  the  sense  of  the  anomalies  and  mysteries  of 
human  life  "  (Dean  Bradley,  p.  39). 

Linguistically,  Qoh^leth  stands  by  itself  in  the  OT.  The 
Hebrew  in  which  it  is  written  has  numerous  features  in  common 
with  the  latest  parts  of  the  OT.,  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  Chronicles, 
Esther,  but  it  has  in  addition  many  not  met  with  in  these  books, 
but  found  first  in  the  Mishnah  (which  includes,  no  doubt,  older 
elements,  but  received  its  present  form  c.  200  a.d.).  The 
characteristic  of  the  Hebrew  in  which  these  latest  parts  of  the 
OT.  are  written  is  that  while  many  of  the  old  classical  words  and 

*  The  limitation  of  **  all  is  vanity  "  in  12^  to  man's  earthly  life,  as  opposed 
to  a  higher  life  that  is  not  vanity^  adopted  by  some  commentators,  is 
arbitrary,  and  introduces  a  distinction  of  which  the  author  does  not  show 
that  he  is  conscious.     Comp.  tls  just  remarks  of  Bickell,  pp.  37-45. 


474  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

expressions  still  continue  in  use,  and,  in  fact,  still  preponderate, 
the  syntax  is  deteriorated,  the  structure  of  sentences  is  cumbrous 
and  inelegant,  and  there  is  a  very  decided  admixture  of  words 
and  idioms  not  found  before,  having  usually  affinities  with  the 
Aramaic,  or  being  such  as  are  in  constant  and  regular  use  in  the 
Hebrew  of  post-Christian  times  (the  Mishnah,  &c.).  And  this 
latter  element  is  decidedly  larger  and  more  prominent  in  Ecclesi- 
astes  than  in  either  Esther  or  Ezr.  Neh.  Chron."^ 

Thus  the  following  expressions  occurring  in  Qoheleth — in  some  cases  new 
words,  in  others  new  or  extended  applications  of  old  words — are  not  found 
[445]  besides  in  Biblical  Hebrew,  but  are  common  either  in  Aramaic  or  in 
the  Mishnah  (or  in  both)t : — 

I.  -^^^,  =  10  lose  :  3^.-2.  'N  Woe\  4^''  10^^.-3.  "pan /^  cease:  12^.-4.  pu 
a  pit :  lO^ — 5.  onin-p  lit.  a  son  of  noh\es=free-born  :  10^'^. — 6.  p  pn  out- 
side ofy  except :  2^. — 7.  mn  to  enjoy  (prop,  to  feel)  :  2^5. — 8.  jnon  deficiency  : 
ji^ — 9.  I'sn  (usually  desire)  in  the  weakened  sense  of  business^  matter:  3^*  " 
58  [Heb. '^]  8^  [there  is  an  approximation  to  this  sense  in  Isa.  583- ^^j. — 10. 
«:£'  to  go  out  of,  in  the  sense  of  to  fulfil,  discharge  :  7^^. — 11.  }nn'  advantage, 
preference,  profit:  i^  2"-  ^^w^  3a  58.  i5  712  jqIo.  n_i2.  n^D  long  ago:  i" 
2I2.16  ^is  ^2  510  q6.  7^ — i^.  r\\h  to  accompany:  8^^ — 14.  nN'7D  in  the  sense 
pregnant:  ii'. — 15.  "jE'D  to  indulge,  cheer  (pecuHar  sense):  2^ — 16.  Jnj  to 
act,  behave  {KW.  wrongly  "guiding  (me)"]:  2^ — 17.  |Dd:  to  be  endangered: 
10^— 18.  n^y.  deed,  work:  9^  ( —  ,.0.1 ). — 19.  py,  uni;  yet :  42-3.  — 20.   pjy 

trouble,  business  :  i^^  2'^^-  ^^  310  48  ^2.  13  816.-21.  ncij  interpretation  :  8^  (as  in 
Aram.,  Dan.  2*  &c.:  in  older  Hebrew  fnns). — 22.  v  as  the  relative  sign. 
This  in  itself  occurs  elsewhere  in  the  OT.  (p.  449) ;  but  in  Qoh.  its  use  is 
widely  extended,  and  it  appears  in  many  combinations,  unknown  otherwise 
to  Biblical  Hebrew,  but  common  in  the  Mishnah,  as  -viSi  all  that  which  : 
27.9  n8  .   .B?3  as,  when  [normal  Hebrew  icnd]  :  5^'*  9^2  jq3  12?  .    .^jp  ^/^^„ 

that  [normal  Hebrew  -ib-nd]  :  5-*  ;  and  esp.  -K'-no  that  which  [=5  (SD]  :   i^ 

*  The  recently  discovered  Hebrew  original  of  Ecclus.  39^^-49"  (see  A.  E. 
Cowley  and  Ad.  Neubauer's  edition,  Oxford,  1897)  stands  linguistically  in  a 
different  category  from  any  of  the  books  named  in  the  text.  Ben  Sira,  it  is 
true,  makes  use  of  a  considerable  number  of  New  Hebrew  or  Aramaic  words 
(see  the  glossary,  ibid.  p.  xxxi  if. ) ;  but  the  predominant  character  of  the 
recovered  text  is  nevertheless  classical :  it  contains  none  of  the  peculiar  New 
Hebrew  idioms  found  in  Qoh.  and  the  Mishnah  ;  and  in  syntax  and  general 
style,  it  stands  upon  a  much  higher  level  than  either  Qoh.  or  Est.  Ezr. 
Neh.  Chron.  The  newly  recovered  text  shows  that  in  the  quotations  pre- 
served in  the  Talmud,  &c.  {ibid.  p.  xix  ff.),  Rabbinical  idioms  (as  nck'  for  |3, 
ibid.  p.  xxvii.  No.  LXI  :  see  42^-  ^^)  had  sometimes  been  substituted  for  the 
more  classical  expressions  used  by  Ben  Sira  himself 

t  For  particulars,  see  the  glossary  in  Delitzsch's  commentary  (abbreviated 
and  much  spoilt  in  the  translation),  or  in  Wright's  Ecclesiastes ,  p.  488  ff. 


ECCLESIASTES  (Q0H£LETH)  475 

^ifl  6^*^  7^  8'^  10";  -V  no  322;  r^^  '?e'5  because  that,  8",  is  modelled  on  the 
Aram.  ^  Vn?  (Gen.  6^  Onq.  &c.).*— 23.  noB'  in  the  Hithp.x  8^"  (elsewhere  in 
Biblical  Hebrew  the  passive  is  always  expressed  by  the  Nifal). — 24.  q'pn 
stf'ong:  6^* — 25.   jpn  /^   <^^  straight:  i^^  ;   JpR  /^   wa>^^  straight ,  arrange: 

7I3  129. 

The  following  expressions,  common  in  either  Aramaic  or  post-Bibl. 
Hebrew  (or  in  both),  are  found  besides  in  Biblical  Hebrew  only  in  the 
passages  cited,  being  mostly  from  admittedly  post-exilic  books,  though  in 
one  or  two  instances  the  word  occurs  in  isolation  somewhat  earlier  : — 

I.  ?Vk  if:  6^,  Est.  7^. — 2.  •???  in  the  sense  to  hasten  (intrans.) :  5^  7*  : 
cf.  Est.  2\  2  Ch.  3521  (trans.),  and  in  the  Pual  Est.  8l^  Pr.  2021 ;  the  Hif. 
Est.  6^^,  2  Ch.  26^  (ordinarily  in  Heb.  the  word  means  to  terrify). — 3.  jaa 
then,  thus:  S^",  Est.  4^^— 4.  •  .  .  »<in  ni  i",  i  Ch.  [446]  22^  (see  the 
author's  Hebrew  Tenses,  §  201.  3).— 5.  JOT  time  :  3^  Neh.  2^  Est.  ()"'  ^i.— 
6.  \\:^v;nr=  reckoning,  account:  725.27^10  ^29  ("devices"),  2  Ch.  26^^  (j^  the 
derived  sense  of  "engine"  [  =  ingenium]). — 7-  "'''"''  i^^  ^^^  ^dv.  sense,  exceed- 
ingly, more :  2^^  7^^  12^  {moreover) ;  p  nnv  more  than  :  12^2  ^s  Est.  6^ — 8. 
nriN?  lit.  as  one,  in  the  weakened  sense  of  together  :  11^  Ezr.  2^  (  =  Neh.  7^) 
3''  (i^,  2  Ch.  5^3,  Isa.  6525  (Aram.  Kins,  (j-kkD]  :  inN3  is  common  in  the 
same  sense  in  the  Mishnah).— 9.  DJ3  (in  Qal)  to  gather:  2^-^  3^,  Ps.  33' 
I  Ch.   222,  Neh.   12^,  Est.  4^^.-10.  nt^3  to  be  good,  prosperous:    10^°  ii^, 

Est.  8^*;  jnE'a  221  4^  510  (nn^ia  in  Ps.  68^=  ^^OD).— n.  I'lD  ^«^:  3"  7^ 
12^',  2  Ch.  20^^  Joel  220. — 12.  D:n3  ^o'zV/:  8^^  Est.  i2'>  (a  Persian  word). — 
13.  ^^TO  to  rule  over :  2>^  8^,  Neh.  ^^,  Est.  9^  ;  b'Vbti  ^^  6^  Ps.  119^® ;  pn^B' 
8^-^. — 14.  ^pn  to  be  strong,  prevail :  4^^  Job  142"  1524  (common  in  Aram.). — 
15.  ni  this  (fem.)  for  nw  :  2'"-  24  515.  is  723  ^is^  2  Ki.  e^^  (N.  Palest,  [p.  188]), 
Ez.  40«. 

Another  Mishnic  usage  is  the  constant  use  of  the  perf.  with  simple 
waw  for  the  classical  impf.  with  waw  consec.  (which  occurs  but  thrice  in 
Qoh.,  I^'^  4^'  ^) :  this  appears  with  increasing  frequency  in  the  later  books  of 
the  OT.,  but  in  none  so  regularly  as  in  Qoheleth  (cf.  Tenses,  §  133).  There 
are  also  many  finer  points  of  style  and  construction,  which  cannot  well  be 
tabulated,  but  which  confirm  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  vocabulary.  The 
linguistic  peculiarities  of  Qoheleth  are  very  different  in  character  from  those 
of  the  Song  of  Songs  (p.  448  ff. )  :  the  latter,  treated  as  dialectical  usages, 
seem,  at  least  in  most  cases  (so  far  as  can  be  judged),  to  be  compatible  with 
an  early  date  :  the  phraseology  of  Qoheleth  bears  throughout  the  stamp  of 
lateness.  (In  the  recovered  text  of  Ben  Sira,  the  impf.  with  waw  consec. 
occurs  repeatedly.     The  relative  v  is  not  found  in  it.) 

The  precise  date  of  Qoheleth  cannot  be  determined,  our 
knowledge  of  the  history  not  enabling  us  to  interpret  with  any 

*  -wx  ^vi  cannot  be  called  Hebrew  :  like  'd*?  ncN3  Jon.  i^  (cf.  p  '?n3 
Jon.  i"^  Targ.;  nd  ^nn  Jud.  8^  Targ.),  or  hdS  ib-k  Dan.  i^"  (  =  ')V)\?),  it  is 
the  phrase  of  an  author  who  thought  in  Aramaic,  and  translated  the  Aramaic 
idiom,  part  by  part,  into  unididlnatic  Hebrew. 


476  r.ITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

confidence  the  allusions  to  concrete  events  which  it  seems  tc 
contain.*  But  the  general  political  condition  which  it  pre- 
supposes, and  the  language,  make  it  decidedly  probable  that 
it  is  not  ea'-lier  than  the  latter  years  of  the  Persian  rule,  which 
ended  B.C.  333  (Ewald,  Oehler,  Ginsburg,  Delitzsch,  Cheyne, 
Volck) ;  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  it  is  later.  Noldeke, 
Hitzig,  Kuenen,  Tyler,  Plumptre  (p.  34),  and  Cornill,  place  it 
c.  200  B.C.,  partly  on  the  ground  of  language  (which  favour Sy 
even  though  our  knowledge  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  say 
that  it  requires^  a  date  later  than  that  assigned  by  Ewald),  partly 
(Kuenen)  on  the  ground  of  an  absence  of  national  feeling,  and 
religious  enthusiasm  {e.g.  5^),  in  which  the  author  seems  to  be  a 
forerunner  of  the  later  Sadduceeism,  and  of  the  indifferentism 
characteristic  of  a  particular  [447]  Jewish  party  in  the  time  of 
the  Maccabees,  partly  (Tyler,  Plumptre)  on  the  ground  of  traces 
which  the  Book  is  supposed  to  contain  of  Greek  influences, 
especially  of  Epicurean  and  Stoic  teaching.  It  is  true,  a  know- 
ledge of  Greek  speculation  may  sometimes  have  influenced  the 
writer's  thought.  There  is  force  in  Kuenen's  arguments  ;  but 
the  paucity  of  independent  data  respecting  the  condition  of 
the  Jews  in  the  3rd  cent.  b.c.  does  not  enable  us  to  say  whether 
they  are  decisive,  or  whether  the  characteristics  referred  to  may 
not  have  shown  themselves  earlier.  Nowack  (p.  196  f)  hesitates 
between  the  two  dates  proposed,  considering  that  the  allusions 
are  not  decisive  in  favour  of  either,  but  allowing  that  the 
language,  if  its  testimony,  in  the  absence  of  more  definite 
standards  of  comparison,  be  rightly  interpreted,  supports  the 
later  date.  On  the  whole,  a  date  during  the  Greek  period,  and 
approaching  b.c.  200,  may  be  said  to  be  the  most  probable.! 

The  question  whether  Greek  influences  are  traceable  in  Ecclesiastes  is 
treated  with  discrimination  by  P.  Kleinert,  Stud.  u.  Krit.  1883,  p.  761  ff., 
who  argues  that,  although  the  general  intellectual  atmosphere  to  which  the 
later  systems  of  Greek  philosophy  owe  their  origin  no  doubt  breathes  in  it, 
the  specific  resemblances  which  have  been  pointed  to  are  not  sufficiently 
close,  or  distinctive,  to  justify  the  opinion  that  they  were  derived  from  any  of 
these  systems.  A.  Palm,  Qoheleth  mid  die  nach- Aristotelische  Philosophies 
1885  (who  gives  an  interesting  collection  of  parallels  from  the  later  classical 

♦  413-16  .  62  (perhaps) ;  810  ;  9«-i6 ;  iqW  ;  io^7, 

t  Against  the  views  of  Gratz  (who  assigns  the  Book  to  the  age  of  Herod 
the  Great,  and  supposes  it  to  be  a  satire  on  his  administration),  and  of  Renan 
{c.  125  B.C.),  see  Kuenen,  ThT.  1883,  p.  129 ff.,  Onderz.  §  104.  3,  105.  5. 


ECCLESIASTES  (QOHfiLETH)  477 

writers),  and  Kuenen  (§  105.  9,  3),  think  that  the  book  shows  clearer  traces 
of  the  impression  which  Greek  speculation  had  made  upon  the  author,  and 
consider  that,  though  he  never  abandoned  his  distinctively  Jewish  stand- 
point, or  adopted,  as  such,  the  tenets  of  a  particular  school,  he  was  often 
guided  in  his  line  of  thought  by  his  knowledge  of  the  questions  that  were 
being  debated  by  contemporary  Greek  thinkers.  Similarly  Cornill,  §  42 
[^  45]'  4*  Stated  in  this  moderate  form,  the  hypothesis  is  not  an  improbable 
one.  P.  Menzel,  Der  Griechische  Eivfluss  auf  Prediger  und  Weisheit 
Salomos  (1889),  pp,  1-38,  criticises  chiefly  the  attempt  of  Edm.  Pfleiderer,  in 
his  work  on  Heraclitus,  to  trace  the  influence  of  that  philosopher  in  Qoheleth. 
Integrity  of  Qoheleth.  (i)  It  has  been  questioned  whether  the  Epilogue, 
1 2^-1*,  is  the  work  of  the  author  of  the  Book.  The  author's  meditations  end 
evidently  at  12^  :  and  12^"^*  has  been  regarded  as  a  **  commendatory  attesta- 
tion," added  by  an  editor,  or  perhaps  by  those  who  admitted  the  Book  into 
the  Canon,  justifying  its  admission  (v.^"^^),  and  pointing  out  (v.  ^3"")  what 
was  the  true  moral  of  its  preaching  (Plumptre).  (2)  It  has  further  been 
questioned  *  whether  certain  passages,  not  in  harmony  with  the  general  tenor 
of  the  Book,  may  not  be  later  insertions  in  it,  viz.  3^'^  ii*^^  12^*'  '^.  (i) 
There  does  not  appear  to  be  any  sufficient  reason  for  doubting  that  i2'"^2  jg 
by  the  author  of  the  Book ;  it  is  true,  these  verses  contain  [448]  some  un- 
usual expressions  ;  but  their  general  tone  and  strain  is  quite  that  of  the  Book 
generally  (with  v.^^b  ^f^  jisj^  1213-14  stands  upon  a  different  footing,  and  must 
be  considered  in  connexion  with  (2).  The  difficulty  which  these  passages 
present  is  this.  It  is  clear  that  Qoheleth,  as  a  whole,  knows  nothing  of  a 
future  life:  and  3^^-21  (RV.)  the  doctrine  is  expressly  treated  as  unproven. 
^i?  ii9b  J2W  however,  seem  to  teach  it.  The  attempt  to  reconcile  them  with 
the  rest  of  the  Book  by  the  supposition  that  there  are  "Two  Voices "f  in 
Qoheleth  cannot  be  sustained.  The  author's  aphorisms  are  no  statements  of 
the  arguments  for  and  against  future  retribution  ;  nor  is  the  higher  faith  (if  it 
can  be  so  termed)  of  c.  12  in  any  way  the  outcome  of  a  previous  train  of 
reflection.  It  thus  differs  from  the  poem  of  Tennyson.  In  the  poem  there 
is  a  real  debate :  and  the  voice  of  doubt,  having  shown  itself  powerless  in 
argument,  is  finally  silenced  by  a  particular  observation  of  the  poet.  No 
such  debate  is,  however,  traceable  in  Qoheleth  :  the  passages  in  question  are 
introduced  abruptly,  and  stand  isolated.  But  3^',  by  the  punctuation  Db 
("for  he  hath  appointed  a  time  for,"  &c.)  for  D^  *^ there ^^  adopted  by 
Delitzsch  and  others,  is  referred  quite  naturally  to  temporal  judgments. 
11 9b  12^*,  as  they  stand,  may  be  interpreted  similarly.  J     12'  expresses  just 

*  See  Cheyne,  pp.  211,  232  ff'.,  238  f. 

t  Cf.  Cheyne,  pp.  245,  301  ;  Dean  Plumptre,  pp.  53,  211  f.,  224  f. 

X  If,  however,  it  be  thought  that  these  two  verses  can  be  reasonably 
interpreted  only  of  judgment  hereafter,  there  seems  to  be  no  alternative  but 
to  treat  them  as  later  insertions.  Had  this  truth  been  a  certainty  to  Qoheleth 
("and  know  that  for  all  these  things,"  &c.),  as  it  was,  for  instance,  to  the 
author  of  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  it  seems  impossible  but  that  the  allusions  to 
it  would  have  been  more  frequent  and  distinct,  and,  indeed,  that  the  general 
tenor  of  the  Book  would  have  ||een  different. 


478  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

the  reversal  of  Gen.  'i' :  the  question  of  the  continued  consciousness  of  the 
••spirit"  does  not  appear  to  be  before  the  author.*  I2i*-  ^^  are  not  so 
readily  explained.  These  passages  emphasize  godliness  in  a  manner  foreign 
to  the  general  spirit  of  Qoheleth,  whose  summiim  bonum  is  the  discreet 
zxAX.t.m-^^xzX.Q.  enjoyment  of  life.  The  context  of  12^*  (cf.  ii^°)  would  point 
to  the  same  summum  bonum  being  inculcated  here,  viz.  the  enjoyment  of  life 
while  the  powers  are  fresh,  rather  than  the  importance  of  beginning  the 
service  of  God  in  youth.  And  if  12^*  (to  youth)  be  treated  as  a  subsequent 
insertion,  this  is  the  sense  which  the  original  text  will  have  expressed  ( * '  or 
ever,"  &c.  connecting  with  ii^°).  I2^^  similarly  lays  stress  upon  a  thought 
implicit  m  the  teaching  of  the  Book  {2^  &c.:  p.  470),  [449]  but  disregards 
that  which  is  explicit.  Hence  the  conjecture  (which  would  also  account  for 
the  unfinished  form  of  parts  of  the  Book)  that  the  author's  meditations  were 
left  by  him  at  his  death  in  an  incomplete  state  (Cheyne,  pp.  204,  &c.),  and 
that  12^**  •^"■^^  were  added  by  an  editor  for  the  purpose  of  stating  distinctly 
what  he  conceived  to  be  the  true  moral  of  the  Book,  and  disarming  possible 
objections  which  the  general  tenor  of  its  teaching  might  provoke.  The  con- 
jecture, especially  as  regards  12^^"^^,  must  be  allowed  to  be  a  plausible  one. 
At  the  same  time,  the  thought  is  in  other  parts  of  Qoheleth  not  entirely  con- 
sistent, or  logically  developed  ;  and  the  author  himself  may  have  appended 
the  two  closing  verses  with  the  same  purpose  in  view  as  his  supposed  editor,  f 


§  5.  Esther. 

Literature. — H.  A.  C.  Havemick,  Einl.  in  das  AT.  ii.  i  (1839), 
p.  328  ff.;  Ewald,  History  of  Israel,  i.  p.  196  f.,  v.  p.  230  fF.;  E.  Bertheau 
in  Die  Bb.  Esra,  Nech.  und  Ester  (in  the  Kgf.  Hdb.),  1862,2  (revised  by  V. 
Ryssel),  1887  ;  C.  F.  Keil  in  the  Bibl.  Commentar  Uber  die  Chronik,  Esra, 
Neh.  u.  Ester,  1870 ;  S.  Oettli  in  Die  Gesch.  Hagiographen,  in  Strack  and 
Zockler's  Kgf  Komm.  1889,  p.  227  ff.;  Dieulafoi,  "  Le  Livre  d'Esther  et  le 
palais  d'Assuerus,"  Rev.  des  £.tudes  Juives,  1888  [Actes  et  Conferences, 
p.  cclxvff.) ;  B.  Jacob,  "Esther  bei  den  LXX,"  ZATW.  1890,  p.  241  ff. 

The  Book  of  Esther  relates  how  Esther,  a  Jewish  resident  in 
the  Persian  capital,  Susa,  rose  to  be  queen  of  Ahasuerus,  i.e. 
Xerxes  (b.c.  485-465),  and  how,  in  virtue  of  her  position,  she 

*  Notice  that  in  Ps.  104^^  the  *'  spirit "  (nn)  of  animals  is  "  gathered  in  " 
by  God  at  their  death. 

t  Gratz's  conjecture  on  12^*  {ap.  Cheyne,  pp.  225  f.,  300)  is  infelicitous. 
The  originality  of  the  entire  Epilogue  is  elaborately  defended  by  Kuenen 
{Onderz.^  iii.  pp.  179-191).  But  he  saves  12^3-14  (p  iggf.)  only  by  under- 
standing it  to  express,  not  the  highest  end  of  man  absolutely,  but  the  con- 
dition under  which  enjoyment,  which  Qoheleth  regards  as  the  chief  end  of 
life,  is  attainable.  This  makes  Qoheleth's  teaching  consistent ;  but  the 
limitation  is  scarcely  compatible  with  the  terms  of  the  text.  The  truth  is, 
J2W-14  can  he  vindicated  for  the  author  only  at  the  cost  of  an  inconsistency. 


ESTHER  479 

succeeded  in  rescuing  her  countrymen  from  the  destruction  which 
Haman,  the  king's  favourite  courtier,  had  prepared  for  them. 

The  story  may  be  told  briefly  as  follows  : — Ahasuerus,  in  the 
third  year  of  his  reign,  gave  a  great  feast,  first,  for  i8o  days,  to 
the  principal  men  of  his  kingdom,  and  then  for  7  days  to 
all  the  people  of  Shushan  (Susa) ;  on  the  last  day,  he  ordered 
his  seven  eunuchs  to  bring  in  his  queen  Vashti,  in  order  that 
she  might  display  her  beauty  in  presence  of  his  guests.  Upon 
her  refusing  to  comply  with  this  request,  the  king,  fearing  that 
her  example  might  encourage  other  wives  to  disregard  their 
husbands'  wishes,  resolved  to  put  her  away  by  a  royal  edict; 
and,  further,  sent  [450]  instructions  into  all  parts  of  his  empire 
that  every  man  was  to  be  master  in  his  own  house  (c.  i).  The 
king,  after  his  wrath  had  subsided,  took  measures  to  supply 
Vashti's  place.  Accordingly,  all  the  most  beautiful  virgins  in 
Persia  were  collected  at  Susa,  and  after  1 2  months'  preparation, 
presented  to  the  king.  His  choice  fell,  in  the  7  th  year  of  his 
reign,  upon  Esther,  the  cousin  and  adopted  daughter  of 
Mordecai,  a  Benjaminite  resident  in  Susa,  who  was  forthwith 
installed  formally  in  the  palace  as  queen.  Shortly  afterwards, 
Mordecai  was  enabled,  through  Esther,  to  give  information  con- 
cerning a  plot  which  two  of  the  royal  chamberlains  had  formed 
against  the  king's  life ;  the  conspirators  were  hanged,  and 
Mordecai's  good  deed  was  inscribed  in  the  archives  of  the 
kingdom  (c.  2). 

After  this  Ahasuerus  promoted  a  certain  Haman  above  all 
his  other  nobles,  and  directed  his  servants  to  do  obeisance  to 
him.  As  Mordecai  refused,  Haman,  deeming  himself  slighted, 
conceived  against  both  him  and  his  people  a  violent  hatred ; 
and  persuaded  the  king,  in  the  12th  year  of  his  reign,  on  the 
13th  day  of  the  ist  month,  to  issue  an  edict,  which  was  pub- 
lished throughout  the  empire,  that  11  months  hence,  on  the  13th 
day  of  the  12th  month,  Adar,  the  Jews,  in  every  province,  young 
and  old,  should  be  massacred,  and  their  goods  confiscated  (c.  3). 
This  decree  aroused  naturally  the  greatest  alarm  among  the 
Jews ;  Mordecai,  however,  contrived  to  inform  Esther  of  it,  and 
induced  her  to  intercede  with  the  king  on  behalf  of  her  nation 
(c.  4).  Accordingly,  having  gained  the  king's  favour,  and 
obtained  from  him  a  promise  to  grant  her  what  she  desired, 
"even  to  the  half  of  his^ kingdom,"  she,  in  the  first  instance, 


48o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

merely  invited  him  and  Haman  to  a  banquet.  At  the  banquet 
the  king  repeated  his  promise  ;  but  Esther  merely  begged  them 
to  come  again  on  the  morrow  to  another  banquet.  Haman, 
highly  elated  at  the  honour  done  to  him,  and  hoping  next  day 
to  obtain  from  the  king  an  order  for  Mordecai's  punishment,  at 
his  wife's  suggestion  had  a  gallows  erected,  50  cubits  high,  for 
his  rival's  execution  (c.  5). 

That  night  it  happened  that  the  king,  being  unable  to  sleep, 
ordered  the  archives  of  the  kingdom  to  be  read  before  him. 
Among  the  contents  that  were  read  out  was  the  record  of  the 
plot  of  the  two  chamberlains,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  it  had 
been  frustrated  by  Mordecai's  timely  information.  Upon  learn- 
ing that  no  reward  had  been  conferred  upon  Mordecai  for  [451] 
his  good  deed,  the  king  asked  Haman,  when  he  arrived  in  the 
morning,  what  should  be  done  to  the  man  whom  the  king 
delighted  to  honour.  Haman,  imagining  that  the  king  could 
be  thinking  only  of  himself,  named  the  very  highest  marks  of 
royal  approval,  which,  to  his  intense  mortification,  he  was  directed 
at  once  personally  to  bestow  upon  Mordecai.  Having  carried 
out  these  instructions,  Haman  hastened  back  home,  greatly 
dejected ;  and  his  wife  predicted  yet  worse  things  for  him  in 
the  future  (c.  6). 

At  the  banquet,  upon  the  king's  repeating  once  more  his 
previous  offer,  Esther  now  answered  plainly,  and  begged  him  to 
save  her  and  her  people  from  the  destruction  with  which  they 
were  threatened.  The  king,  apparently  surprised,  asked  who 
had  brought  this  danger  upon  them,  and  was  told  in  reply  that 
it  was  Haman.  He  instantly  rose  in  great  wrath,  and  left  the 
banqueting-hall.  Haman  fell  down  upon  his  knees  to  crave  the 
queen's  intercession;  the  king  returning,  and  finding  him  at 
her  feet,  imagined  that  he  was  insulting  her ;  and  a  courtier 
observing  opportunely  that  the  gallows  prepared  for  Mordecai 
was  ready  outside,  he  ordered  his  immediate  execution  upon 
it  (c.  7). 

Mordecai  was  now  installed  in  Haman's  position  ;  and  Esther 
set  herself  to  frustrate,  if  possible,  the  decree  against  the  Jews. 
As  the  Persian  laws  did  not  permit  this  decree  to  be  directly 
revoked,  Ahasuerus,  on  the  23rd  day  of  the  3rd  month,  authorised 
Mordecai  to  issue  an  edict,  which,  like  the  previous  one,  was 
transmitted  to  every  part  of  the  empire,  permitting  the  Jews,  on 


ESTHER  481 

the  day  appointed  for  their  destruction,  to  defend  themselves 
against  their  assailants  (c.  8).  Accordingly,  when  the  13th  of 
Adar  arrived,  the  Jews  in  every  place  acted  in  concert  together, 
and  prevailed  against  their  enemies.  In  Susa  they  slew  500  men, 
including  the  ten  sons  of  Haman ;  and  as  Esther,  in  answer  to 
the  king,  expressed  a  desire  that  the  Jews  might  be  permitted  to 
act  similarly  on  the  next  day,  they  slew  on  the  14th  300  more. 
In  the  provinces  of  the  empire  the  Jews  slew,  on  the  13th, 
75,000  of  their  enemies,  and  observed  the  following  day,  the 
14th,  as  a  day  of  rejoicing.  In  the  capital,  as  two  days  were 
occupied  with  the  slaughter,  the  15th  was  celebrated  as  the 
day  of  rejoicing.  To  commemorate  this  deliverance  from  their 
enemies,  Mordecai  and  Esther  sent  letters  to  the  Jews  dispersed 
throughout  the  empire,  instructing  them  to  observe  annually  the 
14th  and  15th  of  Adar  "  as  days  of  feasting  and  gladness,  and  of 
[452]  sending  portions  one  to  another,  and  gifts  to  the  poor  " — 
the  14th  in  the  country,  and  the  15th  in  cities  (9^^).  The  days 
were  called  the  days  of  Purim^  with  allusion  to  the  "  lot  "  (Pur) 
which  Haman  had  originally  cast  (3^)  for  the  purpose  of  fixing 
the  day  of  the  massacre  (c.  9). 

The  Book  closes  with  an  account  of  the  might  and  greatness 
of  Mordecai,  which  it  is  stated  stood  recorded  in  the  royal 
archives  of  Media  and  Persia  (c.  10). 

The  aim  of  the  Book  of  Esther  is  manifest :  it  is  to  explain 
the  origin  of  the  Feast  of  Purim,  and  to  suggest  motives  for  its 
observance.  The  first  subsequent  allusion  to  the  feast  is  in 
2  Mace, — written  probably  about  the  time  of  the  Christian  era, 
— where  it  is  said  (15^^)  that  the  Jews  resolved  to  celebrate  their 
victory  over  Nicanor  (b.c.  161)  on  Adar  13,  irpo  p.ia.%  -qfxipa^  rrjs 
MapSoxatK^s  't]ixepa<s.  This  "day  of  Mordecai"  is  evidently 
the  day  appointed  by  Mordecai  to  be  observed  by  the  Jews  in 
commemoration  of  their  deliverance,  viz.  Adar  14.*  In  later 
times  the  Book  of  Esther,  recording,  as  it  did,  a  signal  national 
triumph,  acquired  great  popularity  among  the  Jews ;  and  was 
even  ranked  by  them  as  superior  both  to  the  writings  of  the 
prophets  and  to  all  other  parts  of  the  Hagiographa. 

That  a  young  Jewess,  resident  in  Susa,  may  have  been  taken 
into  the  harem  of  the  Persian  king,  and  there,  with  the  assist- 

*  But  the  passage  only  proves  that  the  day  was  observed  when  the  author 
of  2  Mace,  lived  ;  there  is  no  ^milar  allusion  in  I  Mace.  7^''  ■*". 


482  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

ance  ot  a  relative,  may  have  been  the  means  of  averting  from  a 
portion  of  her  fellow-countrymen  the  ruin  which  some  high 
official,  whom  they  had  offended,  had  devised  against  them,  is 
fully  within  the  limits  of  historical  possibility.*  The  historical 
character  of  the  narrative,  as  we  possess  it,  has,  however,  been 
very  differently  estimated  by  different  writers.  To  some  the 
narrative  has  appeared  to  teem  with  improbabilities ;  by  others 
it  has  been  defended  in  every  particular  as  thoroughly  possible 
and  credible.  It  may  be  admitted  that  it  contains  details 
which  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  standard  for  estimating  objectively. 
But  putting  aside  trivial  or  inconclusive  criticisms,  and  also  dis- 
regarding such  details  as  may  reasonably  be  attributed  to  the 
capricious  character  of  Xerxes  (which  is  attested  independently 
by  Herodotus),  it  can  still  hardly  be  pronounced  altogether  free 
from  improbabilities. 

[453]  Thus  I,  Esther  cannot,  it  seems,  have  been  Ahasuerus'  queen. 
Between  the  7th  and  the  12th  years  of  his  reign  (2^^  3')  Xerxes'  queen  was 
Amestris,  a  superstitious  and  cruel  women  (Hdt.  7,  114.  9,  112),  who  cannot 
be  identified  with  Esther,  and  who  leaves  no  place  for  Esther  beside  her. 
Esther  may  have  been  one  of  the  women  in  the  king's  harem ;  but  the 
narrative  represents  her  consistently  as  queen,  and  as  sole  queen  (2"  &c.). 
Moreover,  the  manner  in  which  she  was  selected  is  in  conflict  with  the  law 
by  which  the  Persian  monarch,  in  his  choice  of  a  queen,  was  limited  to  seven 
noble  families  of  Persia  (cf.  Hdt.  3,  84).  Again,  the  public  notification  of 
the  decree  for  the  destruction  of  the  Jews  eleven  months  before  it  was  to  take 
effect  seems  scarcely  probable — the  assumption  that  it  was  Hamari's  object 
to  induce  the  Jews  indirectly  to  leave  the  Persian  dominion  being  countenanced 
by  nothing  in  the  narrative,  which,  in  fact,  implies  distinctly  that  their  actual 
ruin  was  contemplated  (3^  ^-^'  '^^•).  It  is  remarkable,  also,  that  though  the 
courtiers  (in  spite  of  the  admonition  2^"-  20)  are  manifestly  aware  of  Esther's 
relationship  to  Mordecai,  and  Mordecai  is  known  to  be  a  Jew  (3^-  ^  &c. ), 
Haman  seems  not  to  suspect  the  relationship  ;  and  Ahasuerus,  although  he  had 
himself  (3*""^^)  authorized  the  decree,  not  only  (6^'')  honours  the  Jew  Mordecai 
(which  might  be  excused  on  the  ground  of  his  good  deed),  but  is  surprised  to 
be  told  of  its  existence  {^^'\ 

2.  To  many  critics,  moreover,  the  narrative  as  a  whole  seems  to  read  as 
a  romance  rather  than  as  a  history  :  the  incidents  at  each  stage  seem  laid  so 
as  to  prepare  for  the  next,  which  duly  follows  without  hitch  or  interruption. 
It  is  true,  certainly,  that  considerable  art  is  shown  in  the  composition  of  the 
Book.  Mordecai  and  Haman  stand  in  manifest  contrast  to  each  other  :  the 
two  edicts  and  the  circumstances  of  their  promulgation  (3^^"^*^ ;  8^°-")  are 
similarly  contrasted ;  the  climax  of  difficulty  and  danger  for  the  Jews  is 
reached,  from  which,  by  an  unexpected  turn  of  events,  they  are  suddenly 

*  Comp.  Ewald,  v.  231  ;  Noldeke,  AT.  Lit.  p.  85. 


ESTHER  483 

released :  the  double  banquet  (^*'  ^  7'')  allows  scope  in  the  interval  for  the 
contrasted  pictures,  first  of  Haman's  exultation  (5^'"),  then  of  his  vexation 
(6^^"^^), — a  prelude  and  omen  of  the  greater  humiliation  that  is  to  follow 
(c.  7).  Fact,  however,  is  proverbially  sometimes  stranger  than  fiction  :  so 
that  it  is  somewhat  precarious  to  build  a  far-reaching  argument  upon  appear- 
ances of  this  nature.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  allowed  that  incidents 
thus  mutually  related  are  acawiulated  in  Esther ;  and  they,  at  least,  authorize 
the  inference  that,  whatever  materials  the  narrator  may  have  had  at  his  dis- 
posal, he  has  elaborated  them  with  the  conscious  design  of  exhibiting  vividly 
the  dramatic  contrasts  which  they  suggested  to  him. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  writer  shows  himself  well  informed  on 
Persian  manners  and  institutions ;  he  does  not  commit  anachron- 
isms such  as  occur  in  Tobit  or  Judith;  and  the  character  of 
Xerxes,  as  drawn  by  him,  is  in  agreement  with  history.  The 
conclusion  to  which,  on  the  whole,  the  facts  point,  and  which 
is  adopted  by  most  modern  critics  {e.g.  Oettli,  p.  233),  is  that 
[454]  though  the  narrative  cannot  reasonably  be  doubted  to  have 
a  substantial  historical  basis,  it  includes  items  that  are  not  strictly 
historical :  the  elements  of  the  narrative  were  supplied  to  the 
author  by  triadition,  and,  aided  by  his  knowledge  of  Persian  life 
and  customs  (for  he  cannot  have  lived  long  after  the  Persian 
empire  reached  its  close),  he  combined  them  into  a  consistent 
picture  :  in  some  cases  the  details  were  coloured  already  by 
tradition  before  they  came  to  the  author's  hand,  in  other  cases 
they  owe  their  present  form  to  the  author's  love  of  dramatic 
effect.  An  evident  collateral  aim  of  the  narrative  is  to  magnify 
the  importance  and  influence  of  the  Jews.  Of  all  the  maidens 
collected  at  Susa,  it  is  a  Jewess  who  is  the  fortunate  one,  and 
who,  throughout,  is  successful  in  all  that  she  essays  to  obtain 
from  the  king.  Not  the  Jews  only,  but  the  inhabitants  of  Susa 
generally  are  troubled  by  the  first  edict,  as  they  are  delighted  by 
the  second  (3^^  8^^).  Haman,  the  Jews'  enemy,  is  disgraced, 
and  consigned  to  the  fate  which  he  had  prepared  for  Mordecai 
(5^*  710):  Mordecai  succeeds  to  his  position  (82- 1^^  cf.  3^-^^), 
issues  the  decree  which  is  to  neutralise  his  (8^^- ;  cf.  4^^),  and  is 
represented  finally  as  invested  with  even  greater  authority  and 
importance  (93^-*;  c.  10).  The  Jews  themselves  find  favour 
with  the  Persians  (8^^),  are  regarded  with  awe  (8^''^  9^*^"^),  and 
secure  an  unexampled  triumph  over  their  foes.*     It  is  in  some 

*  Notice,  also,   the  second  speech  of  Haman's  wife  (6^^),  which  is  both 
in  pointed  contrast  with  her  firsf  (5^"*),  and  also  plainly  reflects  the  narrator'i 


484  LITERATURE  OF  THE   OLD  TESTAMENT 

of  the  details  connected  with  his  picture  of  the  Jews  that  the 
author's  narrative  is  most  open  to  the  suspicion  of  exaggera- 
tion. It  is  probable  in  fact  that  the  danger  which  threatened 
the  Jews  was  a  local  one,  and  that  the  massacre  which  they 
wrought  upon  their  foes  was  on  a  much  smaller  scale  than  is 
represented.* 

Materials  do  not  exist  for  fixing  otherwise  than  approximately 
the  date  at  which  the  Book  of  Esther  was  composed.  Xerxes  is 
described  (i^^-)  in  terms  which  imply  that  his  reign  lay  in  a 
somewhat  distant  past  when  the  author  wrote.  By  the  majority 
of  critics  the  Book  is  assigned  either  to  the  early  years  of  the 
[455]  Greek  period  (which  began  b.c.  332),  or  to  the  3rd  cent. 
B.c.f  With  such  a  date  the  diction  would  well  agree,  which, 
though  superior  to  that  of  the  Chronicler,  and  more  acommo- 
dated  to  the  model  of  the  earlier  historical  books,  contains 
many  late  words  and  idioms,  and  exhibits  much  deterioration  in 
syntax. 

The  character  of  the  Hebrew  style  of  Esther  may  be  inferred  from  the 
remarks  on  p.  505.  Words  or  idioms  peculiar  to  Esther,  or  occurring  other- 
wise (in  Biblical  Hebrew)  only  in  the  passages  cited,  are — jnu,  riTie^  i^ 
(of  for  the  form  ntj'HB'  2  Ch.  30",  ny'r  Eccl.  12^2+)^  ^^^^  -,n3^  ^^^^^  ^^f^ 
IAoISd).  'linn  (/^z/i),  ]Vi2,  -\m  =  ^o  decree  (2^,  ] oh  22^8),  nmq  (Ges.-Kautzsch, 
§  72,  R.  7),  jn  tim  (2*^-  "  5^1,  for  the  earlier  jn  n^-d,  which  occurs  here  only 
in  the  stereotyped  phrase  5^  f  8^),  niBJ,  J]im,  qmj  (2  Ch.  262**  f),  nef-\2,  a'B'in, 
tJ'anB',  n^vn.  '"'V'i'53  (Ezr.  7^),  yii  5"  (as  Eccl.  I2^  and  in  Aratni),  pu,  p3N 
(=  ^"j),  inan,  nn'nn,  nja  !?y  (926).     Several  of  these  are  of  Aramaic  origin. 

point  of  view.  It  is  singular  that  no  motive  is  assigned  for  Mordecai's 
disregard  of  Persian  etiquette :  obeisance  to  a  superior  was  quite  usual  in 
ancient  Israel ;  and  there  is  nothing  to  suggest  that  Haman  claimed  Divine 
honours. 

*  Sayce,  who  defended  formerly  {Introd.  to  Ezr.  Neh.  and  Est.,  1885,  ?• 
98  ff.)  the  historical  credibility  of  the  Book  of  Esther,  is  of  opinion  now 
{Monuments^  p.  469  ff.)  that  it  contains  improbable  and  unhistorical  repre- 
sentations ;  and  considers  it  to  be  "an  example  of  Jewish  Haggadah," — i.e. 
moralizing  tale  or  romance  [on  the  original  signification  of  the  term,  see 
below,  p.  487  notel,  attached  mostly  to  historical  names  or  events, — "which 
has  been  founded  upon  one  of  those  semi-historical  tales,  of  which  the  Persian 
chronicles  seem  to  have  been  full." 

t  Ewald,  Bleek,  Noldeke,  Dillmann,  Bertheau,  von  Orelli  (in  Herzog's 
Encycl.  ed.  2),  Oettli.  Against  the  strange  views  of  Gratz  and  Bloch  on  the 
date  and  aim  of  the  Book,  see  Kuenen,  §  38.  14,  15. 

X  And  elsewhere ;  but  in  an  abstract  sense  the  form  is  chiefly  late :  cf, 
Strack  and  Siegfried,  Lehrb.  der  Neuhebr.  Spr.  %  47^. 


ESTHER  485 

'"\H'\= suitable,  2^,  is  a  Mishnic  sense  :  Zunz  {ZDMG.  1873,  p.  685)  notes  also 
as  recalling  the  style  of  the  Mishnah  ni:iD  nny  3^  (cf.  g^'f-,  2  Ch.  242°),  ntfy 
3113  DV  9^^,  and  ikt  no,  9^^.  See  also  the  citations  from  Esther,  pp.  475, 
506  f.,  535  ff.  The  principal  Persian  words  are:  D'oms,  i^  6*  (also  Dan. 
l3)  ;  0313  cotton  {ox  Jine  linen),  i' ;  DJna  decree  (p.  475,  No.  12);  D'JSmtJ'nK 
satraps  (also  Dan. ) ;  J^t^ns  (also  in  Ezr.  in  the  form  pt^ns) ;  m  /<3:w  (also  Ezr. 
8^,  and  in  the  Aram,  of  Ezr.  and  Dan.),  d'^di  8^°  (also  in  Syr.),  D'^nntynx 
(8^"-  ^^),  mJN  letter  (also  2  Ch.  30^-  ^,  and  in  Neh.     Ultimately  Assyrian). 

Whether  the  name  "Purim"  is  rightly  explained  (9^^)  is  open  to  doubt. 
The  incident  with  which  the  term  is  connected  (3^)  is  altogether  subordinate 
in  the  narrative,  and  not  likely  to  have  given  its  name  to  the  festival.  There 
is  also  a  more  serious  difficulty.  No  Persian  vyord  resembling  Pur,  with  the 
meaning  "  lot,"  is  known  to  exis^.*  Lagarde  attempts  an  explanation  based 
on  the  reading  of  the  LXX  (ppovpai,  in  Lucian's  recension  (f)ovp8aia  ;  but  this 
can  hardly  be  right :  whatever  the  etymological  difficulties  attaching  to 
the  term,  the  form  V*'  Purim "  is  supported  dj^  the  tradition  of  the  feast 
itself 

[456]  Much  fault  has  been  found  with  the  temper  displayed 
in  the  Book  of  Esther :  it  is  said,  for  instance,  to  breathe  a  spirit 
of  vengeance  and  hatred,  without  any  redeeming  feature ;  and  to 
be  further  removed  from  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  than  any  other 
Book  of  the  OT.  It  is  impossible  altogether  to  acquit  it  of  this 
accusation.  In  the  first  place  (looking  at  the  narrative  as  it 
stands),  the  Jews  had  been  brought  into  a  position  of  mortal 
danger  through  no  fault  of  their  own,  but  by  the  irrational 
malice  of  a  foe ;  and  it  was  both  natural  and  right  that  Mordecai 
and  Esther  should  do  what  lay  in  their  power  to  extricate  them 
from  it.  In  what  is  narrated  in  c.  4-7  no  blame  can  be  attached 
to  them.  The  terms  of  the  second  decree  were,  however, 
dictated  by  Mordecai  and  Esther  themselves  (8^  "as  it  liketh 
you  ") ;  and  if  all  that  it  authorized  the  Jews  to  do  was  to  act  in 

*  Lagarde,  Purim^  ein  Beitrag  zur  Gesch.  der  Religion  (1887),  pp.  18-28. 
The  Pers.  pare  means  "part,  portion"  (^^po?,  pars);  but  though  a  word 
meaning  "  lot"  may  acquire  the  derived  sense  of  allotted  portion  (as  KXrjpos, 
hiM  Jud.  i^),  it  is  manifestly  an  unsound  argument  to  infer  that  a  word 
meaning  properly  "portion "  would  acquire  the  meaning  lot.  Lagarde  shows 
that  "  lot  "  is  expressed  in  Persian  by  altogether  different  words.  Zimmern 
{ZATIV.  1 89 1,  p.  157  ff.)  derives  "  Purim"  from  the  Bab.  puchru,  assembly 
(viz.  of  the  gods,  under  the  presidency  of  Marduk,  on  New  Year's  day, 
Nisan  i  [cf.  Est.  3'^],  to  fix  the  destinies  for  the  coming  year),  and  thinks  that 
the  Feast  of  Purim  is  in  its  origin  a  Jewish  adaptation  of  the  Babylonian 
festival  of  the  New  Year,  which  was  celebrated  annually  with  great  pomp  in 
the  first  days  of  Nisan.  % 


486  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

self-defence  against  any  who  assailed  them,  it  would  be  perfectly 
legitimate.  Unfortunately,  it  seems  to  do  more  than  this.  It 
authorizes  the  Jews  to  take  the  lives  of  those  who  surely  must 
have  been  harmless  to  them,  the  "  little  ones  and  the  women  " : 
we  are  told,  further,  that  when  the  terms  of  this  decree  became 
known,  the  people  everywhere  either  actually  rejoiced  or  stood 
in  awe  of  the  Jews  (S^^^^^^) ;  but  this  being  so,  it  is  scarcely 
credible  that  as  many  as  75,000  persons  would  take  the  aggres- 
sive against  them :  it  seems  consequently  impossible  to  acquit 
Mordecai  of  permitting,  and  the  Jews  of  engaging  in,  an  unpro- 
voked massacre.  Nor,  as  it  seems,  can  the  request  in  9^^  be 
excused.  Not  satisfied  with  the  death  of  Haman's  ten  sons, 
Esther  here  demands  their  public  exposure  on  the  gallows ;  and 
obtains  permission,  besides,  for  a  second  massacre  in  Susa,  where 
500  persons  (as  she  knew,  v.^^)  j^^d  been  massacred  already. 
If  all  these  measures  were  necessary  in  self  defence^  they  need  no 
justification;  but  the  terms  of  the  narrative  itself  make  it  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  think  that  this  was  the  case.  Mordecai  and 
his  compatriots  can  be  completely  justified  only  at  the  cost  of 
the  perfect  accuracy  of  the  narrative.  And  this  an  impartial 
historical  criticism  entitles  us  happily  to  doubt  (cf.  p.  482  f.). 

Turning  now  from  the  facts  narrated  to  the  narrative,  and 
the  spirit  in  which  it  is  written,  it  is  remarkable  that  whereas 
generally  in  the  OT.  national  and  religious  interests  are  com- 
mingled, they  are  here  divorced :  the  national  feeling  being 
extremely  strong,  and  the  religious  feeling  being  practically  [457] 
absent  altogether.  In  Ewald's  words,  in  passing  to  Esther  from 
other  books  of  the  OT.,  we  "fall  from  heaven  to  earth."  Not 
only  does  the  name  of  God  not  occur  in  the  Book,  but  the 
point  of  view  is  throughout  purely  secular :  the  preservation  of 
the  race  as  such,  and  its  worldly  greatness,  not  the  perpetuation 
or  diffusion  of  its  religion,  are  the  objects  in  which  the  author's 
interest  is  manifestly  centred.*  This  peculiarity  is  probably  to  be 
explained  from  the  circumstances  under  which  the  Book  arose. 
The  Feast  of  Purim,  the  observance  of  which  it  was  intended  to 
inculcate,  had  no  religious  character :  even  in  its  origin,  no 
hint  is  dropped  of  its  having  been  an  occasion  of  thanksgiving  to 
God :  it  was  merely  a  season  of  mutual  congratulation,  and  of 

*  The  only  religious  observance  mentioned  is  that  of  fasting.  Providence 
is  alluded  to  in  4". 


ESTHER  487 

sending  gifts  to  the  poor  (qI^-i^-  22  &c.).  Thus  the  feast  itself 
was  the  expression  of  a  purely  national  interest ;  and  the  Book 
reflects  the  same  spirit.  It  is  possible,  moreover,  that  the 
author's  temper  was  to  some  extent  moulded  by  the  age  in 
which  he  lived.  The  depressed  condition  of  the  nation,  which 
filled  the  brooding  soul  of  Qoh^leth  (p.  471)  with  thoughts  of 
despair,  might  well  arouse  in  a  mind  differently  constituted  feel- 
ings of  antagonism  to  foreign  nations,  and  exaggerate  in  it  the 
sentiment  of  race.  The  national  name,  the  pride  inseparable 
from  it,  the  ambition  to  assert  it  against  all  traducers,  might 
readily,  under  long  continued  depreciation,  assume  an  unhealthy 
prominence.  Even  the  author's  representation,  as  well  as  his 
tone,  seems  sometimes  to  reflect  the  associations  of  his  own  age. 
He  pictures  the  Jews,  for  instance,  as  surrounded  by  their 
"haters"  (g^-^-  ^^  &c.) ;  but  no  overt  act  is  attributed  to  them  : 
the  only  real  enemy  of  the  Jews  is  Haman.  It  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  the  spirit  of  Esther  is  not  that  which  prevails  gener- 
ally in  the  Old  Testament;  but  we  have  no  right  to  demand, 
upon  a  priori  grounds,  that  in  every  part  of  the  Biblical  record 
the  human  interests  of  the  narrator  should,  in  the  same  degree, 
be  subordinated  to  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Note  on  the  word  ^'  Haggadak.^^ — "Haggadah"  is  in  form  an  Aramaiz- 
ing  infin.  Htph.,  from  Tan  to  tell  (of  the  same  type  as  rh-i^  Est.  4^^,  above, 
p.  484  ;  cf.  nrijn  2^^,  ns.jq  Isa.  30^^),  used  as  a  subst.*  It  is  commonly  ex- 
plained as  signifying  properly  tale,  narration  ;  but  W.  Bacher,  one  of  the 
most  learned  and  competent  of  living  students  of  Rabbinical  literature,  points 
0"t:  {/Q^.  April  1892,  p.  406  ff.)  that  higg'id  is  to  tell  in  the  sense  of 
declaring  some  particular  fact  (see  e.g.  Gen.  3^^),  not  in  that  of  recounting 
or  narj-ating  a  tale,  and  that  even  in  post-Biblical  Hebrew  it  is  not  found  in 
the  latter  sense  :  on  the  other  hand,  he  observes  that  in  the  oldest  Jewish 
exegesis  (as  in  the  Mechilta,  a  Midrashic  commentary  on  Exodus),  alle- 
gorical or  Midrashic  expositions  are  constantly  introduced  by  the  phrase 
3in|'n  Tap  "the  text  declares,''^  and  infers  accordingly,  very  plausibly,  that 
the  subst.  Haggaddh  was  derived  from  this  usage,  the  term  meaning  properly 
simply  declaratioji,  but  acquiring  by  custom  the  sense  of  an  iinaginative 
development  of  a  thought  supposed  to  be  contained  in,  or  intimated  by,  the 
text  in  question. t 

*  A  softened  Palestinian  form  is  Aggdddh  (nijx) :  see  Bacher,  p.  429. 

+  For  illustrations,  see  Schiirer,  Gesch.  dcs  Jiid.  Volkes,  ii.  278  ff.  [Eng. 
transl.  II.  i.  p.  339ff.];  and  cf.  in  the  N.T.  Acts  722-53^  i  Cor.  lo'»  (see  the 
writer's  note  in  the  Expositor,  Jan.  1889,  p.  15  ff.),  Gal.  319  4-"J  (see  Light- 
foot's  note),  Heb.  2^,  2  Tim.  t^  Jude  ^ 


CHAPTER   XI. 

DANIEL. 

Literature. — F.  Hitzig  (in  the  Kgf.  Handb.),  1850;  H.  Ewald  in  Die 
Proph.  des  AB.s^  (1868),  iii.  298 flf.  (in  the  transl.,  v.  152 ff.)  ;  E.  B.  Pusey, 
Daniel  the  Prophet,  1865,  ^  1869 ;  C.  F.  Keil  (in  the  Bibl.  Comm.),  1869; 
O.  Zockler  (in  Lange's  Bibelwerk),  1869;  J.  M.  Fuller  in  the  Speaker's 
Coffimentary  {philology  to  be  often  distrusted);  F.  Delitzsch,  art.  "Daniel" 
in  Herzog's  Real-Encyklopddie,'^  yol.  iii.  (1878);  J.  Meinhold  in  Strack  and 
Zockler's  Kgf.  Komm.  (in  the  part  entitled  Die  Gesch.  Hagiographen,  1889, 
p.  257 ff.) ;  also  Die  Compos,  des  B.  Daniel,  1884,  and  Beitrdge  zur  Erkl. 
des  B.  Dan.  1888 ;  A.  A.  Bevan,  Comm.  on  Dan.  1892  ;  G.  Behrmann  (in 
Nowack's  '*  Handkomm."),  1894  ;  F.  A.  Farrar  (in  the  *'  Expositor's  Bible  "), 
1895  >  A*  Kamphausen,  Das  B.  Dan.  u.  die  neuere  Geschichtsforschung  (ein 
Vortrag),  1893,  and  in  Haupt's  SBOT.  1896  ;  A.  Bludau,  De  Alex.  Interpr. 
Libri  Dan.  indole,  1891  ;  A.  Freiherr  von  Gall,  Die  Einheitl.  des  B.  Dan. 
1895  ;  M.  Lohr,  "  Textkrit.  Vorarb.  zu  einer  Erkl.  des  B.  Dan.,"  ZATW. 
1895,  PP-  75  ff->  193  ff-»  1896,  p.  17  ff.;  C.  von  Orelli,  OT.  Prophecy,  p.  454  ff. 

The  Book  of  Daniel  narrates  the  history  of  Daniel  (c.  1-6), 
and  the  visions  attributed  to  him  (c.  7-12).  It  is  written  partly 
in  Hebrew,  partly  in  Aramaic,  viz.  from  2^^  (from  "  O  king")  to 
the  end  of  c.  7. 

C.  I  (introductory).  In  the  3rd  year  of  Jehoiakim  (b.c.  605), 
Nebuchadnezzar  lays  siege  to  Jerusalem  :  part  of  the  vessels  of 
the  Temple,  and  some  Jewish  captives,  fall  into  his  hands. 
Daniel,  and  three  other  Israelitish  youths  of  noble  blood, 
Hananiah,  Mishael,  and  Azariah,  are  instructed  at  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's command  in  the  language  and  learning  of  the  Chaldaeans, 
and  educated  for  the  king's  service;  they  refrain,  however, 
studiously  from  defiling  themselves  in  any  way  by  partaking  of 
the  meat  and  drink  of  the  king.  At  the  expiration  of  three  years 
their  education  is  completed ;  all  are  distinguished  for  wisdom 
and  knowledge,  Daniel  in  a  pre-eminent  degree,  being  gifted  in 
particular  with  "  understanding  in  all  visions  and  dreams." 


DANIEL  489 

C.  2.  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  his  second  year  (b.c.  603-2),  has  a 
disquieting  dream,  which  the  wise  men  of  the  Chaldaeans  are 
unable  to  interpret  to  him.  Daniel,  the  secret  being  revealed  to 
him  in  a  vision  of  the  night  (v.^^),  interprets  it  successfully. 
The  king  in  gratitude  exalts  Daniel  to  great  honour ;  he  is  made 
[459]  "chief  governor  over  all  the  wise  men  of  Babylon,"  and 
has  a  permanent  home  at  the  Court,  while  his  three  companions 
are  appointed  administrators  of  the  province  of  Babylon. 

Neb.'s  dream  was  of  a  colossal  image,  the  head  of  gold,  the  breast  and 
arms  of  silver,  the  body  of  brass,  the  legs  of  iron,  the  feet  of  iron  and  clay 
mixed;  a  stone  "cut  out  without  hands "  suddenly  fell,  smiting  the  feet  of 
the  image,  which  thereupon  broke  up,  while  the  stone  became  a  mountain, 
filling  the  whole  earth.  The  image  symbolizes  the  anti-theocratic  power  of 
the  world ;  and  its  principal  parts  are  interpreted  to  signify  four  empires  (or 
their  rulers),  the  head  of  gold  being  Nebuchadnezzar  himself.  The  empires 
intended  (except  the  first)  are  not  mentioned  by  name ;  and  it  is  disputed 
which  are  meant.  According  to  the  traditional  view  they  are:  (i)  the 
Chaldsean ;  (2)  the  Medo-Persian  (Cyrus) ;  (3)  (the  belly)  the  Macedonian 
(Alexander),  followed  by  the  empires  of  the  Seleucidse  at  Antioch,  and  the 
Ptolemies  in  Egypt  (the  thighs) ;  (4)  the  Roman,  afterwards  (the  mingled 
clay  and  iron  of  the  feet)  divided  into  East  and  West  (Constantinople  and 
Rome),  and  ultimately  further  subdivided.  According  to  many  modem  inter- 
preters, the  empires  meant  are:  (i)  the  Chaldsean ;  (2)  the  Median  ;  (3)  the 
Persian ;  (4)  the  Macedonian,  issuing  in  the  often  externally  allied,  but  yet 
inwardly  disunited,  empires  of  the  Diadochi  (the  Seleucidse  and  Ptolemies).  * 
As  the  vision  in  c.  7  is  generally  allowed  to  be  parallel  in  import  to  the  dream 
here,  if  the  fourth  kingdom  there  be  rightly  interpreted  of  the  empire  of 
Alexander,  the  second  interpretation  will  be  the  correct  one.  In  any  case, 
the  "stone  cut  out  without  hands"  represents  the  kingdom  of  God,  before 
which  all  earthly  powers  are  ultimately  to  fall. 

C.  3.  Nebuchadnezzar  erects  in  the  plain  of  Dura,  near 
Babylon,  a  colossal  golden  image,  and  assembles  for  its  dedi- 
cation the  high  officials  of  his  kingdom,  all  being  commanded, 
under  penalty  of  being  cast  into  a  burning  fiery  furnace,  to 
fall  down  and  worship  it  at  a  given  signal.  Daniel's  three  com- 
panions refusing  to  do  this,  are  cast  into  the  furnace ;  but,  to  the 
king's  surprise,  are  wonderfully  delivered  from  the  power  of  the 

*  So  Eichhorn,  v.  Lengerke,  Ewald,  Bleek,  Westcott  (Smith's  Did.  of  the 
Bible,  s.v.  "Daniel"),  Delitzsch,  Meinhold,  Kuenen.  In  favour  of  the 
Median  and  Persian  empires  being  reckoned  separately,  it  is  remarked  that  in 
the  Book  itself  they  are  distinguished  (6^  &c. ;  8^),  and  the  rule  of  ' '  Darius 
the  Mede  "  (s^i  (P^)  precedes  that  of  Cyrus  the  Persian.  Others  (Bertholdt, 
Zockler,  Herzfeld)  understand  less  probably:  (i)  the  Chaldoean ;  (2)  the 
Medo-Persian  ;  (3)  the  Macedonian  ;  (4)  the  Diadochi. 


490  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

flames.  Thereupon  Nebuchadnezzar  solemnly  acknowledges 
the  power  of  their  God,  issues  a  decree  threatening  death  to  any 
who  presume  to  blaspheme  Him,  and  promotes  the  three  men 
in  the  province  of  Babylon. 

[460]  C.  4.  The  edict  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  addressed  to  all 
peoples  of  the  earth,  in  which  he  extols  (v.^-^-  ^^-s^)  the  power 
and  greatness  of  the  God  of  Israel.  The  occasion  of  the  edict 
is  explained  in  v.^'^^.  Nebuchadnezzar  had  a  dream  of  a  mighty 
tree,  the  head  of  which  towered  to  heaven,  while  its  branches 
sheltered  the  beasts  and  fowl  of  the  earth  :  as  he  watched  it, 
he  heard  the  command  given  that  it  should  be  hewn  down  to 
the  earth.  This  dream,  which  the  Chaldseans  were  unable  to 
interpret,  was  explained  to  him  by  Daniel.  The  tree  represented 
the  great  king  himself,  in  the  pride  and  splendour  of  his  empire ; 
but  the  time  should  come  when  he  would  be  humbled,  and 
his  reason  would  leave  him  for  seven  years,  that  he  might  learn 
that  the  Most  High  was  the  disposer  of  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth.  At  the  end  of  twelve  months,  as  the  king  was  contem- 
plating from  his  palace  the  city  which  he  had  built,  Daniel's 
words  were  suddenly  verified,  and  Nebuchadnezzar  was  bereft  of 
his  reason  for  seven  years.  In  gratitude  for  his  recovery,  he 
now  issued  his  present  edict. 

C.  5.  Belshazzar's  feast.  While  Belshazzar  and  his  lords  are 
at  a  feast,  impiously  drinking  their  wine  from  the  golden  cups 
which  had  belonged  once  to  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  the  fingers 
of  a  man's  hand  appear  writing  upon  the  wall.  The  king,  in 
alarm,  summons  the  wise  men  of  the  Chaldaeans  to  interpret 
what  was  written ;  but  they  are  unable  to  do  so.  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  queen,  Daniel  is  called,  who  interprets  the  words 
to  mean  that  the  days  of  Belshazzar's  kingdom  are  numbered, 
and  that  it  is  about  to  be  given  to  the  Medes  and  Persians. ''^ 
Daniel  is  invested  with  purple  and  a  chain  of  gold,  and  made 
one  of  the  three  chief  ministers  in  the  kingdom  (v.'^-  ^^ :  see 
QPB,^  and  RV.  inarg.).  The  same  night  Belshazzar  is  slain, 
and  "  Darius  the  Mede  "  receives  the  kingdom. 

C.  6.    Daniel  being   promoted  by  Darius  above  the  other 

princes,  the  latter  in  envy  seek  an  opportunity  to  ruin  him.    They 

accordingly  persuade  the  king  to  issue  a  decree  forbidding  any 

one  to  ask  a  petition  of  God  or  man,  except  the  king,  for  30 

*  On  V.  25  see  QPB?\  and  esp.  Noldeke,  Zeitschr.  f.  Assyriol.  i..  414  ff. 


DANIEL  49! 

days.     Daniel,  however,  continues  as  before  to  pray  three  times 

a  day  at  his  open  window  towards  Jerusalem.     The  king,  upon 

information  being  brought  to  him,  reluctantly  yielding  obedience 

to  the  law,  orders  Daniel  to  be  cast  into  a  den  of  lions.     Next 

[461]   morning   he   is   overjoyed   to   find   him    uninjured,   and 

publishes  a  decree  enjoining  men,  in  all  parts  of  his  dominion, 

to  honour  and  revere  the  God  of  Daniel,  who  had  given  such 

wonderful  evidence  of  His  power. 

In  the  following  chapters  of  the  Book  of  Daniel,  Antiochus 

Epiphanes,  the  persecutor  of  the  Jews  in  the  2nd  cent.  B.C.,  is 

such  a  prominent  figure,  that  a  synopsis  of  the  chief  events  of 

his  reign  will  probably  be  of  service  to  the  reader  "*  : — 

B.C.  176.  Accession  of  Antiochus  to  the  throne  of  Syria  (i  Mace,  i^**),  Dan. 
ry8.ii.  201  89.23  J 1 21 

»i  175-  Jason,  intriguing  against  his  brother,  Onias  III.,  purchases  the 
high-priesthood  for  himself  from  Antiochus.  Rise  of  a  powerful 
Hellenizing  party  in  Jerusalem,  which  is  patronized  and  en- 
couraged by  Jason  (i  Mace,  i^^'^^,  2  Mace.  4''^-). 

„  172.  Menelaus,  outbidding  Jason,  gets  the  high -priesthood  conferred 
upon  himself.  Onias  III.,  having  rebuked  Menelaus  for  sacri- 
lege, is  murdered,  at  his  instigation,  by  Andronicus,  deputy  of 
Antiochus  (2  Mace,  z^'^-^),  Dan.  [92^]  1122b. 

„  171.  First  expedition  of  Antiochus  against  Egypt  (i  Mace,  i^^'^"), 
Dan.  1122-24, 

,,  170.  Second  expedition  of  Antiochus  against  Egypt  (i  Mace.  i2"),  Dan. 
I  i25-2v.  Antiochus  on  his  return  from  Egypt  enters  the  Temple, 
carries  off  the  sacred  vessels,  and  massacres  many  Jews  (i  Mace. 
121-28,  2  Mace.  5"-2i),  Dan.  S^""!"  ii28. 

,,  169.  Third  expedition  of  Antiochus  against  Egypt.  When  in  sight 
of  Alexandria,  the  Roman  legate,  Popilius  Lsenas,  obliges  him 
to  retire,  and  evacuate  the  country  (Polyb.  29,  l  ;  Livy,  44,  19. 
45,  12),  Dan.   Il29-30a_ 

„  169-8.  Fresh  measures  against  Jerusalem.  The  capital  surprised  by 
Apollonius  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  many  of  the  inhabitants 
either  captured  and  sold  as  slaves,  or  slain.  A  Syrian  garrison 
commanding  the  Temple  established  in  the  citadel ;  flight  of  the 
God-fearing  Jews  from  Jerusalem,  and  prohibition  of  all  practices 
of  the  Jewish  religion.  The  Temple-worship  suspended,  and  on 
15  Chisleu,  B.C.  168,  the  "abomination  of  desolation "f  (a  small 

*  The  references  in  Dan.  are  appended  (those  in  c.  11  according  to 
Meinhold),  such  as  are  disputed  being  enclosed  in  brackets. 

t  Cf.  Dan.  927  1181  12"  LXX  and  Theod.  In  explanation  of  the  Heb. 
Dprp  pp?'  (ii^i)  or  DCB'  pp?*  (12II),  see  esp.  Nestle,  ZATW.  1884,  p.  248,  or 
in  Bevan  or  Behrm.  ad  locc.  (a  contemptuous  punning  designation  of  Vya 
D'DB'  =  Zei>s  'OXi'/^TTioj,  2  Mace.  6*,  the  favourite  Deity  of  Antiochus). 


492  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

heathen  ahar)  erected  on  the  altar  of  Burnt-offering.  Books  of 
the  law  burnt,  and  women  who  had  had  their  children  circum- 
cised put  to  death  (i  Mace,  i"^^'^  ;  2  Mace.  6-7),  Dan.  [721. 24b.  26-j 

gllf.  13b.  24.  25  [■Q26b.  27a-]  j  j30b-35.»  [30-39J  [121-  7-  H]. 

[462]  B.C.  167.  Revolt  against  the  persecuting  measures  of  Antiochus,  organized 
by  Mattathias  and  his  five  sons  (the  Maccabees),  (i  Mace.  2), 
Dan.  ii»^(the  "little  help"). 

,,  166.  After  the  death  of  Mattathias,  the  war  of  independence  is  carried 
on  by  his  son  Judas,  who  slays  Apollonius  and  Seron  (i  Mace. 
3^'^).  Antiochus  sends  Lysias  with  a  large  army  to  suppress 
the  rebellion  in  Judaea ;  his  generals,  Nicanor  and  Gorgias,  are 
defeated  by  Judas  near  Emmaus  (i  Mace.  3^-4'"). 

„  165.  Lysias  himself  defeated  by  Judas  at  Beth-zur,  between  Hebron  and 
Jerusalem  { i  Mace.  4^-^^) ;  the  Temple  purified,  and  public 
worship  in  it  re-established,  on  25  Chisleu,  just  ^Aree  years  after 
its  desecration.  The  dedication  of  the  altar  continued  during 
eight  days.  The  Temple  hill  and  Beth-zur  fortified  by  Judas 
(i  Mace.  4^"^^).  Offensive  measures  of  Judas  against  Edom, 
Ammon,  Philistia,  &c.  (i  Mace.  5).  In  the  following  year  (164), 
Antiochus,  after  an  abortive  attempt  to  pillage  a  temple  in 
Elymais  in  Persia,  dies  somewhat  suddenly  (i  Mace.  6^'^^ ;  but 
see  also  Polyb.  31,   11),  Dan.  [711-26]  gwb.  25.«<^  |-926b.  27b  ii46b 

12?  end.  11  end.  12.  ISl  4. 

The  reader  ought  to  consider  whether,  in  view  of  the  parallelism  which 
appears  generally  to  prevail  between  the  passages  of  Daniel  quoted,  the 
bracketed  ones  are  legitimately  separated  from  the  rest. 

C.  7-  A  vision,  seen  by  Daniel  in  a  dream,  in  the  first  year  of 
Belshazzar.  The  vision  was  of  four  beasts  emerging  from  the 
sea,  a  lion  with  eagle's  wings,  a  bear,  a  leopard  with  4  wings  and 
4  heads,  and  a  fourth  beast,  with  powerful  iron  teeth,  destroying 
all  things,  and  with  10  horns,  among  which  another  "little  horn" 
sprang  up,  "  speaking  proud  things,"  before  which  three  of  the 
other  horns  were  rooted  out.  Hereupon  a  celestial  assize  is 
held :  the  Almighty,  figured  as  an  aged  man,  with  hair  white  like 
wool,  and  snow-like  raiment,  appears  seated  on  a  throne  of 
flame,  and  surrounded  by  His  myriads  of  attendants :  the  beast 
whose  horn  spake  proud  things  is  slain ;  and  one  "  like  unto  a 
son  of  man" — i.e.  a  figure  in  human  form — comes  with  the 
clouds  of  heaven  into  the  presence  of  the  Almighty,  and  receives 

*  V.30b-32a  alluding  to  the  renegade  Jews  (i  Mace,  i^^-  ^3-  »2>^  ^.,32b-35  to  those 
who  remained  faithful,  including  some  who  were  martyrs  {ib.  v.^'^-  ^). 

t  See  further  the  monograph  of  J.  F.  Hoffmann,  Antioclms  IV.  Epiphanes^ 
1873  (who  explains  some  parts  of  c.  ii  differently).  In  illustration  of  the 
<:/ta;-af/^r  of  Antiochus,  see  especially  Polybius,  26,  10.  31,  3-4. 


DANIEL  493 

from  Him  a  universal  and  never-ending  dominion,  v.^'^^  In 
y.^^--^  the  vision  is  interpreted  to  Daniel :  the  four  beasts  are 
explained  to  signify  four  kingdoms  ;  and  after  the  destruction  of 
the  fourth,  "  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High "  will 
receive  the  dominion  of  the  entire  earth. 

[463]  The  vision,  as  remarked  above,  is  generally  agreed  to  be  parallel 
to  the  dream  in  c.  2  (the  only  material  difference  being  that  the  symbolism 
of  the  fourth  kingdom  is  more  developed) ;  and  there  is  a  corresponding 
divergence  of  interpretation.  On  the  one  hand,  the  ten  horns  are  supposed 
to  be  the  European  kingdoms  into  which  the  Roman  empire  ultimately  broke 
up,  the  "little  horn"  being  an  anti-Christian  power  destined  to  arise  out  of 
them  in  the  future ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  ten  horns  are  interpreted  to 
represent  the  successors  of  Alexander,  in  particular  (as  is  commonly  held)  the 
Seleucidae,  the  "little  horn"  being  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  The  latter  view  is 
somewhat  strongly  supported  by  the  sequel  of  the  Book.  The  terms  in  which 
the  ' '  little  horn  "  is  here  spoken  of— his  arrogance,  his  impiety,  his  persecu- 
tion of  the  people  of  God  (7^'-  ^) — are  closely  analogous  to  those  used  in 
g9-i3. 23-25^  likewise  with  reference  to  a  "little  horn,"  which  is  admitted 
to  signify  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  who  is  also  prominent  in  c.  IO-12 ;  the 
time,  V.25,  during  which  his  ambitious  purposes  are  to  take  effect  (3^  years) 
agrees  likewise  very  nearly  with  the  event.  According  to  Ew.,  Del., 
Meinhold  (who  adopt  this  view),  the  ten  horns  are:  (i)  Seleucus  Nicator 
(B.C.  312-280) ;  (2)  Antiochus  Soter  (279-261) ;  (3)  Antiochus  Theos 
(260-246)  ;  (4)  Seleucus  Callinicus  (245-226)  ;  (5)  Seleucus  Ceraunus 
(225-223) ;  (6)  Antiochus  the  Great  (222-187) ;  (?)  Seleucus  IV.  Philopator 
(186-176);  (8)  Heliodorus  (treasurer  of  Seleucus  IV.,  who  murdered  his 
master,  but  who  was  prevented  by  two  of  the  courtiers,  in  the  interests  of 
Seleucus'  brother,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  from  securing  the  throne) ;  (9) 
Demetrius  Soter  (son  of  Seleucus,  and  so,  after  his  father's  murder,  legitimate 
heir  to  the  crown,  but  detained  at  Rome  as  a  hostage,  whither  his  father  had 
sent  him  to  release  Antiochus  from  the  same  position);  (10)  Ptolemy  VI. 
Philometor,  who  claimed  the  throne  of  Syria  through  his  mother,  Cleopatra, 
sister  of  Seleucus  IV.  and  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  (A  slightly  different 
reckoning  in  Kuen.  §  89.  4.)  It  is  objected  to  this  explanation  that  Helio- 
dorus, Demetrius,  and  Ptolemy  VI.,  whom  Antiochus  is  regarded  as  having 
supplanted,  were  not  all  strictly  "kings"  (7^);  but  we  do  not,  perhaps, 
know  how  they  were  viewed  by  those  living  at  the  time. 

C.  8.  A  vision  of  Daniel  in  the  third  year  of  Belshazzar. 
A  ram  with  two  horns  appeared,  pushing  towards  the  West, 
North,  and  South,  until  a  he-goat,  with  "  a  notable  horn  "  between 
its  eyes,  emerged  from  the  West,  and,  drawing  nigh,  smote  the 
ram,  and  brake  its  two  horns ;  after  this  the  he-goat  increased  in 
strength ;  but  ere  long  its  horn  was  broken :  and  in  place  of  it 
there  rose  up  four  other  horjjs  towards  the  four  quarters  of  the 


494  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

earth.  Out  of  one  of  these  came  forth  a  Httle  horn,  which 
waxed  exceedingly  great  towards  the  South,  and  the  East,  and 
the  land  of  Judah :  it  even  exalted  itself  against  the  host  of 
heaven,  and  against  its  Prince  (God),  destroying  His  sanctuary, 
and  interrupting  the  daily  sacrifice  for  2300  "evenings,  morn- 
ings." The  meaning  of  this  vision  is  explained  to  Daniel  by  the 
[464]  angel  Gabriel :  the  ram  with  two  horns  is  the  Medo-Persian 
empire;  the  he-goat  is  the  empire  of  the  Greeks,  the  "notable 
horn"  being  its  first  king  (Alexander),  whose  conquests  are 
significantly  indicated  in  v.^;  the  four  horns  which  follow  are 
the  four  kingdoms  which  arose  out  of  the  empire  of  Alexander 
at  his  death  {i.e.  those  of  the  Seleucidse  at  Antioch,  of  the 
Ptolemies  in  Egypt,  of  Lysimachus  in  Thrace,  and  of  Cassander 
in  Macedonia).  The  name  of  the  king  symbolized  by  the  "  little 
horn  "  is  not  stated ;  but  the  description  given  of  him  (v.^-^*-  ^s-so^ 
leaves  no  question  that  it  is  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  which,  indeed, 
is  not  here  disputed. 

In  v.i^  the  expression  "evenings,  mornings"  is  peculiar;  and  it  seems 
impossible  to  find  two  events  separated  by  2300  days  (  =  6  years  4  months) 
which  would  correspond  with  the  description  in  v.^^-.  The  terms  of  v.^^*- 
appear  plainly  to  indicate  the  interval  from  the  time  when  the  sanctuary 
was  first  profaned  to  its  purification  on  25  Chisleu,  B.C.  165.  As  this  was 
approximately  three  years,  it  is  supposed  by  many  that  the  peculiar  expression 
in  v.^*  is  intended  to  denote  2300  half-days  (  =  3  years  2  months).  In  point 
of  fact,  it  is  true,  just  3  years  had  elapsed  since  the  heathen  altar  was  set 
up  (p.  492);  but  the  sanctuary  may  well  have  been  first  "trodden  under 
foot "  two  months  previously  (cf.  i  Mace.  i^'^'^^).  In  7^^  the  tribulation  of  the 
saints  is  to  last  3^  years  (cf.  12'^) ;  in  12^^  from  the  time  that  the  daily  offering 
is  suspended  1290  days  are  counted;  in  12^^  the  trial  is  to  terminate  after 
1335  days.  It  is  difficult  not  to  think  that  the  same  period  of  3-3^  years  is 
intended  in  all  these  passages.  Did  we  know  the  history  of  the  time  more 
accurately,  it  would  probably  appear  why  a  slightly  different  terminus  a  quo 
(or  ad  quern)  was  fixed  in  the  several  cases. 

C.  9.  In  the  first  year  of  Darius  the  Mede,  Daniel,  consider- 
ing that  the  70  years  of  desolation  prophesied  by  Jeremiah  (25^^ 
29!^)  for  Jerusalem  were  drawing  to  their  close,  implores  God 
to  forgive  His  people's  sin,  and  to  look  favourably  upon  His 
ruined  sanctuary,  v.^-^^.  The  angel  Gabriel  explains  to  Daniel 
that  it  would  be,  not  70  years,  but  70  weeks  of  years,  before 
the  iniquity  of  the  people  would  be  entirely  atoned  for.  This 
entire  period  is  then  divided  into  three  smaller  ones,  7  -h  62  +  i  ; 
and  it  is  said  (a)  that  7  weeks  ( =  49  years)  will  elapse  from  the 


DANIEL  495 

going  forth  of  the  command  to  restore  Jerusalem  to  "  an  anointed 
one,  a  prince" ;  {l^)  that  for  62  weeks  (  =  434  years)  the  city  will 
be  rebuilt,  though  in  straitened  times;  {c)  that  at  the  end  of 
these  62  weeks  "an  anointed  one"  will  be  cut  off,  and  the 
people  of  a  prince  that  shall  come  will  desolate  the  city  and 
the  sanctuary  :  he  will  make  a  covenant  with  many  for  one  [465] 
week  ( =  7  years),  and  during  half  of  this  week  he  will  cause  the 
sacrifice  and  oblation  to  cease,  until  his  end  come,  and  the  con- 
summation decreed  arrest  the  desolator,  v. 20-27. 

Of  the  passage  924-27  ^o  entirely  satisfactory  interpretation  appears  yet  to 
have  been  found.  As  commonly  understood,  it  is  a  prediction  of  the  death 
of  Christ,  and  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus.  But  this  view  labours 
under  serious  difficulties,  (i)  If  the  490  years  are  to  end  with  the  Crucifixion, 
A.D.  29,  they  must  begin  c.  458  B.C.,  a  date  which  coincides  with  the  decree 
of  Artaxerxes  and  the  mission  of  Ezra  (Ezra  7).  But  this  decree  contains  no 
command  whatever  **to  restore  and  build  Jerusalem";  nor  was  this  one  of 
the  objects  of  Ezra's  mission.  (2)  In  the  490  years,  the  first  49  are  distin- 
guished from  those  that  follow,  their  close  being  marked  by  a  break,  as 
though  some  epoch  were  signalized  by  it ;  but  no  historical  importance  is 
known  to  attach  in  Jewish  history  to  the  year  409  B.C.  (3)  Christ  did  not 
*'  confirm  a  covenant  with  many  for  one  week  "  (  =  7  years) :  His  ministry 
lasted  at  most  somewhat  over  3  years ;  and  if,  in  the  years  following.  He  is 
regarded  as  carrying  on  His  work  through  the  agency  of  His  apostles,  the 
limit,  "seven  years, "  seems  an  arbitrary  one ;  for  the  apostles  continued  to 
gain  converts  from  Judaism  for  many  years  subsequently.  (4)  If  the  RV.  of 
V.27  ("y^r  half  the  week,"  &c.)  be  correct — and  it  is  at  least  the  natural 
rendering  of  the  Heb. — a  reference  to  the  death  of  Christ  would  seem  to  be 
precluded  altogether. 

The  view  taken  by  many  modern  scholars  is  represented  in  its  most 
probable  form  by  Bleek  ("  Die  Mess.  Weiss,  im  B.  Daniel "  in  the  Jahrb.  f. 
Deutsche  Theol.  i860,  p.  45  ff. :  see  also  the  synopsis  in  the  Speaker's  Comm. 
p.  360 ff.)  and  Meinhold.  V.^s  the  command  (lit.  "word")  is  the  Divine 
promise  given  through  Jeremiah  (31^^*)  for  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem, 
c.  B.C.  588  ;  the  anointed  prince  is  Cyrus  (see  Isa.  45^  44^),  B.C.  538  ;  v.^^^ 
alludes  to  the  relatively  depressed  state  of  the  restored  community,  B.C.  538- 
172;  v. 26a  the  "anointed  one"  is  the  High  Priest  Onias  III.,  deposed  in 
175,  assassinated  in  172  ;  v.26b-27  alludes  to  the  attacks  made  by  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  on  the  Holy  City,  to  the  willing  allies  whom  he  found  among  the 
renegade  Jews,  to  his  suspension  of  the  Temple  services,  and  the  destruction 
which  finally  overtook  him  (B.C.  164).  V.24  describes  the  Messianic  age, 
to  succeed  the  persecutions  of  Antiochus  (comp.  c.  12),  **  to  anoint  the  most 
holy"  alluding  to  the  re-dedication  of  the  altar  of  Burnt-offering,  B.C.  165 
(it  is  doubtful  if  D'cnp  B'np  is  ever  applied  to  a  person,  see  i  Ch.  23^^  RV. :  it 
is  applied  to  the  altar  of  Burnt-offering,  Ex.  29^  40^*^).  That  some  of  the 
expressions  in  this  verse  describe  what  was  only  in  fact  accomplished  by 
Christ,  is  but  natural :   though  the  author  pictured   the  consummation  as 


496  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

relatively  close  at  hand,  it  was  actually  postponed,  and  in  its  fulness  only 
effected  by  Ilim,  The  chief  objection  to  this  interpretation  is  that  the  period 
from  B.C.  538  to  172  is  366  years  only,  not  434  (  =  62  weeks) ;  but,  in  reply, 
it  is  urged  that  we  do  not  know  what  chronology  the  author  followed,  or  how 
his  years  were  computed.*  The  general  parallelism  of  v.^^^'^'^ — especially 
[466]  the  suspension  of  the  Temple  services  for  3^  years — with  ']'^  and  other 
passages  of  the  Book  where  the  persecutions  of  Antiochus  are  alluded  to,  and 
the  fact  that  elsewhere  in  c.  7-12  Antiochus  is  the  prominent  figure,  may  be 
said  to  favour  the  second  explanation.  It  ought  to  be  understood  that  the 
issue  is  not  between  one  interpretation  which  is  clear  and  free  from  difficulty, 
and  another  that  is  the  reverse  of  this,  but  between  two  (or  perhaps  more 
than  two)  interpretations,  to  both  of  which  objection  may  be  taken.  On 
which  side  the  difficulties  are  least  grave,  it  must  be  left  to  the  reader  to 
decide  for  himself. f  The  two  most  recent  monographs  on  (^^'  are  by  J.  W. 
van  Lennep,  De  'jojaarweken  van  Daniel^  Utrecht,  1888,  and  C.  H.  Cornill, 
Die  siebzig  Jahrwochen  Daniels,  1889;  cf.  Kamphausen's  Vortrag,  p.  32  ff. 

C.  10-12.  A  vision  of  Daniel  in  the  third  year  of  Cyrus,  by 
the  Hiddekel  (the  Tigris).  Daniel  had  fasted  for  2 1  days,  when 
an  angel  appears  to  him,  and  tells  him  that  he  had  been  pre- 
vented from  coming  before  by  the  opposition  of  the  "  prince " 
{i.e.  the  guardian-angel)  of  Persia,  but  being  at  length  assisted  by 
Michael,  the  "prince"  (guardian-angel)  of  the  Jews,  he  had 
been  able  to  do  so,  and  was  now  come  in  order  to  give  Daniel  a 
revelation  concerning  the  future,  lo^'^^.  The  angel  that  speaks 
and  Michael  will  have  a  long  contest  on  behalf  of  Israel,  first 
with  the  "  prince "  (guardian-angel)  of  Persia,  then  with  the 
"prince"  of  Greece,  lo^O-ni.  The  details  of  the  contest  form 
the  subject  of  1 1^-12^.  Here,  under  veiled  names,  are  described, 
first,  briefly,  the  doings  of  four  Persian  kings,  v.  2,  and  of  Alexander 
the  Great  (v.^),  with  the  rupture  of  his  empire  after  his  death 
(v.'*) ;  afterwards,  more  fully,  the  leagues  and  conflicts  between 
the  kings  of  Antioch  ("  the  kings  of  the  north ")  and  of  Egypt 
("the  kings  of  the  south"),  in  the  centuries  following  (v.^--^) ; 
finally,  most  fully  of  all,  the  history  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
(v.2i-'»5),  including  his  conflicts  with  Egypt,  and  the  measures 
adopted  by  him  for  suppressing  the  religion  of  the  Jews  (v.^^^-^^). 
The  death  of  Antiochus  is  followed  by  the  resurrection  (of 
Israelites),  and  advent  of  the  Messianic  age,  \2^-^.     The  revela- 

*  Comp.  the  somewhat  curious  parallels  quoted  by  Schurer,  Gesch.  des 
JUd.   Volkes  im  Zeitalter  Jesu  Christi,  ii.  616  (Engl,  transl.  II.  iii.  p.  54). 

t  See  more  fully  Pusey,  p.  166  ff.;  J.  Drummond,  The  Jewish  Messiah^ 
1877,  p.  243  ff.;  and  comp.  Schultz,  OT.  Theology,  ii.  437  ff. 


DANIEL  497 

tion  is  designed  for  the  encouragement  of  those  Hving  "  in  the 
time  of  the  end,"  i.e.  under  the  persecution  of  Antiochus,* 
12^-13,  tj^e  close  of  which  (v.^^^-)  appears  to  [467]  be  placed 
1290  (or  1335)  d^ys  a-fter  the  suspension  of  the  daily  sacrifice  in 
B.C.  168  (with  12"*  cf.  ii^i  and  8ii- 1^). 

The  allusions  in  1 1'^*  to  the  Ptolemies  and  the  Seleucidae  are  explained 
in  the  Commentaries.  V.^^  the  "captain  "  (RV.  marg.)  is  Lucius  Cornelius 
Scipio,  who  defeated  Antiochus  the  Great  with  severe  loss  at  Magnesia, 
B.C.  190:  v.^  the  **  exactor"  is  Heliodorus  (see  2  Mace.  3),  treasurer  of 
Seleucus  IV.  Philopator.  On  v.^^^-  see  the  Synopsis  above.  Some  of  the 
older  interpreters  supposed  that  at  v.'^  there  was  a  transition  from  Antiochus 
to  the  future  Antichrist.  But  whatever  typical  significance  may  attach  to 
\ht  whole  character  of  Antiochus,  it  can  hardly  be  legitimate,  in  a  continuous 
description,  with  no  apparent  change  of  subject,  to  refer  part  to  the  type  and 
part  to  the  antitype,  f  V.  ■*"■'**  occasion  difficulty.  They  seem  to  describe  a 
fourth  Egyptian  expedition,  on  which,  however,  our  chief  authorities  are 
silent :  several  of  the  other  details  also  do  not  agree  with  what  is  known 
independently  of  the  closing  events  of  Antiochus'  life.  Hence,  many  under- 
stand these  verses  as  giving  a  summary  of  Antiochus'  career,  a  view  not 
favoured  by  their  position  in  the  chapter.  See  Meinhold,  and  Hoffinann, 
pp.  74  flf.  loi  ff.  (who  points  out  that,  in  view  of  a  statement  of  Porphyry's, 
we  are  not  quite  in  a  position  to  deny  a  fourth  expedition  against  Egypt). 
C.  12  is  to  be  taken  in  close  connexion  with  c.  11. 

Authorship  and  date.  In  face  of  the  facts  presented  by  the 
Book  of  Daniel,  the  opinion  that  it  is  the  work  of  Daniel  himself 
cannot  be  sustained.  Internal  evidence  shows,  with  a  cogency 
that  cannot  be  resisted,  that  it  must  have  been  written  not  earlier 
than  c.  300  B.C.,  and  in  Palestine ;  and  it  is  at  least  probable  that 
it  was  composed  under  the  persecution  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
B.C.  168  or  167. 

(i.)  The  following  are  facts  of  a  historical  nature  which 
point  more  or  less  decisively  to  an  author  later  than  Daniel 
himself : — 

(a)  The  position  of  the  Book  in  the  Jewish  Canon,  not  among  the  pro- 
phets, but  in  the  miscellaneous  collection  of  writings  called  the  Hagiographa. 

*  The  "  end "  in  this  Book  (spoken  from  Daniel's  standpoint)  means 
regularly  the  close  of  the  present  age,  the  **  time  of  the  end  "  coinciding 
with  the  persecution — or  in  11^  (upon  one  view)  with  the  entire  reign — of 
Antiochus  :  S^^.  "(  see  v. 23-26)  uss.  40  134.  9.  is  .  cf.  926b  ii46b  The  Messianic 
age  (122*'  &c.)  is  represented  as  beginning  immediately  after  the  death  of 
Antiochus,  the  future  (as  often  in  prophecy)  being  foreshortened  (Delitzsch, 

p.  478f.). 

t  Such  a  transition  is  '*  wholljr^infounded  and  arbitrary"  (Westcott). 


498  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

and  among  the  latest  of  these,  in  proximity  to  Esther.  Though  little  definite 
is  known  respecting  the  formation  of  the  Canon,  the  division  known  as  the 
'*  Prophets  "  was  doubtless  formed  prior  to  the  Hagiographa  ;  *  and  had  the 
Book  of  Daniel  existed  at  the  time,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  it  would 
have  ranked  as  the  work  of  a  prophet,  and  have  been  included  among  the 
former. 

{6)  Jesus,  the  son  of  Sirach  (writing  c.  200  B.C.),  in  his  enumeration  of 
[468]  Israelitish  worthies,  c.  44-50,  though  he  mentions  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel,  and  (collectively)  the  Twelve  Minor  Prophets,  is  silent  as  to  Daniel. 

{c)  That  Nebuchadnezzar  besieged  Jerusalem,  and  carried  away  some  of 
the  sacred  vessels  in  "the  iki'rd  year  of  Jehoiakim  "  (Dan.  i"-),  though  it 
cannot,  strictly  speaking,  be  disproved,  is  highly  improbable  :  not  only  is 
the  Book  of  Kings  silent,  but  Jeremiah,  zn  the  following  year  (c.  25,  &c.: 
see  v.^),  speaks  of  the  Chaldseans  in  a  manner  which  appears  distinctly  to 
imply  that  their  arms  had  not  yet  been  seen  in  Judah. 

(^  The  '*  Chaldoeans"  are  synonymous  in  Dan.  (!■*  2^  &c.)  with  the  caste 
of  wise  men.  This  sense  "is  unknown  to  the  Ass. -Bab.  language,  has, 
wherever  it  occurs,  formed  itself  after  the  end  of  the  Babylonian  empire,  and 
is  thus  an  indication  of  the  post-exilic  composition  of  the  Book  "  (Schrader, 
KAT."^  p.  429).  It  dates,  namely,  from  a  time  when  practically  the  only 
"Chaldaeans"  known  belonged  to  the  caste  in  question  (comp.  Meinhold, 
Beitrdge,  p.  28). 

{e)  Belshazzar  is  represented  as  king  of  Babylon  ;  and  Nebuchadnezzar  is 
spoken  of  throughout  c.  5  {y?-  ^^-  ^^-  ^^'  '^)  as  his  father.  In  point  of  fact, 
Nabonidus  (Nabu-nahid)  was  the  last  king  of  Babylon  ;  he  was  a  usurper,  not 
related  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  one  Belshartiztir  is  mentioned  as  his  son.t 
Belsharuzur's  standing  title  is  the  "king's  son," — something  like  the  "  Crown 
Prince  "  (see  the  contract-tablets  translated  by  Sayce,  Records  of  the  Past, 
second  series,  iii.  125-127).  In  the  Nabu-nahid-Cyrus-chronicle,  now,t  the 
"king's  son" — i.e.  as  may  fairly  be  assumed,  Belsharuzur — is  mentioned 
repeatedly  (in  Nabu-nahid's  7th,  9th,  loth,  and  i  ith  years)  as  being  "  with  the 
nobles  and  the  soldiers  in  the  country  of  Akkad  "  (North  Babylonia)  :  it  thus 
seems  that  he  acted  as  his  father's  general.  In  the  year  in  which  Cyrus 
marched  against  Babylon  (Nabu-nahid's  17th  year),  we  read  (obverse,  line 
14  ff.)  that  on  Tammuz  (June)  14  Sippar  was  taken  without  fighting,  and 
Nabu-nahid  fled;  on  the  i6th  Ugbaru — no  doubt  the  prototype  of  the 
"Assyrian"  Gobryas,  who  is  mentioned  by  Xenophon  in  his  (unhistorical) 
account  of  the  capture  of  Babylon  {Cyrop.  vii.  5.  8,  24-32  ;  cf.  iv.  6,  v.  2, 

*  Cf.  Ryle,  Canon  of  the  OZ:  p.  121  f.  (=  p.  131  f.). 

t  Schrader,  A'^Z'.^  on  Dan.  5^.  The  succession  is:  Nebuchadnezzar, 
B.C.  604-561 ;  Evilmerodach  (Avil-Marduk),  561-559 ;  Neriglissar,  558- 
555  ;  Laborosoarchod  (Labashi-Marduk),  555  (9  months)  ;  Nabu-nahid,  555- 
538.  Nabu-nahid  names  as  his  father  Nabfi-balatsu-ikbi  {KB.  iii.  2,  pp.  97, 
119,  121). 

J  Schrader,  KB.  iii.  2,  p.  I28fif.;  more  exactly  Hagen  in  Delitzsch  and 
Haupt's  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie,  ii.  (1891),  p.  215  ff.  (The  translation  in 
Records  of  the  Past,  ib.  v.  158  ff.,  is  in  many  respects  antiquated.) 


DANIEL  499 

viii.  4) — governor  of  Gutium,*  and  the  troops  of  Cyrus,  "entered  Babylon 
without  fighting,"  after  which  Nabu-nahid  was  taken  prisoner  in  Babylon. 
The  soldiers  of  Gutium  guarded  the  great  temple  of  Esakkil.  On  the  3rd  of 
Marchesvan  (October)  Cyrus  entered  Babylon,  and  proclaimed  peace  to  the 
inhabitants;  and  Gubaru  appointed  governors  in  the  city.  On  the  nth  of 
the  same  month  during  the  night  '*ging  Gubaru  drauflos  (?)  und  todtet  den 
Sohn  (?)  des  Konigs."t  From  the  27th  of  Adar  (Feb.)  to  the  3rd  of  Nisan 
(March)  the  people  publicly  lamented,  &c.  The  inscriptions  thus  lend  no 
support  to  the  hypothesis  that  Belsharuzur  was  his  father's  viceroy,  or  was 
entitled  to  be  spoken  of  as  *'  king  "  :  according  to  the  best  accredited  reading 
of  the  passage  just  quoted,  he  was  called  "  the  king's  son  "  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  Further,  when  the  Persians  (as  the  same  inscription  shows)  had  been 
in  peaceable  possession  of  Babylon  for  four  months^  how  could  Belshazzar, 
even  supposing  (what  is  not  in  itself  inconceivable)  that  he  still  held  out  in 
the  palace,  and  was  slain  afterwards  in  attempting  to  defend  it,  promise,  and 
dispense  (5'*  ^'-  ^),  honours  in  his  kingdom,  and  what  need  could  there  be 
for  the  solemn  announcement  (5^*'^),  as  of  something  new  and  unexpected, 
that  his  (or  his  father's)  kingdom  was  to  be  given  to  the  Medes  and  Persians, 
when  it  must  have  been  patent  to  every  one  that  they  were  already  in  posses- 
sion of  it?  As  regards  Belshazzar's  relationship  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  there 
remains  the  possibility  that  Nabu-nahid  may  have  sought  to  strengthen  his 
position  by  marrying  a  daughter  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  which  case  the  latter 
might  be  spoken  of  as  Belshazzar's  father  ( =  grandfather,  by  Hebrew  usage). 
The  terms  of  c.  5,  however,  produce  certainly  the  impression  that,  in  the 
view  of  the  writer,  Belshazzar  was  actually  Neb.'s  son.  The  historical  pre- 
suppositions of  Dan.  5  are  inconsistent  with  the  evidence  of  the  contemporary 
monuments.  Belshazzar  may  have  distinguished  himself,  perhaps  more  than 
his  father  Nabu-nahid,  at  the  time  when  Babylon  passed  into  the  power  of 
the  Persians  ;  and  hence  in  the  recollections  of  a  later  age  he  may  have  been 
pictured  as  its  last  king :  but  he  was  not  styled  "  king "  by  his  contem- 
poraries (cf.  Schrader  on  Dan.  5^-  \ 

(/)  Darius,  son  of  Ahasuerus — elsewhere  the  Heb.  form  of  Xerxes  (Pers. 
Khshayarshd), — a  Mede^  after  the  death  of  Belshazzar,  is  "made  king  over 
the  realm  of  the  Chaldaeans  "  (5^^  6^^-  9^  11^).  There  seems  to  be  no  room 
for  such  a  ruler.  According  to  all  other  authorities,  Cyrus  is  the  immediate 
successor  of  Nabu-nahid,  J  and  the  ruler  of  the  entire  Persian  empire.  It  has 
been  conjectured  that  Darius  may  have  been  an  under-king — perhaps  either 

*  Probably  the  region  N.  of  Babylonia,  between  the  upper  Adhem  and  the 
Dijala  (Delitzsch,  Paradies,  p.  234). 

t  So  Hagen,  Pinches  {now),  and  Delitzsch.  The  tablet  is  slightly 
mutilated.  Schrader  also  agrees  now  that  this  reading  is  probable.  See 
Hagen,  pp.  247,  256 ;  and  Whitehouse,  Critical  Review,  Apr.  1893,  p.  136. 

X  This  is  particularly  clear  from  the  contract-tablets,  which,  bearing  date 
at  this  period  almost  continuously,  pass  from  10  Marchesvan,  in  the  17th 
year  of  Nabu-nahid,  to  the  24th  of  the  same  month  in  the  accession-year  of 
Cyrus  (Sayce,  Monuments,  pp.  522  f.,  528  ;  Strassmaier,  Bab,  Texte,  i.  1887, 
p.  25,  vii.  1890,  p.  i).  • 


500  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

identical  with  the  Cyaxares  IL  of  Xenophon,  or  a  younger  brother  of 
Astyages — whom  Cyrus  may  have  made  governor  of  [469]  Babylon.  In  6^, 
however,  where  he  organizes  the  empire  in  120  satrapies,  and  in  6-^,  he 
seems  to  be  represented  as  absolute  ruler  of  the  Babylonian  empire,  without 
any  such  limitation  to  his  jurisdiction.  And  in  6^  the  temptation  to  suspect  a 
confusion  with  Darius  Hystaspis — who  actually  organized  the  Persian  empire 
into  "satrapies,"  though  much  fewer  than  120* — is  strong.  Tradition,  it 
can  hardly  be  doubted,  has  here  confused  persons  and  events  in  reality  distinct 
(Behrm.  p.  xix) :  "Darius  the  Mede"  must  be  a  reflection  into  the  past  of 
Darius  Hystaspis,  father — not  son — of  Xerxes,  who  had  to  reconquer  Babylon 
in  B.C.  521,  and  again  in  515,  and  who  established  the  system  of  satrapies, 
combined,  not  impossibly,  with  indistinct  recollections  of  Gubaru  (or 
Ugbaru),  who  first  occupied  Babylon  on  Cyrus'  behalf,  and  who,  in  appoint- 
ing governors  there  (see  the  inscription  cited  under  ^),  appears  to  have  acted 
as  Cyrus'  deputy,  f 

{g)  In  9^  it  is  stated  that  Daniel  "  understood  by  the  books  (onssDn)  "  the 
number  of  years  for  which,  according  to  Jeremiah,  Jerusalem  should  lie  waste. 
The  expression  used  implies  that  the  prophecies  of  Jeremiah  formed  part  of  a 
collection  of  sacred  books,  which  nevertheless,  it  may  safely  be  affirmed,  was 
not  formed  in  536  B.C. 

{h)  Other  indications  adduced  to  show  that  the  Book  is  not  the  work  of  a 
contemporary,  are  such  as  the  following  : — The  improbability  that  Daniel,  a 
strict  Jew,  should  have  suffered  himself  to  be  initiated  into  the  class  of 
Chaldsean  "  wise  men,"  or  should  have  been  admitted  by  the  wise  men 
themselves  (c.  i;  cf.  2^^) ;  Nebuchadnezzar's  7  years'  insanity  ("lycan- 
thropy "),  with  his  edict  respecting  it ;  the  absolute  terms  in  which  both 
he  and  Darius  (4^*^-  ^"^  (y^^'"^)^  while  retaining,  so  far  as  appears,  their 
idolatry,  recognise  the  supremacy  of  the  God  of  Daniel,  and  command 
homage  to  be  done  to  Him.  On  these  and  some  other  similar  considerations 
our  knowledge  is  hardly  such  as  to  give  us  an  objective  criterion  Yor  estimat- 
ing their  cogency.  The  circumstances  alleged  will  appear  improbable  or  not 
improbable,  according  as  the  critic,  upon  independent  grounds,  has  satisfied 
himself  that  the  Book  is  the  work  of  a  later  author,  or  written  by  Daniel 
himself.  It  would  be  hazardous  to  use  the  statements  in  question  in  proof  oi 
the  late  date  of  the  Book  ;  though,  if  its  late  date  were  established  on  other 
grounds,  it  would  be  not  unnatural  to  regard  some  of  them  as  involving  an 
exaggeration  of  the  actual  fact. 

Of  the  arguments  that  have  here  been  briefly  stated,  v^rhile 

*  Herodotus  (iii.  89)  gives  the  number  as  20  ;  the  Behistun  Inscription  (col. 
I,  par.  6)  enumerates  23  ;  the  later  (sepulchral)  Inscription  of  Naksh-i-Rushtan 
(1.   7-19),  29. 

t  Comp.  Sayce,  Monuments^  pp.  524-537,  who  also  shows  that  the 
representations  in  the  Book  of  Daniel  are  inconsistent  with  the  testimony  of 
the  inscriptions,  and  considers  that  the  aim  of  the  author  was  not  to  write 
history,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  but  to  construct,  upon  a  historical 
basis,  though  regardless  of  the  facts  as  they  actually  occurred,  edifying 
religious  narratives  (or  "  Haggadah  "). 


DANIEL  501 

h  should  be  used  with  reserve,  the  rest  all  possess  weight. 
They  do  not,  however,  except  b  (which,  standing  alone,  it  would 
be  hazardous  to  press),  show  positively  that  the  Book  is  a  work 
of  the  2nd  cent.  B.C. ;  they  only  tend  to  show  that  it  reflects  the 
traditions,  and  historical  impressions,  of  an  age  considerably 
later  than  that  of  Daniel  himself. 

(2.)  The  evidence  of  the  language  of  Daniel  must  next  be 
considered. 

{a)  The  number  of  Persian  words  "*  in  the  Book  (especially 
in  [470]  the  Aramaic  part)  is  remarkable.  That  such  words 
should  be  found  in  books  written  after  the  Persian  empire  was 
organized,  and  when  Persian  influences  prevailed,  is  not  more 
than  would  be  expected ;  several  occur  in  Ezr.  Neh.  Est.  Chr., 
and  many  were  permanently  naturalised  in  Aramaic  (both  Syriac 
and  the  Aramaic  of  the  Targums) ;  but  that  they  should  be  used 
as  a  matter  of  course  by  Daniel  under  the  Babylonian  supre- 
macy, or  in  the  description  of  Babylonian  institutions  before  the 
conquest  of  Cyrus,  is  surprising.! 

ip)  Not  only,  however,  does  Daniel  contain  Persian  words,  it 

*  Probably  at  least  15  :  viz.  D'Dnna  (p.  506)  ;  iins  portion  of  food,  dainty  ; 
ni]n  certainly  (Noldeke,  in  Schrader,  KAT?  p.  617)  ;  mn  limb;  m  law, 
n  secret  (Gesenius-Buhl,  s.v. ;  Noldeke,  Mand.  Gramin,  p.  xxxi)  ;  I^^^^'^K 
satrap  ;  nunnx  counsellor  (Noldeke,  Tabari,  p.  462) ;  'OX\'\  law-bearer,  judge  ; 
|T  kind  (Nold.  Syr.  Gr.  §  146)  ;  DJns  message,  order,  and  even  in  the  weakened 
sense  of  word ;  nmn  lawyer;  "OO  president ;  ]ii  holder,  sheath,  7^^  (Nold. 
GGA.  1884,  p.  1022, — unless,  indeed,  nj'i  pj?  is  to  be  read,  with  Marti  and 
Buhl) ;  pSK  (p.  507) ;  cf.  also  N33'Dn,  t\^\:iz,  '?31ci,  K'nsn,  in  the  Glossary  in 
Marti's  Granim.  der  Bibl.-Aram.  Sprache  (1896) ;  nana  3^'  ^  is  uncertain  ;  it 
may  be  a  textual  corruption,  or  a  faulty  pronunciation,  of  the  Persian  naia 
treasurer  (as  in  Ezr.)  ;  it  may  have  arisen  by  dittography  from  the  following 
"inm,  as  Lagarde,  Agathatigelus,  p.  158,  supposes  ;  LXX  and  Theod.  express 
in  3^'  *  only  seven  titles  of  officers.  Some  of  these  describe  offices  or  institu- 
tions, and  are  not  found  elsewhere,  or  only  in  Ezr.  Neh.  Est.;  others  (as 
DJn£3,  n,  Din)  are  used  exactly  as  in  the  later  Aramaic,  and  are  of  a  kind  that 
would  not  be  borrowed  by  one  people  from  another  unless  intercourse 
between  them  had  subsisted  for  a  considerable  time.  The  argument  is 
confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  the  Inscriptions.  The  numerous  contract- 
tablets  which  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  age  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  his 
successors,  and  which  represent  the  everyday  language  of  commercial  life, 
show  no  traces  of  Persian  influence  :  and  if  the  language  of  Babylonia  was 
uninfluenced  by  Persia,  that  of  Israel  would  be  far  less  likely  to  be  so 
influenced  (Sayce,  Monuments ^  p.  493  f. ). 

t  The  same  point  is  urged  by  Meinhold,  Beitrage,  pp.  30-32.  The  words 
cannot  be  Semitic,  as  the  Speaker'4  Comm.  (in  some  cases)  seeks  to  show. 


502  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

contains  at  least  three  Greek  words :  Din^p  kJtharos,  3^-  7-  ^^'  ^^ 
=  KiOapKi ;  p-lDJDD  psantertn,  s^-  7  (p-|t23DS)  10. 15  ^  ^j^aXryjpLov ;  * 
n^3DD1D  swnpdnydhy  '^-'^^  (AV.  dulcimer)  =  o-r/x<^a)j'ta.t  What- 
ever may  be  the  case  with  Kt^api?,  it  is  incredible  that  ij/aXTrjpLov 
and  a-vfitfuovLa  can  have  reached  Babylon  ^.550  b.c.  Any  one 
who  has  studied  Greek  history  knows  what  the  condition  of  the 
Greek  world  was  in  that  century,  and  is  aware  that  the  arts  and 
inventions  of  civilized  life  streamed  then  into  Greece  from  the 
East,  not  from  Greece  eastwards.^  Still,  if  the  instruments 
named  were  of  a  primitive  kind,  such  as  the  [471]  KtOapi^  (in 
Homer),  it  is  Jrist  possible  that  it  might  be  an  exception  to  the 
rule,  and  that  the  Babylonians  might  have  been  indebted  for 
their  knowledge  of  it  to  the  Greeks ;  so  that,  had  Dinv  stood 
alone,  it  could  not,  perhaps,  have  been  pressed.  But  no  such 
exception  can  be  made  in  the  case  of  ij/aXTrjpLov  and  o-v/x^wi/ta, 
both  derived  forms,  the  former  used  first  by  Aristotle,  the  latter 
first  by  Plato,  and  in  the  sense  of  concerted  music  (or,  possibly, 
of  a  specific  musical  instrument)  first  by  Polybius.§  These 
words,  it  may  be  confidently  affirmed,  could  not  have  been 
used  in  the  Book  of  Daniel  unless  it  had  been  written  after  the 
dissemination  of  Greek  influences  in  Asia  through  the  conquests  of 
Alexander  the  Great.\\ 

(c)  The  Aramaic  of  Daniel  (which  is  all  but  identical  with  that 

*  -ioj'  =  p-,  as  in  Sanhedrm^=z(Tvvidpiov,  |msiSN  =  y7ro7r65to»',  &c. 

t  Cf.  in  New  Heb.  n^jsoiD  and  psD^D  (see  Levy's  Neuhebr.  Worterb. ), 
double  fiute.  The  form  .tjiS'D  in  3^^*  is  remarkably  illustrated  by  p£D  = 
<xilji,<j><j}voL,  in  the  sense  agreed,  in  the  great  bilingual  inscription  from  Palmyra 
of  A.D.  137  :  ZDMG.  1883,  p.  569  ;  1888,  p.  412  (cf.  the  New  Heb.  pSD'D, 
i.e.  aitJL<f>u}vov,  agreement).  Behrmann  (p.  ixf.),  very  needlessly,  has  recourse 
to  an  imaginary  CKpibyia. 

X  Comp.  Sayce  in  the  Contemp.  Review,  Dec.  1878,  p.  60  ff. 

§  And  singularly  enough,  in  his  account  of  the  festivities  in  which 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  indulged  (26.  10,  5  ;  31.  4,  8).  The  context  does  not 
make  it  certain  that  an  instrument  is  denoted  ;  though  in  the  light  of  the 
fact  that  the  word  undoubtedly  appears  with  that  sense  afterwards  (see 
Du  Cange,  s.v.  symphonia),  and  of  the  usage  in  Daniel,  that  is  very 
probable. 

II  The  note  on  these  words  in  the  Speaker's  Coinm.  (p.  281  fif.)  throws 
dust  in  the  reader's  eyes.  None  of  them  can  be  Semitic.  Meier's  attempted 
derivation  of  n'3i3DiD  from  f|1D  is  not  possible  :  even  granting  that  a  musical  pipe 
could  be  constructed  out  of  the  marine  or  fluvial  growth  which  the  Hebrews 
called  qiD  (see  Dillm.  on  Ex.  13^^)^  -j^ju^q  ^nd  .tjsoid  would  both  be  forma- 
tions philologically  illegitimate,  whether  in  Heb.  or  Aram. 


DANIEL  503 

of  Ezra)  is  a  Western  Aramaic  dialect,  of  the  type  spoken  in  and 
about  Falestine*  It  is  nearly  allied  to  the  Aramaic  of  the 
Targums  of  Onkelos  and  Jonathan;  and  still  more  so  to  the 
Aramaic  dialects  spoken  E,  and  SE.  of  Palestine,  in  Palmyra  and 
[472]  Nabataea,  and  known  from  inscriptions  dating  from  the  3rd 
cent.  B.C.  to  the  2nd  cent.  a.d.  In  some  respects  it  is  of  an 
earlier  type  than  the  Aramaic  of  Onkelos  and  Jonathan;  and 
this  fact  was  formerly  supposed  to  be  a  ground  for  the  antiquity 
of  the  Book.  But  the  argument  is  not  conclusive.  For  (i)  the 
differences  are  not  considerable,!  and  largely  orthographical : 
the  Targums  of  Onkelos  and  Jonathan  did  not  probably  receive 
their  present  form  before  the  4th  cent.  a.d.  :  |  and  we  are  not  in 
a  position  to  affirm  that  the  transition  from  the  Aramaic  of  Dan. 
and  Ezra  to  that  of  the  Targums  must  have  required  8-9 
centuries,  and  could  not  have  been  accomplished  in  4-5  ;  (2) 
recently  discovered  inscriptions  have  shown  that  many  of  the 
forms  in  which  it  differs  from  the  Aramaic  of  the   Targums 

*  Noldeke,  Encyd.  Brit.^  xxi.  647M*=Z>/<?  Seinit.  Sprachen  (1887),  PP- 
30,  32.  The  idea  that  the  Jews  forgot  their  Hebrew  in  Babylonia,  and  spoke 
in  "Chaldee"  when  they  returned  to  Palestine,  is  unfounded.  Haggai  and 
Zechariah  and  other  post-exilic  writers  use  Hebrew  :  Aramaic  is  exceptional. 
Hebrew  was  still  normally  spoken  c.  430  B.C.  in  Jerusalem  (Neh.  132^). 
The  Hebrews,  after  the  Captivity,  acquired  gradually  the  use  of  Aramaic/r^;« 
their  neighbours  in  and  about  Palestine.  See  Noldeke,  ZDMG.  1871,  p. 
129  f.  ;  Kautzsch,  Gramm.  des  Bibl.  Aram.  §  6  ;  Wright,  Compar.  Gramm.  of 
the  Semitic  Languages  [\Z^o),  p.  16:  "Now  do  not  for  a  moment  suppose 
that  the  Jews  lost  the  use  of  Hebrew  in  the  Babylonian  captivity,  and 
brought  back  with  them  into  Palestine  this  so-called  Chaldee.  The  Aramean 
dialect,  which  gradually  got  the  upper  hand  since  5-4  cent.  B.c^,  did  not 
come  that  long  journey  across  the  Syrian  desert ;  it  was  there^  on  the  spot ; 
and  it  ended  by  taking  possession  of  the  field,  side  by  side  with  the  kindred 
dialect  of  the  Samaritans."  The  term  "Chaldee"  for  the  Aramaic  of  ether 
the  Bible  or  the  Targums  is  a  misnomer,  the  use  of  which  is  only  a  source  of 
confusion. 

t  They  are  carefully  collected  (on  the  basis,  largely,  of  M 'Gill's  investiga- 
tions) by  Dr.  Pusey,  Daniel,  ed.  2,  pp.  45  ff. ,  602  ff.  (an  interesting  lexical 
point  is  that  the  vocabulary  agrees  sometimes  with  Syriac  against  the  Tar- 
gums). But  when  all  are  told,  the  differences  are  far  outweighed  by  the 
resemblances  ;  so  that  relatively  they  cannot  be  termed  important  or  consider- 
able. (The  amount  of  difference  is  much  exaggerated  in  the  Speaker's  Comm. 
p.  228.  The  statement  in  the  text  agrees  with  the  judgment  of  Noldeke,  I.e. 
p.  648^) 

:J:  Deutsch  in  Smith's  DB.  iii.  1644,  1652  ;  Volck  in  Herzog,^  xv.  366, 
370.    Cf.  Dalman,  Gramm.  desJfid.-Pal.  Aravidisch,  pp.  9, 1 1  (5th  cent.  A.D.). 


504  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

were  actually  in  use  in  neighbouring  countries  down  to  the  isi 
cent.  A,D* 

Thus  the  final  n  (for  «)  in  verbs  n"h,  and  in  njK,  no,  mn,  &c.,  occurs 
often  in  Nab. ;  the  Hofal,  and  (probably)  the  passive  of  Pe'al,  in  the  Palm. 
Tariff  (Sachau,  ZDMG.  1883,  p.  564  f.  ;  Wright,  Comp.  Gr.  p.  224  f.  ;  cf. 
Dalman,  p.  202  note) ;  note  also  m'3y  was  made  in  the  Madabah  Inscr.  ;  the 
N  in  the  impf.  of  verbs  k"*?  (not  changed  to  ')  repeatedly  in  Nab.  and  the 
Tariff;  Njxno  (with  n)  Dan.  d^^-  21  Kt.,  Nab.  48  27^3;  ^n'N  (Tg.  n>N)  Nab.  3' 
4'  &c.  ;  n  (Tg.  n)  and  njn  (Tg.  jn),  both  regularly  in  Palm.  Nab.  ;  t^i^N  Dan. 
4"-  ^''  Kt. ,  as  Nab.  2'  (f-  ^  &c.  ;  J  retained  in  the  impf.  of  verbs  3"d,  Nab. 
2^  par,  2"  inr,  3^  &c.  ;  the  3  pi.  pf.  fern,  in  v,  as  Dan.  5^  72"  Kt. ,  Nab.  3^  8^ 
For  the  suff.  of  3  ps.  pi.,  Nab.  has  Din-  (the  more  original  form).  Palm. 
\\r\.;  Dan.  agrees  here  with  Palm.,  Jer.  10"  with  Nab.;  Ezr.  has  both 
forms. 

It  is  remarkable  that,  to  judge  from  the  uniform  usage  of  the  inscriptions 
from  Nineveh,  Babylon,  Tema,  Egypt,  and  even  Cilicia,t  at  present  known, 
in  the  Aramaic  used  officially  (cf.  p.  255  ;  Isa.  36^^)  in  the  Assyrian  and 
Persian  empires,  [473]  the  relative  was  m,:J:  not,  as  in  Dan.  Ezr.,  and  Aram, 
generally,  'i  (n).  See  the  Corp.  Inscr.  Sent.  Pars  II.  Tom.  i.  passim  (from 
c.  725  to  the  5th  cent.  B.C.;  Nos.  65,  B.C.  504,  69-71,  B.C.  418,  407,  408, 
being  contract-tablets  from  Babylon) ;  and  the  seal  in  Levy,  Phon.  Studien, 
ii.  24.     njT  and  NT  (not  nn,  ni)  are  found  also  in  the  same  inscriptions. 

The  difference  just  noted  certainly  constitutes  an  argument  against  the 
opinion  that  the  Aramaic  of  Daniel  was  that  spoken  at  Babylon  in  Daniel's 
age.  Its  character  in  other  respects  (apart  from  the  Persian  and  Greek  words 
which  it  contains)  cannot  be  said  to  lead  to  any  definite  result.  Its  resem- 
blance with  the  Aramaic  of  Ezra  (probably  c.  400  B.C.)  does  not  prove  it  to 
be  contemporary ;  but  at  present  we  possess  no  independent  evidence  show- 
ing actually  how  long  afterwards  such  a  dialect  continued  in  use.  The 
discovery  of  fresh  inscriptions  may  enable  us  in  the  future  to  speak  more 
positively. 

id)  In  order  properly  to  estimate  the  Hebrew  of  Daniel,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  great  turning-point  in  Hebrew 

*  See  (chiefly)  De  Vogue,  La  Syrie  Centrale  (1868),  with  inscriptions  from 
Palmyra,  mostly  from  1-3  cent.  A.D.  ;  ZDMG.  1888,  370  ff.,  the  bilingual 
Tariff  of  tolls  from  Palmyra,  of  A.D.  137;  Euting,  Nabatdische  Inschi-iften 
(1885),  with  inscriptions  (largely  of  the  reign  of  nmn='Ap^ras,  2  Cor.  ii^^) 
from  B.C.  9  to  A.D.  75,  and  the  Z.  f.  Assyriol.  1890,  p.  290  (a  Nabataean 
inscription  from  Madabah  in  Moab,  of  the  46th  year  of  Aretas,  kindly 
pointed  out  to  the  writer  by  Prof,  Noldeke,  now  also  to  be  found  in  the  CIS. 
II.  i.  No.  196). 

t  See  the  interesting  inscription  on  certain  coins  of  the  satrap  Mazoeus 
(362-328  B.C.)  l'?m  Nnnj  -i3y  •?!;  m  niD  (i'?n  =  KiXtK:/a) :  Halevy,  Mel.  d'Epigy. 
Sem.  1874,  pp.  65,  67  ;  Six,  Ntimismatic  Chronicle,  1884,  pp.  97  f.,  130. 

ij:  So  also  in  the  Zinjirli  inscriptions  (above,  p.  255«.):  see  D.  H. 
Miiller,  I.e.  p.  56. 


DANIEL  505 

style  falls  in  the  age  oi  Nehemiah.'''  The  purest  and  best  Hebrew 
prose  style  is  that  of  JE  and  the  earlier  narratives  incorporated 
in  Jud.  Sam.  Kings :  Dt.  (though  of  a  different  type)  is  also 
thoroughly  classical :  Jer.,  the  latter  part  of  Kings,  Ezekiel, 
II  Isaiah,  Haggai,  show  (though  not  all  in  the  same  respects  or 
in  the  same  degree)  slight  signs  of  being  later  than  the  writings 
first  mentioned ;  but  in  the  "  memoirs "  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah 
{ue,  the  parts  of  Ezra  and  Neh.  which  are  the  work  of  these 
reformers  themselves,  see  p.  544),  and  (in  a  less  degree)  in  the 
contemporary  prophecy  of  Malachi,  a  more  marked  change  is 
beginning  to  show  itself,  which  is  still  more  palpable  in  the 
Chronicles  {c.  300  B.C.),  Esther,  and  Ecclesiastes.  The  change 
is  visible  in  both  vocabulary  and  syntax.  In  vocabulary  many 
new  words  appear,  often  of  Aramaic  origin,  occasionally  Persian, 
and  frequently  such  as  continued  in  use  afterwards  in  the  "  New 
Hebrew"  of  the  Mishnah  (200  a.d.),  &c.  ;  old  words  also  are 
sometimes  used  with  new  meanings  or  applications.  In  syntax, 
the  ease  and  grace  and  fluency  of  the  earlier  writers  (down  to  at 
least  Zech.  12-14)  t^^s  passed  away  ;t  the  style  is  often  laboured 
and  inelegant :  sentences  constantly  occur  which  a  pre-exilic,  or 
even  an  early  post-exilic  writer,  would  [474]  have  moulded 
differently :  new  and  uncouth  constructions  make  their  appear- 
ance. J  The  three  books  named  do  not^  however,  exhibit  these 
peculiarities  in  equal  proportions :  Ecclesiastes  (p.  474)  has  the 
most  striking  Mishnic  idioms :  the  Chronicler  (p.  535  ff.)  has 
many  peculiarities  of  his  own,  and  may  be  said  to  show  the 
greatest  uncouthness  of  style ;  but  they  agree  in  the  possession 
of  many  common  (or  similar)  features,  which  differentiate  them 

*  And  not,  as  is  sometimes  supposed,  the  Captivity.  This  appears  with 
especial  clearness  from  Zech. ,  the  style  of  which,  even  in  the  parts  which  are 
certainly  post-exilic,  is  singularly  pure.  The  diction  of  Zech.  12-14,  fo>^ 
instance,  very  much  resembles  that  of  Amos  ;  and  has  fewer  expressions 
suggestive  of  lateness  than  even  Joel  or  Ruth,  or  the  prose  parts  of  Job. 

t  This  judgment  is  meant  generally  :  partictdar  sentences  still  occur,  which 
are  thoroughly  classical  in  style. 

X  Another  feature  often  observable  in  Hebrew  of  the  same  age  is  the 
frequent  occurrence  in  it  of  a  word  or  construction  which  occurs  only  excep- 
tionally in  the  earlier  Hebrew.  The  characteristics  noted  in  the  text  do  not, 
however,  belong  to  the  syntax  of  "  New  Hebrew,"  properly  so  called.  This, 
though  different  (in  many  particulars)  from  that  of  the  old  classical  Hebrew, 
has  an  ease  and  naturalness  of  its  own,  which  is  not  shown  by  Hebrew  of  the 
intermediate  stage  (Chr.  Eccl.  Bit.  Dan.). 


5o6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

from  all  previous  Hebrew  writers  (including  Zech.  Hagg.  Mai.), 
and  which  recur  in  them  with  decidedly  greater  frequency  and 
prominence  than  in  the  memoirs  of  Ezr.  and  Neh.  And  the 
Hebrew  of  Daniel  is  of  the  type  just  characterized :  in  all  dis- 
tinctive features  it  resembles,  not  the  Hebrew  of  Ezekiel,  or 
even  of  Haggai  or  Zechariah,  but  that  of  the  age  subsequent  to 
Nehemiah. 

The  following  list  of  words  and  idioms  in  Daniel,  though  it 
does  not  contain  all  that  might  be  adduced,  may  be  sufficient  to 
substantiate  this  statement : — 

1.  ni3'?D  ji-  20  2^  81-  22.  23  9I  1013  ii2.  4.  9. 17.  21^  ^s  rcgukrly  in  Ezr.  Chr. 

Est.  (see  p.  536,  No.  9).  The  phrase  in  i^  2^  8^  .  .  .  vrhv  n3«P3 
ni3'?D'?,  as  I  Ch.  26^1,  2  Ch.  1510-  is  \Q^  3519 :  the  earlier  language, 
in  similar  sentences  (Kings,  passim),  dispenses  with  ni3'?D. 

2.  ni'pD   i^-^=some  of,   where  older  Hebrew  would  use  simply  JD ;   a 

common  Rabbinical  idiom.  Elsewhere  in  the  OT.  only  Neh.  7*^"^ 
in  a  verse  to  which  nothing  corresponds  in  Ezr.  2,  and  which  there 
are  independent  reasons  (Stade,  Gesch.  ii.  108)  for  supposing  not  to 
be  part  of  the  original  document. 

3.  '"?  "iDK  i^'  ^^  2^= to  command  to  .  .  .,  where  the  older  language  would 

prefer  the  direct  narration:   i    Ch.    13^   15^^  21^^  [contrast  2  Sa. 

24llb-12a]    222,   2  Ch.    143  2921l>.  27.  30  314.  11  3316^  ^gh.  8^  91^,  Est.    l" 

4.  D'DmD  riod/es  (lit.  Jirst  ones)  i^  Est.  13  6^1.     Persian  {Zend  fratema, 

Sk.  prathema  =  irpLoros). 

5.  inn  knowledge  i^-  ",  2  Ch.  ii*^-  "•  12,  Eccl.  lo^"  \.     Aramaic. 

6.  n)p  to  appoint  i^-  ^"-  ",  i  Ch.  92^.     The  earlier  language  would  use 

ms  or  Tpsn.  Elsewhere  in  Heb.  only  Ps.  6i^  Job  7^  Jon.  2} 
46.  7.  8  (p^  322).  Common  in  Aramaic. 
[475]  7-  i"'  ^^"  ^^'  ^^  9^'  '^'  ^  12^2,  the  numeral  after  the  subst.,  as  con- 
stantly in  Chr.  (sometimes  even  altered  from  Kgs.),  Ezr.  &c.  Very 
rare  in  earlier  Heb.,  except  in  enumerations,  where  different  objects 
have  to  be  contrasted,  as  Gen.  32^^^-. 

8.  no*?  'wvt.  =  lest  \^^\.     Not  properly  Hebrew  at  all :  see  p.  475  n. 

9.  3;n  to  inculpate  \^^\.     Aram.  {3\»n,  *£lj_*j)  and  Talm. 

10.  ^'3  a^^e  i^^f.     Also  in  Samaritan  and  Talmudic. 

11.  i2i  8^  the  order  ■i'?Dn  B'niD.     So  often  in  post-exilic  writings.     The 

older  Heb.  has  nearly  always  the  order  (nn)  i'?Dn :  cf.  Notes  on 
Samuel,  p.  236. 

12.  88*'  .  .  .  iD2£yDi,  8^8  _  ,  nmm:  similarly  lo^b-  "b.  15.  i9b  ii2.  4  igVb, 

A  type  of  sentence  common  in  Chr. ,  very  rare  earlier  (see  ib.  on 
I  Sa.  1755 ;  and  below,  p.  538,  No.  37). 

13.  TDnn  8"- ^2.  13  jjsi  j2ii|  of  the  continual  Burnt-offering,  as  in  the 

Mishnah,  &c.,  constantly.  In  the  older  Heb.  the  full  phrase 
TDnn  nSiy  is  always  used,  Nu.  28^**  &c.,  Neh.  lO'H 


DANIEL  507 

14.  {T'^i!)  nay  h]}  lit.  on  my  {thy)  standing  ^^  {ci.  v.")  10",  Neh.  8' 9^ 

13",  2  Ch.  3oi«  34«i  35^^. 

15.  ni;3J  to  be  afraid  (not  the  ordinary  word)  8^^   I  Ch.  21*",  Est.  7'. 

nyi  in  the  iVi/".  occurs  only  in  these  passages. 
,'ywi6.  loy  /^  j/awa?  «/,  where  the  earlier  language  would  use  Dip,  322.23 
V  ii2-4.  7.20f.  81  i2ia  (prob.  also  12^%  as  Ezr.  2«3,  Eccl.  4«  (contrast 

Ex.   \\   I  Ch.  20*  (contrast  Ps.  272):  with  Sv  against  ^'^  li^*,  as 
I  Ch.  21^,  2  Ch.  2o23  26^8  (contrast  Dt.  22^6) :  in  the  sense  oito  be 
established  ii"b  (contrast  Isa.  7').     Cf.  Sir.  471- 12. 
\y\/y  17.  '73X  lo*^-  21  with  an  adversative  force,  as  Ezr.  10^',  2  Ch.  i^  19^  33". 
Not  so  elsewhere. 

18.  na  y^)3  to  control  power = to  be  able  lo^-  ^^  11^,  i  Ch.  29^^,  2  Ch.  2^ 

1320  22*  ;  and  without  na  14^*  20^f .     A  somewhat  peculiar  phrase. 

19.  TDK  he-goat  85-  8.  21^  Ezr.  6"  (Aram.)  8*5,  2  Ch.  29211.     Aramaic  :  in 

the  Targums  for  the  Heb.  "VW. 

20.  DtyT  to  inscribe  lo^^.     Only  here  in  Biblical  Hebrew.     Aramaic. 

21.  Toyn  11^^-  ^^-  ^S  not  lit.  /^  station^  as  in  the  earlier  books,  but  in  the 

weakened  sense  appoint^  establish  :  see  p.  535,  No.  4. 

22.  f]pn  strength  ii",  Est.  9^8  lo^.     Not  elsewhere  in  Biblical  Hebrew. 

Aramaic.     Comp.  p.  475,  Nos.  24  and  14. 

23.  r^\-y  prey  \\^^,  Ezr.  9',  Neh.  f^.  Est.  9^°- 1^.  w  2  Ch.  14^8  2513  2.%^^^. 

The  older  language  uses  n  (Ezek.  often). 

24.  \\tx^ palace  ii^t-     A  Persian  word.     Also  in  Syr.  and  the  Targ. 

25.  Tnin  /<?  j^/«g  12^     So  only  here.     An  Aramaic  sense.     Cf.  Sir.  43'. 

Comp.  also  y'B'nn  intrans.  9^  11^  12^",  Neh.  9^,  Ps.  io6^  2  Ch.  20^  22', 
Job  3412  (Elihu)t ;  ^  n"?  jna  1012,  i  Ch.  1219,  2  Ch.  iiie,  Eccl.  i^^- 17  721  39.  le  . 
TH  10",  I  Ch.  13121;  [476]  oy  pmnn  lo^i,  i  Ch.  ii^o,  2  Ch.  i69 ;  p'lnn 
intrans.  ii'-  ^a,  2  Ch.  26^1  ;  the  //z/ra/  niK"?!}  12",  Ps.  119^291  (^f.  Sir.  4325). 
nnn  92^]"  /<?  decree  is  a  Talmudic  term.     See  also  p.  535,  No.  4,  p.  553«. 

For  instances  of  sentences  constructed  in  the  later,  uncouth  style,  see  8i2ff. 
24ff.  ^25ff.  io9b  1 2^1,  and  the  greater  part  of  c.  ii.  Some  of  the  idioms  quoted, 
standing  by  themselves,  might  not  be  decisive ;  but  the  accumulation  admits 
of  but  one  interpretation.  The  only  part  of  the  Book  in  which  late  idioms 
are  all  but  absent,  is  the  prayer  of  9*^- ;  but  here  the  thought  expresses  itself 
almost  throughout  in  phrases  borrowed  from  the  Pent.  (esp.  Dt.)  and  other 
earlier  writings  (cf.  Neh.  i^^'^^  9^'^').  Evidently  the  style  of  the  Book  as  a 
whole  must  be  estimated  from  its  more  original  and  characteristic  elements.* 

In  case  the  reader  should  desire  a  corroborative  opinion,  the  judgment  of 
Delitzsch  may  be  quoted.  The  Hebrew  of  Daniel,  writes  Delitzsch  (Herzog, 
p.  470),  "attaches  itself  here  and  there  to  Ezekiel  (cf.  fp  ny  w^-  ■*<>  12^  8", 

*  The  supposition  that  Daniel  may  have  unlearnt  in  exile  the  language  of 
his  youth  does  not  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  case  :  it  does  not  explain, 
viz.,  how  the  new  idioms  which  he  acquired  should  have  so  exactly  agreed 
with  those  which  appeared  in  Palestine  independently  250  years  afterwards. 
Daniel  himself,  also,  it  is  probable,  would  not  (unlike  both  Jer.  and  Ez.) 
have  uniformly  written  the  name  Nebuchadnezzar  incorrectly  (p.  272). 


5o8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

with  YP  py  "J'  Ez.  21^-*'  35**;  dik  p  in  the  address  to  the  seer,  8",  as 
regularly  in  Ezekiel  [above,  p.  297],*  and  also  to  Habakkuk  (cf.  ii27.  29.  m 
with  Hab.  2^) ;  in  general  character  it  resembles  the  Hebrew  of  the 
Chronicler,  who  wrote  shortly  before  the  beginning  of  the  Greek  period  [b.c. 
333],  and,  as  compared  either  with  the  ancient  Hebrew  or  with  the  Hebrew 
of  the  Mishnah,  is  full  of  singularities  {Sonderbarkeiten)  and  harshnesses  of 
style." 

The  verdict  of  the  language  of  Daniel  is  thus  clear.  The 
Persian  words  presuppose  a  period  after  the  Persian  empire  had 
been  well  established:  the  Greek  words  demand^  the  Hebrew 
supports^  and  the  Aramaic  permits,  a  date  after  the  conquest  of 
Palestine  by  Alexander  the  Great  (b.c.  332).  With  our  present 
knowledge,  this  is  as  much  as  the  language  authorizes  us  defin- 
itely to  afifirm ;  though  (rvfi</)tui/ta,  as  the  name  of  an  instrument 
(considering  the  history  of  the  term  in  Greek),  would  seem  to 
point  to  a  date  somewhat  advanced  in  the  Greek  period. 

[477]  (3.)  The  theology  of  the  Book  (in  so  far  as  it  has  a  dis- 
tinctive character)  points  to  a  later  age  than  that  of  the  exile. 
It  is  true,  this  argument  has  sometimes  been  stated  in  an  ex- 
aggerated form,  as  when,  for  instance,  it  is  said  that  the  doctrine 
of  the  resurrection,  or  the  distinction  of  rank  and  office  in  the 
angels,  is  due  to  the  influence  of  Parseeism,  or  that  the  asceticism 
of  Daniel  and  his  companions,  and  the  frequency  of  their  prayers, 
&c,,  are  traits  peculiar  to  the  later  Judaism.  For  exaggerations 
such  as  these  there  is  no  adequate  foundation  :  nevertheless  it  is 
undeniable  that  the  doctrines  of  the  Messiah,  of  angels,  of  the 
resurrection,  and  of  a  judgment  on  the  world,  are  taught  with 
greater  distinctness,  and  in  a  more  developed  form,  than  else- 
where in  the  OT.,  and  with  features  approximating  to  (though 
not  identical  with)  those  met  with  in  the  earlier  parts  of  the  Book 
of  Enoch,  c.  100  B.C.  Whether  or  not,  in  one  or  two  instances, 
these  developments  may  have  been  partially  moulded  by  foreign 
influences,  they  undoubtedly  mark  a  later  phase  of  revelation 
than  that  which  is  set  before  us  in  other  books  of  the  OT. 

*  Delitzsch  means  that  the  writer  borrows  particular  expressions  from 
Ezek.  He  might  have  added  one  or  two  more  :  as  ''y^'n  8^  and  '32£n  pK  1 1^^*  ^^ 
(cf.  v.'*'^)  of  Canaan  (comp.  Jer.  3^^,  Ez.  20^- 1^) ;  '?'?p  DB'n:  burnished  brass 
10^,  Ez.  i"^;  □'^an  tyn"?  clothed  in  linen  I2*'*,  Ez.  9^.  The  statement  in 
Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible  (ed.  i)  and  the  Speaker's  Comm.  (p.  227),  that  the 
language  of  Dan.  bears  "  the  closest  affinity"  to  that  of  Ezek.,  appears  to  be 
due  to  a  misunderstanding  of  Del.'s  expression  in  Herzog  (ed.  i).  It  is 
totally  incorrect. 


DANIEL  509 

And  the  conclusion  to  which  these  special  features  in  the  Book 
point  is  confirmed  by  the  general  atmosphere  which  breathes  in 
it,  and  the  tone  which  prevails  in  it.  This  atmosphere  and  tone 
are  not  those  of  any  other  writings  belonging  to  the  period  of 
the  exile  :  they  are  rather  those  of  a  stage  intermediate  between 
that  of  the  early  post-exilic  and  that  of  the  early  post-Biblical 
Jewish  literature. 

A  number  of  independent  considerations,  including  some  of 
great  cogency,  thus  combine  in  favour  of  the  conclusion  that  the 
Book  of  Daniel  was  not  written  earlier  than  c,  300  B.C.  More 
than  this  can  scarcely,  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  be 
affirmed  categorically^  except  by  those  who  deny  the  possibility 
of  predictive  prophecy.  Nevertheless  it  must  be  frankly  owned 
that  grounds  exist  which,  though  not  adequate  to  demonstrate^ 
yet  make  the  opinion  2^  probable  one,  that  the  Book,  as  we  have 
it,  is  a  work  of  the  age  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  The  interest  of 
the  Book  manifestly  culminates  in  the  relations  subsisting  between 
the  Jews  and  Antiochus.  Antiochus  is  the  subject  of  S^-^^-  23-25  * 
The  survey  of  Syrian  and  Egyptian  history  in  c.  11  leads  up  to  a 
detailed  description  of  his  reign  (v.^i-^s) .  12I.  [478]  ''•  ^^"^^  reverts 
again  to  the  persecution  which  the  Jews  experienced  at  his 
hands.  This  being  so,  it  is  certainly  remarkable  that  the  revela- 
tions respecting  him  should  be  given  to  Daniel,  in  Babylon^ 
nearly  four  centuries  previously:  it  is  consonant  with  God's 
general  methods  of  providence  to  raise  up  teachers,  for  the  in- 
struction or  encouragement  of  His  people,  at  the  time  when  the 
need  arises.  It  is  remarkable  also  that  Daniel — so  unlike  the 
prophets  generally — should  display  no  interest  in  the  welfare,  or 
prospects  of  his  contemporaries ;  that  his  hopes  and  Messianic 
visions  should  attach  themselves,  not  (as  is  the  case  with  Jer. 
Ez.  Isa.  40-66)  to  the  approaching  return  of  the  exiles  to  the 
land  of  their  fathers,  but  to  the  deliverance  of  his  people  in  a 
remote  future.  The  minuteness  of  the  predictions,  embracing 
even  special  events  in  the  distant  future,  is  also  out  of  harmony 
with  the  analogy  of  prophecy.  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  other 
prophets  unquestionably  uttered  predictions  of  the  future ;  but 
their  predictions,  when  definite  (except  those  of  Messianic  im- 
port, which  stand  upon  a  different  footing),  relate  to  events  of 

*  And,  it  can  hardly  be  doubted,  of  78^-  ^o^-,  as  well.  Q^"**"  is  not  here 
taken  into  account.  * 


5IO  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

the  proximate  future  only ;  when  (as  in  the  case  of  Jeremiah's 
prediction  of  70  years'  Babylonian  supremacy)  they  concern  a 
more  distant  future,  they  are  general  and  indefinite  in  their 
terms.  And  while  down  to  the  period  of  Antiochus'  persecution 
the  actual  events  are  described  with  surprising  distinctness,  after 
this  point  the  distinctness  ceases :  the  prophecy  either  breaks  off 
altogether,  or  merges  in  an  ideal  representation  of  the  Messianic 
future.  Daniel's  perspective,  while  thus  true  (approximately)  to 
the  period  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  is  at  fault  as  to  the  interval 
which  was  actually  to  follow  before  the  advent  of  the  Messianic 
age. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  author  be  a  prophet  living  in  the 
time  of  the  trouble  itself,  all  the  features  of  the  Book  may  be 
consistently  explained.  He  lives  in  the  age  in  which  he  mani- 
fests an  interest,  and  which  needs  the  consolations  which  he 
has  to  address  to  it.  He  does  not  write  after  the  persecutions 
are  ended  (in  which  case  his  prophecies  would  be  pointless),  but 
at  their  beginning^'''  when  his  message  of  encouragement  would 
have  a  value  for  the  godly  Jews  in  the  season  of  their  trial.  He 
thus  utters  genuine  predictions ;  f  and  the  advent  of  the  [479] 
Messianic  age  follows  closely  on  the  end  of  Antiochus,  just  as 
in  Isaiah  or  Micah  it  follows  closely  on  the  fall  of  the  Assyrian  : 
in  both  cases  the  future  is  foreshortened.  The  details  of  the 
Messianic  picture  are  different  from  the  representation  of  the 
earlier  prophets,  because  they  belong  to  a  later  stage  of  revela- 
tion :  so  the  representations  of  Jeremiah,  II  Isaiah,  or  Zechariah 
differ  similarly;  in  each  case,  the  shape  and  colouring  of  the 
representation  being  correlated  with  the  spiritual  movements  of 
the  age  to  which  it  belongs. 

It  by  no  means  follows,  however,  from  this  view  of  the  Book, 
supposing  it  to  be  accepted,  that  the  narrative  is  throughout  a 
pure  work  of  the  imagination.  That  is  not  probable.  Delitzsch, 
Meinhold,  and  others — most  recently  Behrmann — insist  rightly 
that  the  Book  rests  upon  a  traditional  basis.  Daniel,  it  cannot 
be  doubted,  was  a  historical  person,!  one  of  the  Jewish  exiles 

*  So  Ewald,  p.  155  f.;  Delitzsch,  p.  479,  &c. 

t  Comp.  especially  S^^  ""^  with  the  event. 

:J:  Whether,  however,  he  is  alluded  to  in  Ez.  141^-  ^o  28^  is  uncertain  :  the 
terms  in  which  Ezek.  speaks  in  c.  14  seem  to  suggest  a  patriarch  of  antiquity, 
rather  than  a  younger  contemporary  of  his  own. 


DANIEL  511 

in  Babylon,  who,  with  his  three  companions,  was  noted  for  his 
staunch  adherence  to  the  principles  of  his  religion,  who  attained 
a  position  of  influence  at  the  court  of  Babylon,  who  interpreted 
Nebuchadnezzar's  dreams,  and  foretold,  as  a  seer,  something  of 
the  future  fate  of  the  Chaldaean  and  Persian  empires.  Perhaps 
written  materials  were  at  the  disposal  of  the  author  :  it  is,  at  any 
rate,  probable  that  for  the  descriptions  contained  in  c.  2-7  he 
availed  himself  of  some  work,  or  works,  dealing  with  the  history 
of  Babylon  in  the  6th  cent.  B.C.*  These  traditions  are  cast  by 
the  author  into  a  literary  form,  with  a  special  view  to  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  own  time.  The  motive  underlying  c.  1-6  is 
manifest.  The  aim  of  these  chapters  is  not  merely  to  describe 
who  Daniel  was,  or  to  narrate  certain  incidents  in  his  life  :  it  is 
also  to  magnify  the  God  of  Daniel,  to  show  how  He,  by  His 
providence,  frustrates  the  purposes  of  the  proudest  of  earthly 
monarchs,  while  He  defends  His  servants,  who  cleave  to  Him 
faithfully  in  the  midst  of  [480]  temptation.  The  narratives  in 
c.  1-6  are  thus  adapted  to  supply  motives  for  the  encourage- 
ment, and  models  for  the  imitation,  of  those  suffering  under  the 
persecution  of  Antiochus.  In  c.  7-12,  definiteness  and  dis- 
tinctness are  given  to  Daniel's  visions  of  the  future ;  and  it  is 
shown,  in  particular,  that  the  trial  of  the  saints  will  reach  ere 
long  its  appointed  term. 

It  remains  to  notice  briefly  some  features  in  which  the  Book 
of  Daniel  differs  from  the  earlier  prophetical  books.  Its  view 
of  history  is  much  more  comprehensive  than  that  of  the  earlier 
prophets.  Certainly  there  is  a  universal  element  observable  in 
the  writings  of  the  earlier  prophets  (as  when  they  contemplate 
the  future  extension  of  Israel's  religion  to  the  Gentiles) ;  but  it 
does  not  occupy  the  principal  place  :  in  the  foreground  are  the 
present  circumstances  of  the  nation,  social,  religious,  or  political, 
as  the  case  may  be.  Daniel's  view  is  both  wider  and  more 
definite.  He  takes  a  survey  of  a  continuous  succession  of  world- 
empires  ;  points  out  how  their  sequence  is  determined  before  by 

*  Thus  there  are  good  reasons  for  supposing  that  Nebuchadnezzar's  lycan- 
thropy  rests  upon  a  basis  of  fact  (Schrader,  KAT? '^.  432 f.).  Berosus,  a 
learned  Chaldaean  priest,  compiled  his  history  of  Babylonian  dynasties  c.  300 
B.C.  ;  and  other  sources  of  information,  which  have  since  perished,  may 
naturally  have  been  accessible  to  the  author.  But  whatever  elements  of  fact 
may  be  contained  in  the  book,  the  inscriptions  leave  no  doubt  that  they  are 
mingled  with  much  that  is  unhigtorical. 


512  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

God ;  declares  that,  when  the  appointed  limit  has  arrived,  they 
are  destined  to  be  overthrown  by  the  kingdom  of  God;  and 
emphasizes  the  precise  moment  when  their  overthrow  is  to  take 
place.  No  doubt  the  motive  of  such  a  survey  is  in  part  suggested 
by  the  course  of  history,  and  the  wider  and  more  varied  relations 
which  it  opened  to  the  Jews.  From  the  time  of  the  exile,  the 
Jews  were  brought  into  far  closer  contact  with  the  great 
world-empires  than  had  previously  been  the  case ;  and  as  they 
witnessed  one  empire  giving  place  to  another,  the  problem  of 
their  own  relation  to  the  powers  of  the  world  pressed  upon  them 
with  increasing  directness  and  cogency.  The  older  prophets  had 
promised  to  the  restored  nation  ideal  glories;  but  the  reality 
had  proved  very  different :  their  promises  had  remained  unful- 
filled ;  and  under  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  very  existence  of  the 
theocracy  was  threatened,  as  it  had  never  been  threatened  before, 
by  a  coalition  of  heathen  foes  without  with  false  brethren  within. 
Hence  the  question  when  the  heathen  domination  would  cease 
was  anxiously  asked  by  all  faithful  Jews.  And  the  answer  is 
given  in  the  Book  of  Daniel.  Not  writing  as  a  historian,  but 
viewing  comprehensively,  in  the  manner  just  indicated,  the  past, 
the  present,  and  the  future,  as  parts  of  a  predetermined  whole, 
the  author  places  himself  at  the  only  epoch  from  which  this 
would  be  visible  in  continuous  perspective  :  upon  the  basis  [481] 
supplied  him  by  tradition,  he  represents  Daniel,  whose  age  had 
coincided  with  the  last  great  turning-point  in  the  history  of  his 
people,  when  Israel  became  permanently  dependent  upon  the 
great  powers  of  the  world,  as  surveying  from  the  centre  and 
stronghold  of  heathenism  the  future  conflicts  between  the  world 
and  the  theocracy,  and  declaring  the  gradual  degeneration  of  the 
former  (23-^-),  and  the  final  triumph  of  the  latter.  The  prophets 
do  not  merely  foretell  history ;  they  also  inter;^ret  it  {e.g.  Gen. 
^25-27.  jsa.  io5-7).  And  the  Book  of  Daniel  does  this  on  a 
more  comprehensive  scale  than  any  other  prophetical  book.  It 
outlines  a  religious  philosophy  of  history.  It  deals,  not  with  a 
single  empire,  but  with  a  succession  of  empires,  showing  how  all 
form  parts  of  a  whole,  ordained  for  prescribed  terms  by  God, 
and  issuing  in  results  designed  by  Him.  The  type  of  repre- 
sentation is  artificial ;  but  it  is  adapted  to  the  purpose  required, 
and  is  borrowed  from  the  forms  employed  by  the  older  prophets. 
As  is  common  in  the  case  of  dreams  or  visions,  it  is  largely 


DANIEL  513 

symbolical,  the  symbolism  being  not  of  the  simple  kind  found 
usually  in  the  earlier  prophets  {e.g.  Am.  7-8),  but  more  elaborate 
and  detailed,  and  being,  moreover,  sometimes  interpreted  to  the 
seer,  or  even  altogether  set  forth  to  him  (c.  10-12),  by  an  angel 
(comp.  Ez.  40^^-;  Zech.  1^-6^).  That  the  past  (to  a  certain 
point)  is  represented  as  future,  is  a  consequence  of  the  literary 
form  adopted  by  the  author  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the 
unity  of  his  picture  (comp.  Delitzsch,  p.  469).  "  In  warmth  of 
religious  feeling,  and  in  the  unflinching  maintenance  of  Divine 
truth,  the  Book  resembles  closely  enough  the  writings  of  the  older 
prophets :  but  also — what  is  here  most  important  of  all — the 
course  of  events  in  the  immediate  future,  the  fall  of  the  tyrant 
after  3^^  years,  and  the  triumph  of  the  saints  of  God,  is  defined 
beforehand  by  the  author  as  certainly  as  by  any  prophet  of  the 
olden  time.  Upon  this  account  chiefly  he  has  obtained  recogni- 
tion in  the  Jewish  Church,  if  not  as  a  prophet,  at  least  as  a  man 
inspired  of  God.*  It  is,  moreover,  exactly  in  virtue  of  this  true 
perception  of  the  present  and  of  the  immediate  future,  that  his 
book  is  distinguished,  very  much  to  its  advantage,  from  the  later 
Jewish  Apocalypses  "  (Dillmann). 

[482 j  On  the  characteristics  of  "apocalyptic"  literature,  see  further  Lucke, 
Versuch  einer  vollst.  Einh  in  die  Offenb.  des  Johannes,  1852,  pp.  34-55  ;  A. 
Hilgenfeld,  Die  Jud.  Apokalyptik,  1857,  pp.  1-16,  34-50;  A.  Dillmann  in 
SchenkeVs  Bidei-Zexicon,  iii.  (1872),  art.  **  Propheten,"  p.  626  f.;  E.  Schiirer 
[p.  496  «.],  ii.  p.  609  ff.  [Eng.  tr.  II.  iii.  p.  44  ff.] ;  R.  Smend's  essay,  "  Uber 
jUdische  Apocalyptik,"  Z^r^.  1885,  p.  222  ff.  ;  H.  Schultz,  OT.  Theol. 
i.  421  f  The  Book  of  Daniel  determined  the  form  assumed  by  subsequent 
writings  of  the  same  kind  ;  and  these  ought  properly  to  be  compared  with  it. 
Some  account  of  such  of  them  as  are  extant  will  be  found  in  J.  Drummond, 
The  Jewish  Messiah,  1877,  pp.  I-132  ;  in  Schiirer,  I.e.  p.  616  fF.;  or,  more 
briefly,  in  the  Encycl.  Brit.  art.  "Apocalyptic  Literature."  The  standard 
edition  of  the  Book  of  Enoch  is  that  of  Dillmann  (text,  1851  ;  transl.  and 
notes,  1853 :  see  also  "  Uber  den  neugefundenen  griech.  Text  des  Henoch- 
Buches,"  in  the  Sitzungsherichte  of  the  Berlin  Academy,  1892,  pp.  1039 fF., 
1079  ff.);  but  R.  H.  Charles' translation  (Oxford,  1893),  with  notes  (less  full 
than  Dillm.'s),  is  based  on  new  and  better  MSS.  (Abp.  Laurence  was  the 
first  to  publish  the  Ethiopic  text;  but  his  edition  and  translation  are  both 
antiquated. ) 

In  estimating  the  critical  view  of  Daniel,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  we 
have  no  right  to  argue,  upon  h  priori  grounds,  if  a  passage  or  bopk  proves 

*  The  author,  it  may  be  noticed,  does  not  claim  to  speak  with  the  special 
authority  of  the  "prophet";  he  never  uses  the  prophetical  asseverations, 
"  Thus  saitb  Jehovah,"  "  Saitl* Jehovah." 


514  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

not  to  contain  the  predictive  element  so  largely  as  we  had  been  accustomed 
to  suppose,  that,  therefore,  it  can  have  no  place  in  the  economy  of  revelation. 
Prediction  is  one  method,  but  by  no  means  the  only  method,  which  it  pleased 
God  to  employ  for  the  instruction  and  education  of  His  people.  Hence, 
whether,  or  to  what  extent,  a  particular  part  of  Scripture  is  predictive,  cannot 
be  determined  by  the  help  of  antecedent  considerations :  it  can  be  deter- 
mined only  by  the  evidence  which  it  affords  itself  respecting  the  period  at 
which  it  was  written.  In  interpreting  the  prophets,  it  is,  moreover,  always 
necessary  to  distinguish  between  the  substance  of  a  prophecy  and  the  form 
under  which  it  is  presented ;  for  the  prophets  constantly  clothe  the  essential 
truth  which  they  desire  to  express  in  imagery  that  is  figurative  or  symbolical 
{e.g.  Isa.  11^^'-  19^^^-  23"^-  6623).  And  the  elements  in  the  Book  of  Daniel 
which,  upon  the  critical  view  of  it,  are  predictive  in  appearance  but  not  in 
reality,  are  just  part  of  the  symbolic  imagery  adopted  by  the  writer  for  the 
purpose  of  developing  one  of  the  main  objects  which  he  had  in  view,  viz.  the 
theocratic  significance  of  the  history. 

Why  the  Book  of  Daniel  is  written  partly  in  Aram.,  partly  in  Heb.,  is  not 
apparent,  upon  any  theory  of  its  authorship.  The  transition  to  Aramaic  in 
7.*^  might  indeed  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  it  was,  or  was  assumed 
to  be,  the  language  used  at  the  Court  of  Babylon  ;  but  this  does  not  explain 
why  the  Aramaic  part  should  include  c.  7.  Meinhold  (reviving  the  view  of 
some  older  scholars)  holds  that  tS^-z.  6  is  earlier  in  date  than  has  been 
generally  supposed  by  critics,  having  been  written,  he  considers,  in  Aramaic 
c.  300  B.C.,  and  incorporated  by  the  later  author  of  the  rest  of  the  book  in 
his  work ;  and  he  points  to  certain  differences  of  scope  and  representation 
in  support  of  this  opinion.  Not  only,  however,  would  2'*''-c.  6  be  unintel- 
ligible without  the  introductory  particulars  contained  in  1^-2^,  but  c.  7, 
though  added  by  the  author  who  {ex  hyp.)  otherwise  uses  Hebrew,  is  in 
Aramaic,  it  is,  moreover,  so  connected,  on  the  one  hand  with  c.  2,  on  the 
other  with  c.  8-12,  that  it  seems  to  forbid  the  distribution  of  the  Aramaic 
and  Hebrew  parts  of  the  book  between  different  writers.  (Comp.  further 
[483]  Budde,  Theol.  Literaturzeilung,  1888,  No.  26  ;  Kuenen,  §§  87.  5,  6 ; 
90.  II,  12 ;  Behrm.  pp.  i,  ii ;  and  esp.  von  Gall  [above,  p.  488].) 

No  conclusion  of  any  value  as  to  the  date  of  Daniel  can  be  drawn  from  the 
LXX  translation.  ( i )  The  date  of  the  translation  is  quite  uncertain ;  the 
grounds  that  have  been  adduced  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  it  was  made 
in  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  himself  being  altogether  insufficient.  (2) 
The  "  Septuagint "  translation  of  different  books  (or,  in  some  cases,  of  groups 
of  books)  is  of  course  the  work  of  different  hands ;  but  in  all  parts  of  the 
OT.  the  translators  stand  remarkably  aloof  from  the  Palestinian  tradition — ■ 
often,  for  instance,  not  only  missing  the  general  sense  of  a  passage,  but 
showing  themselves  to  be  unacquainted  with  the  meaning  even  of  common 
Hebrew  words.  Thus  the  errors  in  the  LXX  translation  of  Daniel  merely 
show  that  the  meaning  of  particular  words  was  unknown  in  Alexandria  at 
the  time,  whatever  it  may  have  been,  when  the  translation  was  made ;  they 
do  not,  as  has  sometimes  been  supposed,  afford  evidence  that  the  meaning 
was  unknown  in  Palestine  in  the  2nd  cent.  B.C.  The  Greek  translator 
of  the  Proverbs  of  Jesus,  son  of  Sirach,  though  a  grandson  of  the  author 


DANIEL  515 

himself,  nevertheless  often  misunderstood  the  Hebrew  in  which  they  were 
written. 

It  was  argued  formerly  by  Prof.  Margoliouth  {Expositor^  April  1890, 
p.  300  f. ),  partly  on  the  strength  of  the  quotations  of  Ben  Sira  preserved  in 
Rabbinical  writers,  partly  upon  the  ground  of  his  own  hypothetical  restora- 
tions, from  the  Versions,  of  the  original  text  of  Ecclesiasticus,  that  the  language 
spoken  in  Jerusalem  c.  200  B.C.  was  the  fully  developed  Rabbinical  idiom; 
and  hence  it  was  inferred  by  him  that  the  Hebrew  of  the  Book  of  Daniel 
must  date  from  a  period  considerably  earlier  than  that  to  which  modern  critics 
assigned  it.  The  discovery  (above,  p.  474)  of  ten  chapters  of  the  original 
Hebrew  of  Ecclus.  has  shown,  however,  that  Prof.  Margoliouth's  theories, 
both  of  the  "metre"  and  of  the  language  of  Ben  Sira's  proverbs,  were 
mistaken,  and  has  more  than  justified  those  who  at  the  time  expressed  their 
distrust  of  the  principles  upon  which  his  restorations  were  based.  It  is  not 
any  longer  possible  to  maintain  that  the  Hebrew  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  is  in- 
compatible with  a  date  in  the  2nd  century  B.C. 

That  the  Book  of  Daniel,  as  we  have  it,  whatever  basis  of  tradition  it  may 
rest  upon,  is  a  work  of  the  age  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  is  a  conclusion 
accepted  by  even  the  most  moderate  critics,  e.g.  not  only  by  Delitzsch  and 
Riehm  {Einl.  ii.  292  ff.),  but  also  by  Liicke,  p.  41  ;  Strack,  Einleitung  in 
das  AT.^^  1895,  §63  ;  K.  Schlottmann,  Compendium  der  ATlichen  Theologie^ 
1889,  §  87;  Schurer,  he.  p.  613  ff.  [Eng.  tr.  ib.  p.  49  ff.];  C.  A.  Briggs, 
Mess.  Proph.  p.  411  f.;  &c. 

It  may  interest  the  philological  student  to  know  that  the  pron.  'nVx  (Dan. 
Ezr.)  occurs  in  the  Corp.  Inscr.  Sem.  II.  i.  No.  145  B;  ian  (Ezr.)  ib. 
Nos.  137 B  {"xs  2i  suffix) y  145  B,  149 A;  'hr\  ib.  Nos.  137  A,  B,  appears  to  be 
•X  variant  of  6j<  (Dan. ).     The  inscriptions  quoted  are  all  from  Egypt 


CHAPTER  XII. 

CHRONICLES,  EZRA,  AND  NEHEMTAH, 

§  I.  Chronicles. 

Literature. — Ewald,  Hist.  i.  p.  169  fF.  ;  E.  Bertheau  in  the  Kgf.  Hdb. 
1854,  -1873;  K.  H.  Graf  in  Die  Gesch.  Biicher  des  AT.s,  1866,  pp. 
114-247  ("  Das  B.  der  Chr.  als  Geschichtsquelle  ") ;  C.  F.  Keil  (see  p.  478) ; 
Wellhausen,  Hist,  of  Israel,  pp.  171-227  ;  C.  J.  Ball  in  Bp.  Ellicott's  Comm. 
for  English  Readers  (1883);  Kuenen,  Onderzoek,-  i.  (1887),  p.  433  flf.;  S. 
Oettli  in  Strack  and  Zockler's  Kgf.  Komm.  1889;  R.  Kittel  in  Haupt's 
SBOT. 

The  Books  of  Chronicles — in  the  Hebrew  canon  one  book — 
with  their  sequel,  the  Books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah — in  the 
Hebrew  canon  similarly  one  book,  "Ezra""*^ — form  the  second 
great  group  of  historical  writings  preserved  in  the  Old  Testament 
(above,  p.  4).  It  is  plain,  from  many  indications,  that  these 
books  form  really  a  single,  continuous  work.  Not  only  is  their 
style — which  is  very  marked,  and  in  many  respects  unlike  that 
of  any  other  Book  of  the  OT. — closely  similar,  but  they  also 
resemble  each  other  in  the  point  of  view  from  which  the  history 
is  treated,  in  the  method  followed  in  the  choice  of  materials,  as 
well  as  in  the  preference  shown  for  particular  topics  (gene- 
alogies, statistical  registers,  descriptions  of  religious  ceremonies, 
details  respecting  the  sacerdotal  classes,  and  the  organization  of 
public  worship).  Moreover,  the  Book  of  Ezra-Neh.  begins 
exactly  at  the  point  at  which  the  Book  of  Chronicles  ends,  and 
carries  on. the  narrative  upon  the  same  plan  to  the  time  when 
the  theocratic  institutions  under  which  the  compiler  lived  were 
finally  established  through  the  labours  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 

*  The  division  into  two  books,  in  modern  editions  of  the  Hebrew  Bible, 
arises  from  the  same  cause  as  the  division  of  1-2  Sam.  and  1-2  Kings,  viz. 
the  influence  of  the  LXX  operating  through  the  Christian  Bible. 

516 


CHRONICLES  5I7 

In  ordinary  Hebrew  texts  (cf.  p.  359,  note\  Ezr.-Neh.,  contrary 
to  [485]  the  QhxovioXog^,  precedes  the  Chronicles  :  in  the  LXX,  and 
versions  influenced  by  it,  the  books  are  arranged  in  accordance 
with  chronological  propriety.  It  will  be  convenient  to  follow 
the  same  order  here. 

The  entire  work,  of  which  the  Chronicles  form  thus  the  first 
part,  comprises,  though,  of  course,  not  with  the  same  amount  of 
detail  throughout,  the  period  from  Adam  to  the  second  visit  of 
Nehemiah  to  Jerusalem,  B.C.  432.  Although,  however,  the  narra- 
tive embraces  a  wide  period,  the  aim  with  which  it  is  written  is  a 
limited  one;  it  is  that,  viz.,  of  giving  a  history  oi  Judah^  with 
special  reference  to  the  institutions  connected  with  the  Temple^ 
under  the  monarchy,  and  after  the  restoration.  The  author  (who 
seems  to  be  the  same  throughout)  begins,  indeed,  after  the 
manner  of  the  later  Semitic  historians,  with  Adam;  but  the 
genealogies  in  I  i  have  merely  the  object  of  exhibiting,  relatively 
to  other  nations,  the  position  taken  by  the  tribe  of  Judah,  to 
which  I  2  is  wholly  devoted,  as  I  3  is  devoted  to  the  descendants 
of  King  David.  In  I  4-8,  dealing  with  the  other  tribes,  it  is 
the  priestly  tribe  of  Levi  (I  6)  that  is  treated  at  greatest  length. 
Incidentally  in  these  chapters,  more  decidedly  in  p^-^*,  the 
interest  of  the  writer  betrays  itself :  his  notices  have  constantly  a 
bearing,  direct  or  indirect,  upon  the  organization  and  ecclesiasti- 
cal institutions  of  the  /<?j/-exilic  community.  The  introduction 
(I  1I-934)  ended,  the  history  proper  begins.  The  reign  of  Saul 
is  past  over  rapidly  by  the  compiler :  I  9^^*^*  his  genealogy  is 
repeated  from  829-38  •  I  10  (excerpted  from  i  Sa.  31)  contains 
the  narrative  of  his  death.  Thereupon  the  narrator  proceeds  to 
David's  election  as  king  over  all  Israel  at  Hebron  ( =  2  Sa.  5^"^^), 
omitting  as  irrelevant  to  his  purpose  the  incidents  of  David's 
youth,  his  persecution  by  Saul,  the  reign  of  Ishbosheth,  &c.  He 
omits  similarly  events  in  David's  reign  of  a  personal  or  private 
nature  {e.g.  the  greater  part  of  2  Sa.  9-20).  The  account  of 
Solomon's  reign  is  excerpted  from  i  Kings  with  tolerable  fulness. 
After  the  division  of  the  kingdom  no  notice  is  taken  of  the 
history  of  the  N.  kingdom,  except  where  absolutely  necessary 
(as  II  2  2^-9);  on  the  other  hand,  the  history  of  Judah  is  pre- 
sented in  a  series  of  excerpts  from  1-2  Kings,  supplemented 
by  additions  contributed  by  the  compiler.  Though  secular 
events  are  not  excluded  fr»m  the  record,  the  writer,  it  is  plain, 


5l8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  , 

f 
dwells  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  upon  the  ecclesiastical  [486] 
aspects  of  the  history.  The  same  interest  is  not  less  apparent  in 
Ezr.-Neh.;  and  hence  the  entire  work  (Chr.  Ezr.-Neh.)  has  been 
not  inaptly  termed  by  Reuss  the  "Ecclesiastical  Chronicle  of 
Jerusalem." 

The  Hebrew  name  of  the  Chronicles  is  D'O'n  nan,  lit.  words  {at  affairs)  of 
the  days,  a  term  which,  as  explained  above  (p.  197),  is  used  to  denote  an 
official  diary,  containing  minutes  of  events,  lists  of  officers,  &c.  Its  applica- 
tion in  the  present  case  is  due  probably  to  the  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of 
the  contents,  especially  towards  the  beginning  (I  1-27),  are  of  a  statistical 
character.  In  the  LXX  the  two  books  are  called  rrapaXenrdfiepa,  a  name  no 
doubt  sijggested  by  the  observation  that  they  contain  numerous  particulars 
not  found  in  the  Books  of  Samuel  and  Kings  (cf.  Bacher,  ZATIV.  1895,  P- 
305  ff. ).  The  title  Chronicles  is  derived  from  Jerome,  who  used  chronicon  to 
express  the  Hebrew  d'D'H  nm. 

Date  of  Composition. — The  only  positive  clue  which  the  book 
contains  as  to  the  date  at  which  it  was  composed  is  the  genealogy 
in  I  3^^'^S  which  (if  v.^i  be  rightly  interpreted)  is  carried  down 
to  the  sixth  generation  after  Zerubbabel.  This  would  imply  a 
date  not  earlier  than  c.  350  B.C.  3^1  is,  however,  obscurely 
expressed;  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  text  is  correct.*  More 
conclusive  evidence  is  afforded  by  the  Books  of  Ezra  and  Neh., 
which  certainly  belong  to  the  same  age,  and  are  commonly 
assumed  to  be  the  work  of  the  same  compiler.  As  will  appear 
below,  these  books  contain  many  indications  of  being  the  com- 
pilation of  an  author  living  long  subsequently  to  the  age  of  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah  themselves, — in  fact,  not  before  the  close  of  the 
Persian  rule.  A  date  shortly  after  B.C.  333  is  thus  the  earliest 
to  which  the  composition  of  the  Chronicles  can  be  plausibly 
assigned;  and  it  is  that  which  is  adopted  by  most  modern 
critics.!     From  the  character  of  his  narrative  it  is  a  probable  in- 

*  LXX,  Pesh.  Vulg.  read  133,  four  times  for  '33,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
verse  before  '33i  v.^^  ("And  the  sons  of  Hananiah  :  Pelatiah,  and  Jesaiah  his 
son,  Rephaiah  his  son,  Arnan  his  son,  Obadiah  his  son,  Shecaniah  his  son  " 
— of  the  same  type  as  v.^^"^^),  yielding  at  once  a  sense  consistent  with  the  con- 
text, but  bringing  down  the  genealogy  to  the  eleventh  generation  after  Zerub- 
babel. It  is  quite  possible  that  this  is  the  true  reading  :  the  later  date 
which  it  would — not  merely  permit,  but — necessitate  for  the  Chronicles  being 
no  objection  to  it.  Keil,  wishing  to  uphold  Ezra's  authorship,  disputes 
the  integrity  of  the  text  in  the  opposite  direction ;  but  the  opinion  that  the 
Chronicles  are  Ezra's  composition  is  certainly  incorrect. 

t  Ewald,  i.  173  ;  Bertheau,  p.  xlvi  ;  Schrader,  §  238  ;  Dillmann  in  Herzog,^ 


CHRONICLES  519 

ference  [487]  that  the  author  was  a  Levite^  perhaps  even  a  member 
of  the  Temple  choir. 

The  basis  of  the  Chronicles  consists  of  a  series  of  excerpts 
from  the  earlier  historical  books,  Gen,-2  Kings,  with  which  are 
combined  materials  derived  by  the  compiler  from  other  sources. 
These  excerpts  are  not  made  throughout  upon  the  same  scale. 
In  the  preliminary  chapters  (I  1-9)  they  are  often  condensed, 
and  consist  chiefly  of  genealogical  notices :  in  I  lo-II  36 
(which  is  parallel  to  i  Sa.  31-2  Ki.  25)  passages  are  generally 
transferred  in  extenso  with  but  slight  variations  of  expression, 
due,  probably,  in  a  few  cases  (as  they  exist  in  our  present  text) 
to  textual  corruption,  but  more  commonly  originating  with  the 
compiler.  Not  unfrequently,  however,  the  excerpted  narratives 
are  expanded^  sometimes  remarkably,  by  the  insertion  either  of 
single  verses  or  clauses,  or  of  longer  passages,  as  the  case  may 
be.  Minute  particulars  can  naturally  only  be  learnt  from  a  word- 
for-word  collation  of  the  text  of  Chr.  with  the  original  passages 
of  Sam.  Kings,  which  the  reader  is  strongly  recommended  to 
make  for  himself;  but  the  following  synopsis  has  been  arranged 
so  as  to  exhibit  both  the  passages  excerpted  from  the  earlier 
narratives,  and  the  more  important  additions  introduced  by  the 
compiler.  The  omissions  in  the  third  column  will  indicate  the 
parts  of  Gen.-2  Kings  which  he  has  passed  over  : — 

I.   Preliminary  history  (I  1^-9^^). 
C.  1-2.    The  pedigree  of  Judah: — 

rru        ^  •      u  1  A  /See  Gen.  5,  10,  11, 

The  patriarchal  period,    .         .         .         ,          c.  i.  \  a 

The  12  sons  of  Israel,      ....  2^'"^.         Gen.  3523-6, 

The  5  sons  of  Judah  (Perez,  Zerah,  &c.),  2^-\      \  ^  -^        'g^. 

The    sons    of    Perez,    viz.    Hezron    and  \         ^5  /Gen.      46^^,      Nu 

Hamul,        .         .         .         .         .         .   i 

The  sons  of  Zerah, 


I  2621. 

Josh,  f  ;  I  Ki.  431. 
The  descendants  of  Hezron — {a)  through  ^  TWith  v.''*  ^"^^  comp. 


Ram,  leading  down  to  David,  v.^""" 
ifi)  through  Chelubai  (  =  Caleb),  v.18-24 
{c)  through  Jerahmeel,  v.^"^^, 


^  rwith 

i 


4' 


I  S.  i66-» 


s.v.  p.  221 ;  Ball,  p.  210 ;  Oettli,  p.  10 :  Kuenen  is  disposed  to  adopt  a  some- 
what later  date,  §  29.  7,  8,  10  {c.  250) :  Noldeke,  A  T.  Lit.  p.  64,  one  later 
still,  c.  200.  The  language,  not  less  than  the  general  style  and  tone,  favours 
a  date  subsequent  to  B.C.  300  ratjjer  than  one  prior  to  it. 


520 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


[488]  An  appendix,  largely  geographical, 
relating  to  localities  inhabited  by  de- 
scendants of  Caleb,  (a)  directly,  v.'^^-^S; 
(d)  through  his  son  Hur,  v.''*'"^^,    , 

C.  3.   The  family  arid  descendants  of  David  :- 
David's  children,     ..... 
David's  descendants — 
(a)  The  kings  of  Judah, 
{b)  The   descendants  of  Jeconiah   (Je- 
hoiachin),  extending  to  some  genera- 
tions after  the  return,     . 

C.  4-7.  Notices  rfspecting  the  genealogies^  history,  and  military  strength  of 
the  several  tribes : — 
Judah    (including    particulars    respecting  \ 

localities,   esp.    those    prominent   after    l         i^'^. 

the  exile), I 


12^ 


2  S.  32-5  5] 
1-2  Kings. 


Simeon, 


/Gen.  46^0,  Ex.  6^5, 
I      Nu.  2612^. 


Josh.  192-8. 


Reuben,  Gad,  and  the  E.  half  of  Manas- 

seh, 

Levi — 

High  priests  from  Zadok  to  Jehozadak 
(B.C.  586),  with  their  pedigree  from 

Aaron,t 

Genealogies :  viz.  {a)  two  parallel,  but 
in  part  divergent,  pedigrees,  con- 
necting David's  three  chief  singers, 
Heman,  Asaph,  and  Ethan,  with 
the  three  Levitical  families  of  Ger- 
shon,  Kohath,  and  Merari,  v.^^"^ 
and  ^^"^  ;  {b)  the  line  of  chief  priests 
to  the  time  of  Solomon,  v.'*^-®  (  = 
v.-'-S) 


V.3:  Gen.  46^,  Nu. 

.      265'-. 

'V.i-3:  Gen.  46", 
Ex.  6^6. 18. 20^  Nu. 
3'-^  &c. 


516-53^ 


*  The  names  in  these  chapters  are  frequently  those,  not  of  individuals,  but 
of  families  and  localities.  Wellhausen  in  his  Dissertation  De  Gentibus  et 
familiis  Juds'is  quce  I  Chr  2.  4.  enumerantur  {1S70) — cf.  more  briefly,  Hist. 
p.  2i6fiF.— has  shown  that  in  c.  2  v.^  (the  words  ''and  Ram  ")  ^^■^^'  ^-^-ii-  so-ss 
do  not  form  part  of  the  original  scheme  of  the  chapter,  but  are  subsequent 
insertions;  and  that  while  v. ^2-49  describes  the  pre-exilic  abodes  of  the 
Calebites  (about  Hebron  and  the  S.  of  Judah),  v.^*'"^^  enumerates  the  more 
northerly  districts  (about  Beth-lehem)  occupied  by  them  after  the  Captivity 
(cf.  Meyer,  Die  Entstehung  desftcdenthums,  pp.  Ii6f.,  164). 

t  Several  of  the  persons  here  named  are  not  mentioned  in  the  historical 


CHRONICLES  $21 

Cities  of  priests  and  Levites,    .         .         .  6'^-«.    |J       *            ^o  ^^^ 

^,             ....,./          .  T>     •      •  N  ^           /Cf.  Gen.   46i»  &c  , 

The  remaining  tribes  (except  Benjamin),  c.  7.          |     ^^^   ^  ^^ 

[489]  Benjamin — (a)  generally,         .         .  I  S^-^^. 

(d)   Pedigree    of   a    family    descended  \  033.40  /V.^^-:  i  S.  I4^»- ", 

from  Saul,          .         .         .         .   /  ^       '\     2  S.  2«  4^  9^2. 

^i-34_   Principal  families  resident  in  Jerusalem  after  the  restoration  : — 

j-Cf.  Ezr.  2'"  = 

Constitution  of  the  restored  community,  .  9^--.    ■!      Neh.  7*^ : 

I     Neh.  Ii3b. 
Families  resident  in  Jerusalem,  arranged  \ 

by  classes  (laity,  priests,  Levites,  gate-    J-  g^-na.     Neh.  i  i^-i^. 

keepers), J 

Particulars  respecting  the  gate-keepers ^      .  gin-^ca.^ 

Duties  of  the  Levites,       ....  Q26b-32^ 

Two  subscriptions  (to  v.i^-^":  1^-32),            .  933-34. 

II.  Judah  under  the  monarchy  (I  93^-1 1  36). 

Saul's  family  (repeated  from  S^^-'S),           .  935-44, 

/-  10^"^^.       I  S.  ■^i. 

Circumstances  of  Saul's  death .         .         .   -|  to13-i4 

David   made  king  at  Hebron  :    conquest  \  ^^                   j_3  g^^, 

of  Jerusalem, /  '              '  ^ 

List  of  David's  heroes,  with  notices  of  \  iiio-4ia     2  S.  23^-39. 

their  exploits, /  ii4ib-47,              

Warriors   who    joined    David    in    Saul's  \  Toi-22 

r  12  - .                

reign J 

Warriors  who  assisted  at  David's  election  \  ,223-40 

as  king,       ....../ 

The  Ark  brought  from  Kirjath-jearim  to  ^  I3^-'.         2  S.  6'.* 

the  house  of  Obed-edom,      .         .         .  /  I3''-^^.               6--". 

Hiram  assists  David :  David's  sons,          .  14^''^.                 5""^^- 

r  1 4^-^".                5"'^- 

David's  victories  over  the  Philistines,        .    \  ,, 

,  Icl-24.                        

The  Ark   removed   from    the    house    of   I  ^25_  ^3           Ai2b-i9a  4. 

Obed-edom    to    Zion  :    description    of  X  fA-^^ 

the  ceremonial, [  J  ^^3  *               gigblk 

Prophecy  of  Nathan,        ....  c.  17.        2  S.  7. 

David's  wars :  list  of  ministers,        .         .  c.  18.        2  S.  8. 

r  19^-^^.       2  S.  lo^-". 

War  with  the  Ammonites,        .         .         .   |  ^^^.^                  „!.  ae  lasof., 

books.  On  the  other  hand,  the  old  and  famous  line  which  held  the  priest- 
hood under  Samuel  and  David — Eli,  Phinehas,  Ahitub,  Ahimelech,  Abiathar 
— is  not  noticed. 

*  Expanded.  t  With  alterations. 


522  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

Exploits  of  David's  heroes,      .         .         .  I  .o^^.  2  S.  2i^^-'\ 

(2ii-'>*.               24I-**. 
2i4b;  5_                     24*^'^.  *  ^ 
21^"'.                          
218-27.                      24^0^-25. 
2128-22'.                

[490]  22^-0.  29.   DaviiPs  arrangements  for  the  construction  of  the  Templt 
and  the  maintenance  of  public  service,  and  for  his  army  : — 

Instructions  to  Solomon,  .         .         .  22^-1^  

Numbers  {38,000),  families,  and  duties  of 


umbers  (30,000;,  lamilies,  ana  duties  01  'k 

the  Levites,         .         .  •         •  J  ' 

The  24  courses  of  priests,         .         .         .  24^"  ^^ 

Heads  of  the  families  of  Kohathites  and  -y 

>  24. 

Merarites  enumerated  in  23^^'23,   .         .   /  ^       • 

The  24  courses  of  singers  (4  referred  to   "j 

the   sons  of  Asaph,  6  to  the  sons  of   J-         c.  25. 

Jeduthun,  10  to  the  sons  of  Heman),    .   J 
The  courses  of  the  gate-keepers,       .         .  26^"^^. 

Overseers  of  Temple-treasuries,        .         .  2(i^''^. 

Levitical    officers    engaged    outside    the  "\         2629-32 

Temple, / 

The  12  divisions  of  the  army,  .         .         .  27^"^^ 

Princes  of  the  tribes  (Gad  and  Reuben  \         27I6-24 

not  named),  ...../ 

The   12  superintendents  of  David's   per-  ^  25.34 

sonal  possessions,  and  his  ministers,      .    j  '        ' 

David's   last   instructions   to   his    people  \  o 

and  to  Solomon,  .         .         .         .    / 

Offerings  made  in  response  to  his  invita-  "^         ^rvi-s 

tion, / 


29^ 


{2910-22. 
2Q23b-26   I 
2928-30.    /  

r      II   1I-2. 

l3a  ^4a 

Solomon's  offering  at  Gibeon  :  his  dream,   -|  ^^_^^ 

\  j6b-33^  ^4b-13.4.15b    .: 

Solomon's  horses  and  chariots,  .         .  i^'*'^''.  io26-29, 

,  ,y\-'l.  +  18  r5a.  16f. 

Preparations   for    building    the    Temple,  J  3-16       f  5^"^'§  cf. 


and  correspondence  with  Hiram,  .    j  *"      '     \  5^^  7^^ 


17 


*  Abridged.  f  With  omissions  and  alterations. 

X  In  2^^  (cf.  7")  a  brief  allusion  only  to  the  Palace,  i  K.  7^-12. 
§  With  considerable  alterations  and  additions,  esp.  in  v.*"'-  "'•. 


CHRONICLES 


The  Temple,  with  the  two  pillars  in  front 
of  it, 


The  sacred  vessels,  and 
Temple  completed, 


the  court.     The  J 


[491]  The  Ark  taken  into  the  Temple, 
The  prayer  of  dedication, 
Conclusion  of  the  ceremony,    . 

Jehovah's  answer  to  Solomon, 


Particulars  respecting  the  organization  of 
Solomon's  empire,        .... 


Visit  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba.     Solomon  s 
magnificence  and  wealth, 

Revolt  of  the  Ten  Tribes, 
Hostilities  stopped  by  Shemaiah, 


Rehoboam's  reign. 


Abijah, 


Asa, 


n  3^-". 


*  Abridged. 


t  Exffanded. 


1  With  alterations. 


524 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


[492]  Jehoshaphai, 


Jehoram, 

Ahaziah, 
Athaliah, 

Joash,     . 


Amaziah, 


Uzziah, 


Jotham, 


Ahaz, 


[493]  Hezekiah. 


II  171*. 
c.  18. 

I9I-203O. 

2o31-33a_ 

2o33b-34. 

37a.  b«_ 
2035-36. 

37b^^ 

21I. 
2l2-4. 


K.  15 


'24b 


22I-3**. 


2241-43a_ 


2248-49 


21 


5-lOa 


2iaOb-19 
2l20. 
22l-«. 
22'-9. 


2  K.  8"- 


g24b-29^ » 

c.  9-io.t 

22lO_2321.  1 1 1-20.* 

24l-14a^  Il21_j2l4.« 


24^ 


14b-22 


24 


23-20^ 
el-4 


j2l7f.  20f.* 

I4'-*'. 


.5-lla 


llb^ 
12-16 


14 


7a 


2^n-20^cc, 


2521-24. 
21-25.  27a^-28^ 

26I-4. 
265-20b«^ 
2520b;3-21.  23_ 

27l-2aa.  a» 
272ay3b.  3b-7. 

27^ 

281-f 

285-15. 


14' 


,8-14 


,17.  Wf. 


21f. 


15^-'. 

I  c33-34.  35b^ 


15     • 

i62-^. 

_„    .  16-5.: 

2816-  17.  20-25^   cf.  16^^'^''.* 

2818-19.  

2827. 
29I-2 


293-3121. 

322-8. 
12^"21. 
^222-23 
^224-33^ 


162". 
l81b-3_ 
j84-7a; 
Cf.    1 8^3, 


1 8^7- 1 937. 1 
c.  20.*  t 


With  alterations. 


t  Abridged. 


X  Expanded. 


CHRONICLES 


525 


Manasseh, 
Am  on,    . 


Josiah, 


II  331-10-  20 
33H-19. 
33«-25. 

34'-'. 
348-12*;. 

34l2a-14^ 

34I5-3I 

3432.33. 

351-19. 

3520-25. 

36^-*. 

365-8. 
36"-2i. 

3^22-23. 


2  K.  2I1-10-  ". 


f  234-20.  *]| 


22«-23^ 


2321-23.§ 


,29-30a 


2y 

2^30b.31.  33f. 
2336.       -  - 

24« 
24I8-2 

Ezra  1 1-3*. 


-24" 

-17  * 


Jehoahaz, 
Jehoiakim, 
Jehoiachin, 
Zedekiah, 
Decree  of  Cyrus, 

Character  of  the  additions.  The  additions  contributed  by 
the  compiler  consist  partly  of  altogether  fresh  matter, — whether 
statistical  information,  or  incidents  recounted  at  length,— partly 
of  detailed  accounts  of  what  is  mentioned  but  briefly  in  the 
earlier  sources,  partly  of  particulars  occupying  one,  two,  three 
verses,  or  even  a  part  of  a  verse,  introduced  into  a  narrative 
borrowed  otherwise  from  Sam.  or  Kings.  All,  long  and  short 
alike  (except,  indeed,  such  as  comprise  merely  lists  of  names), 
show  the  peculiar  diction  and  mannerisms  of  the  compiler,  and 
are  either  his  own  composition,  or  (the  diction  being  not  merely 
peculiar,  but  late)  must  be  derived  from  a  contemporary  2vriting.\\ 
In  respect  of  contents  and  aim,  the  following  features  may  be 
noticed  in  the  additions  : — 

[494]  (i.)  They  consist  often  of  statistical  matter,  genealogies, 
lists  of  names,  &c. 

(2.)  Very  frequently  they  relate  to  the  organization  of 
public  worship,  or  describe  religious  ceremonies,  especially 
with  reference  to  the  part  taken  in  them  by  Levites  and 
singers.lT 

•  Abridged. 

t  Referred  in  Kings  to  Josiah's  eighteenth  year  (22'  2323). 

X  To  faithfully.  §  Expanded. 

II  The  former  alternative  is  decidedly  the  more  probable ;  but  the  latter 
cannot  be  absolutely  excluded.  The  author  of  the  '*  Midrash  of  the  Book  of 
the  Kings  "  (p.  529)  may,  for  instance,  have  used  a  style  and  diction  similar 
to  those  of  the  Chronicler. 

ir  E.g.  I  i3i-»  151-2^  le^-'*^,  m«t  of  c.  22-29,  n  8"-i°  2014-  "'^i-^  z^«^ 


526  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

(3.)  In  many  cases  they  have  a  didactic  aim :  in  particular, 
they  show  a  tendency  to  refer  events  to  their  moral  causes, — to 
represent,  for  instance,  a  great  calamity  or  deliverance  as  the 
punishment  of  wickedness  or  the  reward  of  virtue.  This  feature 
is  especially  noticeable  in  the  case  of  discourses  attributed  to 
prophets.  The  prophets  in  the  Chronicles  are  far  more  frequently 
than  in  the  earlier  historical  books  brought  into  relation  with  the 
kings^  to  whom  they  predict  good  or  ill  success,  in  accordance 
with  their  deserts,  with  much  uniformity  of  expression,  and  in  a 
tone  very  different  from  that  of  the  prophets  who  appear  in  the 
Books  of  Samuel  or  Kings. 

Thus  notice  I  lo^^*-  (the  cause  assigned  for  Saul's  death) ;  15^*  (cause  of 
Uzzah's  death);  II  \2^^  (cause  of  Shishak's  invasion);  17I";  2\^^'^ ;  22'-^; 
24«-25  (cf.  V.  18-22)  .  2520b  (causc  of  Amaziah's  defeat)  ;  7.0^-^  (only  \h^fact  of 
Uzziah's  leprosy  is  stated  in  2  Kings) ;  28^- 1*-  22-  23  (Ahaz's  troubles  attributed 
to  his  idolatry)  ;  SS^^"-^^  (Manasseh's  repentance  followed  by  his  restoration)  ; 
3521'-  (Josiah's  death  at  Megiddo  explained  by  his  rejection  of  a  Divine  warn- 
ing) ;  36l2^ 

Examples  of  prophets  :  II  i-^^'^  (Shemaiah  announces  Shishak's  invasion, 
and  the  mitigation  of  its  consequences  after  the  king's  repentance)  ;  151"^' 
Asa's  prosperity  is  ascribed  to  his  obedience  to  Azariah's  exhortations ;  16''^*' 
Hanani  declares  to  Asa  the  ground  of  his  imperfect  success  against  the 
Syrians;  ig^'^Jehu,  son  of  Hanani,  reproves  Jehoshaphat ;  20^^"^' Jahaziel,  a 
Levite,  promises  victory  to  the  same  king ;  20^*  Eliezer,  son  of  Dodavah, 
predicts  the  ruin  of  Jehoshaphat's  shipping  on  account  of  his  league  with 
Ahaziah  king  of  Israel ;  o.i^'^''^^  the  letter  of  Elijah  announcing  Jehoram's 
sickness  as  a  punishment  for  his  idolatry :  see  also  24^°  (Zechariah  son  of 
Jehoiada) ;  25^"'  (the  "man  of  God"  who  warns  Amaziah) ;  251"'-;  26^; 
289-15  (Oded). 

Attention  should  also  be  directed  to  the  short  insertions^ 
introduced  into  the  narratives  excerpted  from  Sam.  or  Kings. 
These  appear  commonly  to  be  designed  with  the  view  of  filling 
up  some  point  in  which  the  earlier  narrative  appeared  to  be 
deficient :  thus  they  state  a  reason  or  add  a  reflexion,  usually 
from  the  points  of  view  which  have  been  just  illustrated. 

[495]  Comp. ,  for  instance,  the  notices  relating  to  ritual,  or  the  part  taken 
by  the  Levites,  singers,  &c.,  in  I  1527a.  28a;3b  .  \\  ^ub-ito  .  513.  76.  gis-is  . 
236.  8b.  13  middle.  18  (from  nu)  -19  ;  349  (in  parts)  "  (from  and  the)  "i^  ;  and  the 
explanations,  or  reflections,  in  I  21*  ;  II  S"** ;  1 212-  "  j  iS^ib  (from  and 
Jehovah) ;   22i»^-  ^^-  ^^  ;    262iay3.  23a;3  ;    27« ;    2827»/3  ;    3222f.     The  aim  of  the 

3121  3^1-17  5jc  :  cf.  II  1312-  14  (the  priests  with  nmsn  in  battle),  i;^*-  (the 
Levites  teaching) ;  and  in  speeches  II  3**^'  ^-^^  (Heb.**^-  ^-^b)  1310^  353-6.. 


CHRONICLES  527 

addition  in  I  2i29'-  is  evidently  to  justify  David's  sacrifice  on  Zion,  as  that  of 
II  i31j-&*  (cf.  I  i6^*')  is  to  legalise  the  worship  at  the  high  place  of  Gibeon. 

Sources  of  the  Chronicler.  One  main  source  of  the  Chronicler 
has  been  sufficiently  indicated,  viz.  the  earlier  historical  books 
from  Gen.  to  Kings."^  It  remains  to  consider  the  sources  of  the 
additional  matter  which  the  Chronicles  contain.  The  notices — 
chiefly  relating  to  tribes  and  families — incorporated  in  the  earlier 
part  of  his  work  (I  1-9)  were  derived  by  him  in  some  cases, 
perhaps  (4^^^-  ^^'^^  5^^-  1^-22),  from  general  tradition ;  in  other 
cases  more  probably  from  written  documents.  It  seems  that  the 
returned  exiles  felt  an  interest  in  reviving  as  far  as  possible  the 
old  status  quo  of  the  community,  and  with  this  end  in  view  paid 
careful  attention  to  such  genealogical  records  as  existed,  and 
took  steps  to  complete  and  restore  them.f  It  is  probable  that 
lists  drawn  up  now  with  this  object  were  at  the  disposal  of  the 
compiler  (comp.  I  5^^  9^).  But  from  the  time  of  David 
(inclusive)  the  Chronicler,  like  the  compiler  of  Kings,  refers,  as 
a  rule,  I  at  the  end  of  each  reign,  to  some  definite  source  or 
sources  where  further  particulars  are  to  be  found  ("the  rest  of 
the  acts§  of  .  .  .  behold,  they  are  written  in,"  &c.).  The 
sources  thus  referred  to  are : 

{a)  "The  Book  of  the  Kings  of  Judah  and  Israel"  II  16"  (Asa),  2526 
(Amaziah),  28^  (Ahaz) :  cf.  below,  >^. 

{b)  "The  Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah"  II  2f  (Jotham),  35=" 
(Josiah),  36^  (Jehoiakim). 

[496]  {c)  "The  acts  II  of  the  Kings  of  Israel"  33^8  (Manasseh).Tr 

{d)  "  The  Midrash  of  the  Book  of  the  Kings  "  242^  (Joash). 

*  It  cannot  be  shown  that  the  Chronicler  used  the  sources  (p.  i86f.)  of 
Kings.  Not  only  does  he  never  quote  them  as  his  authorities,  but  (see 
below)  he  quotes  other  authorities  instead  ;  and  many  of  the  passages  common 
to  Chr.  and  Kings — e.g.  the  judgments  on  the  kings — are  palpably  the  work 
of  the  compiler  of  the  Book  of  Kings.    See,  for  instance,  II  7i2ab«.i6-22  1^1-2 

15"  2031-33a  2$^'^  261"'*  2%^'^  2^^'^  33'-»  &C. 

t  Comp.  (in  B.C.  536)  Neh.  7^'  "•  *^\  and  (later)  I22». 

t  The  exceptions  are  II  2120  22»  23^1  3324*.  364- 10. 21. 

§  Sometimes  with  the  addition  of  the  words  "first  and  last"  T  292*, 
TI  12^5 a/.,  or  with  other  slight  variations  or  additions  (the  longest  in  I  29^, 
II  2427  3318- 19  368).     {Aas  is  lit.  "  words"  :  see  the  next  note.) 

II  Lit.  words-,,  hence  affairs,  things, — in  so  far , as  they  are  done,  "acts," 
in  so  far  as  they  are  narrated,  "history." 

IT  In  I  9^  either  b  or  c  will  be  referred  to,  according  as  the  verse  is  con- 
strued with  LXX,  AV.,  Kuen.,  M^er,  or  with  Berth.,  Keil,  RV.,  Oettli. 


528  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

(<f )  * '  The  words  {or  acts  ;  RV.  history)  of  Samuel  the  seer,  and  the  words 
(history)  of  Nathan  the  prophet,  and  the  words  (history)  of  Gad  the  seer " 
I  2929  (David). 

{/)  "The  words  (RV.  history)  of  Nathan  the  prophet,  and  the  prophecy 
of  Ahijah  the  Shilonite,  and  the  vision  of  Iddo  thfr!  seer  respecting  Jeroboam 
the  son  of  Nebat "  II  92^  (Solomon). 

ig)  "  The  words  (history)  of  Shemaiah  the  prophet  and  of  Iddo  the  seer 
for  reckoning  by  genealogies"  12^^  (Rehoboam). 

(/i)  *'The  Midrash  of  the  prophet  Iddo"  1322  (Abijah). 

(t)  "The  words  (history)  of  Jehu,  son  of  Hanani,  which  are  inserted  in 
the  Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel "  20^  (Jehoshaphat). 

(/■)  "The  rest  of  the  acts  (/zV.  words)  of  Uzziah,  first  and  last,  did  Isaiah 
the  prophet,  the  son  of  Anioz,  write  "  26^2. 

(^)  "The  vision  of  Isaiah  the  prophet,  the  son  of  Amoz,  in  the  Book  of 
the  Kings  of  Judah  and  Israel"  32^2  (Hezekiah). 

(/)  "The  words  (history)  of  Hozai"  [or  "of  the  seers,"  LXX,  Berth., 
Kuen.,  Oettli,  Kautzsch  :  see  v^^]  33^*  (Manasseh), 

Allusion  is  made  also  (m)  in  I  5"  (in  the  account  of  Gad)  to  a  genea- 
logical register  compiled  in  the  days  of  Jotham  and  of  Jeroboam  11.;  («)  in 
I  2327  to  "the  later  acts  {or  history)  of  David;"  {0)  in  I  272^  to  "the 
chronicles  of  king  David,"  into  which  the  census  taken  by  Joab  was  not 
entered  ;  and  (/)  in  II  352^  to  a  collection  of  "lamentations." 

It  is  generally  allowed  that  the  first  three  of  these  titles,  a,  b^ 
Cj  and  the  "  Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel "  referred  to  under  /, 
are  different  names  of  one  and  the  same  work,  which  embraced  a 
history  of  bo/k  kingdoms,  and  of  which  the  full  title  was  "  The 
Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah"  (or  "of  Judah  and 
Israel "),  but  which  was  sometimes  referred  to  more  briefly,  the 
term  "  Israel "  being  understood  in  its  wider  sense  as  denoting 
the  entire  nation.  It  seems  clear  that  the  compiler  means  to 
refer  to  one  book,  and  not  to  two;  for  (i)  the  book  under  its 
full  title  "  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah "  is  mentioned  as 
the  authority  for  the  reigns  of  Josiah  and  Jehoiakim,  after  the 
N.  kingdom  had  ceased  to  exist;  and  (2)  the  book  under  its 
shorter  title  "  Kings  of  Israel"  alone  is  referred  to  for  the  reigns 
of  two  kings  of  Judah,  Jehoshaphat  and  Manasseh  (Nos.  i,  c). 
That  this  book  is  not  the  existing  Book  of  Kings  is  clear  from 
the  fact  that  the  compiler  cites  it  for  particulars  respecting 
matters  not  mentioned  in  that  book.*  Nor  was  it  identical  with 
[497]  either  of  the  books  cited  as  authorities  in  the  Book  of 
Kings  :  for  these  were  two  distinct  works  (p.  187  f.),  in  which  the 

*  As  I  9^  genealogies  ;  II  27'  the  wars  of  Jotham ;  33^^  the  prayer  of 
Manasseh  ;  36^  acts  and  "abominations"  of  Jehoiakim. 


CHRONICLES  529 

history  of  each  kingdom  was  treated  separately.  Whether  d 
("  the  Midrash  of  the  Book  of  the  Kings  ")  is  also  the  same  as  «, 
b^  c  is  uncertain ;  on  the  one  hand,  the  peculiar  title  would 
suggest  a  distinct  work ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  apparent 
why,  if  (as  its  title  shows)  it  was  a  comprehensive  work,  dealing 
with  the  kings  generally,  it  should  be  cited  for  one  reign  only. 
Whether  it  be  the  same  work  *  or  not,  it  may  be  inferred  from 
its  title  that  its  aim  was  to  develop  the  religious  lessons  deducible 
from  the  history  of  the  kings. 

The  term  Midrash '\  occurs  only  here  and  13^^  in  the  OT.  though  it  is 
common  in  post-Biblical  literature.  v\'\  is  to  search  out,  investigate,  explore  • 
as  applied  to  Scripture,  to  discover  or  develop  a  thought  not  apparent  on 
the  surface, — for  instance,  the  hidden  meaning  of  a  word,  or  the  particulars 
implied  by  an  allusion  {e.g.  what  Abraham  did  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  what 
Eldad  and  Medad  said  when  they  prophesied,  the  circumstances  of  Moses' 
death,  &c. ).  The  Midrash  may  be  defined  as  an  imaginative  development  of 
a  thought  or  theme  suggested  by  Scripture,  especially  a  didactic  or  homiletic 
exposition,  or  an  edifying  religious  story  (Tobit  and  Susannah  are  thus 
*' Midrashim  ").  To  judge  from  the  title,  the  book  here  referred  to  will 
have  been  a  work  on  the  Book  of  Kings,  developing  such  incidents  as  were 
adapted  to  illustrate  the  didactic  import  of  the  history.  And  this  seems  in 
fact  to  be  the  motive  which  prevails  in  many  of  the  narratives  in  the 
Chronicles  :  they  are  pointed  illustrations  of  some  religious  or  moral  truth. 
Haggadah  (above,  pp.  484,  487)  is  a  synonym  of  Midrash, 

The  "  words  "  {or  histories)  of  the  several  prophets  referred 
to  in  e^  f^  &c.,  have  been  supposed  to  point  to  independent 
historical  monographs,  written  by  the  prophets  with  whose  names 
they  are  connected.  But  it  is  observable  that  the  "  words  {or 
history)  of  Jehu  "  (/)  and  the  "  vision  of  Isaiah "  {k)  are  cited, 
not  as  independent  works,  but  as  sections  incorporated  in  the 
"  Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  "  (or  "  Judah  and  Israel ")  ;  and  if 
the  more  probable  reading  in  II  33^^  be  adopted,  the  same  will 
be  true  of  the  "  words  {or  histories)  of  the  seers,"  cited  as  an 
authority  for  the  reign  of  Manasseh  (see  v.^^).  This  being  so, 
the  question  arises  whether  the  other  "  words  "  {or  histories)  of 
prophets  (^,  /  g)  were  not  also  portions  of  the  same  historical 
work.     For,  except  in  the  passages  quoted,  where  the  "  words " 

*  So  Ewald,  Hist.  i.  187  ;  Wellh.  Hist.  p.  227 ;  Kuenen,  p.  493.  Berth, 
p.  xxxi,  Schrader,  §  232*^,  Dillm.  p.  223,  Ball,  p.  212,  Oettli,  p.  7,  think  them 
distinct. 

t  Commentary  (RV.)  suggests  a  wholly  false  idea  of  the  kind  of  work 
meant.  • 


530  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

(histories)  are  referred  to  as  part  of  the  "Book  of  Kings,"  it 
[498]  is  the  compiler's  habit  to  quote  but  one  authority  at  the 
end  of  the  reign  of  each  king,  which  is  always  either  the  "  Book 
of  Kings"  or  the  "words"  {or  history)  of  some  prophet;  and 
hence,  in  view  of  the  express  statement  respecting  the  "  words  " 
{or  history)  of  Jehu  and  the  "  vision  "  of  Isaiah,  it  is  supposed 
by  most  critics  that  the  other  prophetic  histories  referred  to  were 
really  integral  parts,  or  sections,  of  the  same  great  historical 
compilation,  which  embraced  the  history  of  particular  prophets, 
and  was  hence  familiarly  quoted  under  their  names.  "^  However, 
this  conclusion,  though  not  an  improbable  one,  does  not  follow 
necessarily  from  the  premisses ;  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
compiler  may  have  meant,  in  e,  f^  and  g^  to  refer  to  independent 
writings.!  In/  the  terms  of  the  citation  are  different;  and  it  is, 
on  the  whole,  more  probable  that  an  independent  work  is  referred 
to  :  for,  as  Ew.  (/.r.)  remarks,  a  section  of  a  prophetical  work 
dealing  with  the  reign  of  Uzziah  would  hardly  be  named  after 
Isaiah,  as  he  came  forward  as  a  prophet  only  in  the  last  year  of 
that  king  (Isa.  6i).|  Once  {fi)  the  "  Midrash  "  of  a  prophet,  Iddo, 
is  cited  :  this  will  have  been  either  a  particular  section  of  the 
"  Midrash  of  the  Book  of  the  Kings  "  (^),  or,  more  probably,  a 
separate  work  of  the  same  character,  which  was  either  attributed 
to  Iddo  as  its  author,  or  in  which  the  prophet  Iddo  played  a 
prominent  part. 

The  question  arises  whether  the  parts  peculiar  to  Chr.  are 
excerpts  from  any  of  these  works,  in  the  same  sense  in  which 
other  parts  are  excerpts  from  Sam.  and  Kings.  If  they  are,  as 
their  style  is  not  only  peculiar,  but  late^  the  work,  or  works,  from 

*  So  Ewald,  i.  185;  Berth,  p.  xxxif.;  Dillmann,  p.  223;  Kuen.  p.  487; 
Ball,  p.  212(5;  Oettli,  p.  8. 

t  The  existence  of  which  is  allowed  also  by  Ewald  and  Dillmann,  II. cc. 

%  The  existing  Book  of  Isaiah,  of  course,  cannot  be  meant ;  for  neither  in 
6^  nor  in  any  other  part  of  it  are  particulars  of  the  life  or  reign  of  Uzziah 
recorded.  In  II  12^^  the  words  "for  reckoning  by  genealogies"  probably 
indicate  that  the  section  referred  to  either  began  with,  or  included,  some 
genealogical  notices.  The  opinion— adopted,  for  instance,  by  Lumby,  Comm. 
on  Kings,  p.  xii  f. — that  the  books  cited  as  authorities  by  the  compiler  of 
Kings  were  compilations  from  the  prophetical  writings  cited  in  Chronicles  is 
destitute  of  all  probability :  the  books  cited  in  Kings  are  referred  to  (above, 
p.  187  n.)  for  ^Q political  doings  of  the  kings,  those  cited  in  Chr. — if  there 
is  any  reason  for  supposing  the  matter  peculiar  to  Chr.  to  have  been  derived 
from  them — will  have  been  of  a  didactic  character. 


CHRONICLES  53 1 

which  they  are  taken  must  have  been  composed  at  a  date 
scarcely  earlier  than  that  of  the  Chronicles  itself,  and  by  an 
author  writing  in  a  similar  style  and  with  a  similar  aim.  The 
style  is  conclusive  evidence  that  no  part  of  the  additions  can  be 
an  excerpt  from  the  autograph  of  any  pre-exilic  prophet:*  if  such 
autographs  were  accessible  to  the  compiler,  the  information 
derived  from  them  must  have  been  entirely  recast  by  him,  and 
[499]  presented  in  his  own  fashion.!  The  speeches  contained  in 
the  additions  form  no  exception  to  what  has  been  said :  these 
also,  even  the  shortest,  J  are  shown  by  the  numerous  points  of 
contact  which  they  display,  both  in  thought  and  expression,  with 
the  post-exilic  narratives  peculiar  to  the  Chronicles,  to  be  one 
and  all  the  Chronicler's  own  composition. 

The  most  important  of  the  sources  cited  appears  to  have  been 
the  Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah.  The  contents  and 
character  of  this  book  can  be  determined  only  inferentially.  It 
follows,  of  course,  from  the  title,  that  it  must  have  contained  a 
history  of  both  kingdoms :  from  I  9^  it  would  seem  that  genea- 
logies were  included  in  it,  and  that  a  part  at  least  of  the  statis- 
tical information  contained  in  I  1-8,  and  perhaps  also  in  other 
parts  of  the  book,  was  derived  from  it.  The  narratives  peculiar 
to  the  Chronicles  are  often  thought  to  be  based  upon  this  work ; 
though  whether  they  were  presented  in  it  nearly  in  the  form  in 
which  we  now  read  them,  or  how  far  they  were  recast  by  the 
Chronicler,  cannot  be  readily  decided.  The  most  probable  view 
of  the  "  Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah  "  is  that  it  was  a 
/^^/-exilic  work,  incorporating  statistical  matter,  and  dealing 
generally  with  the  history  of  the  two  kingdoms  in  a  spirit  con- 
genial to  the  temper  and  interests  of  the  restored  community.  A 
book  thus  constituted  would  supply  materials  which  a  writer, 
having  the  aims  of  the  Chronicler  in  view,  could  at  once  utilise, 

*  Mr.  Girdlestone's  hypothesis  {Foundations  of  the  Bible,  pp.  31,  32,  34, 
119,  120)  that  they  were  "extracted"  from  "the  original  and  comprehensive 
work  from  which  our  Books  of  Kings  were  condensed,"  would  thus  be  an 
untenable  one,  even  granting  that  there  were  sufficient  grounds  for  supposing 
that  such  a  work  ever  existed. 

t  The  statement  in  the  Speaker's  Comm. ,  that  the  language  of  much  of 
I  i6^"^2  is  "  remarkably  archaic,"  is  the  very  reverse  of  the  fact. 

t  As  I  Ch.  12I8  I  ft.  i^m.  22",  2  Ch.  I9«-  3oi8''i8-i9.  See  more  fully,  in 
support  of  this  description  of  the  speeches  in  the  Chronicles,  two  articles  by 
the  present  writer  in  the  Expositor^  Apr.  1895,  p.  241  ff.,  Oct.  1895,  p.  286ff. 


532  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

and  would  also  provide  to  some  extent  a  model  on  which  he 
might  work  himself. 

The  relation  of  the  Chronicles  to  the  canonical  Book  of  Kings  on  the  one 
hand,  and  to  this  "Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah"  on  the  other,  is 
generally  represented  by  the  following  scheme  :  * — 

1.  The  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  (a). 

2.  The  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Judah  {d). 


I  I 

The  Canonical  Book  of  Kings  (c).  *'  The  Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel 

I  and  Judah  »  (d). 


The  Canonical  Book  of  Chronicles. 

This  scheme  is,  of  course,  only  approximate.  It  takes  no  account  of  the 
elements  in  the  existing  Kings  or  Chronicles  derived  from  other  sources — in 
[500]  the  former,  for  instance,  from  prophetical  narratives  (p.  188  f.),  in  the 
latter  from  genealogical  or  other  records.  It  must  be  admitted  also  that  we 
do  not  ^now  that  a  and  d  were  used  in  the  compilation  of  d ;  the  materials 
used  may  have  been  obtained  from  other  sources,  even  including  (as  Kuen. 
supposes)  c. 

It  does  not  fall  within  the  province  of  the  present  work  to 
examine  the  relation  of  the  narrative  of  Chronicles  to  that  of 
Samuel  and  Kings,  except  so  far  as  may  serve  to  illustrate  the 
method  or  point  of  view  of  the  compiler.  The  following  general 
remarks  must  therefore  suffice.  It  does  not  seem  possible  to 
treat  the  additional  matter  in  Chronicles  as  strictly  and  literally 
historical.  In  many  cases  the  figures  are  incredibly  high  :  f  in 
others,  the  scale  or  magnitude  of  the  occurrences  described  is 
such  that,  had  they  really  happened  precisely  as  represented,  they 
could  hardly  have  been  passed  over  by  the  compiler  of  Samuel 
or  Kings ;  elsewhere,  again,  the  description  appears  to  be  irre- 
concilable with  that  in  the  earlier  narrative ;  while  nearly  always 
the  speeches  assigned  to  historical  characters,  and  the  motives 
attributed  to  them,  are  conceived  largely  from  a  point  of  view 

*  Graf,  Gesck.  B.  p.  192 ;  Berth,  pp.  xl-xli ;  &c. 

t  It  is  illegitimate  to  explain  these  as  due  to  textual  corruption  ;  the  num- 
bers in  the  Chronicles  are  systematically  higher  than  in  other  parts  of  the 
OT. ;  and  no  reason  exists  for  supposing  the  text  of  these  books  to  have  been 
specially  subject  to  error  in  transmission.  Besides,  numbers  written  in  full 
would  not  be  readily  corrupted :  the  supposition  that  letters  were  used  for 
numerals  in  the  sacred  autographs  is  destitute  of  foundation  (comp.  the 
writer's  note  on  i  Sa.  13^). 


CHRONICLES  533 

very  different  from  that  which  dominates  the  earlier  narrative, 
and  agreeing  closely  with  the  compiler's.  The  peculiarities  of 
the  historical  representation  which  prevails  in  the  Chronicles  are 
to  be  ascribed,  no  doubt,  to  the  influences  under  which  the 
author  lived  and  wrote.  The  compiler  lived  in  an  age  when  the 
theocratic  institutions,  which  had  been  placed  on  a  new  basis 
after  the  return  from  Babylon,  had  long  been  in  full  operation, 
and  when  new  religious  interests  and  a  new  type  of  piety — of 
course  with  points  of  contact  with  the  old,  but,  at  the  same  time, 
advancing  beyond  it — had  been  developed,  and  asserted  them- 
selves strongly.  The  Chronicler  reflects  faithfully  the  spirit  of 
his  age.  A  new  mode  of  viewing  the  past  history  of  his  nation 
began  to  prevail :  pre-exilic  Judah  was  pictured  as  already  in 
possession  of  the  institutions,  and  governed — at  least  in  its 
greater  and  better  men — by  the  ideas  and  principles,  which  were 
in  force  at  a  later  day ;  the  empire  of  David  and  his  successors 
[501]  was  imagined  on  a  scale  of  unsurpassed  power  and  mag- 
nificence; the  past,  in  a  word,  was  idealised^  and  its  history, 
where  necessary,  rewritten  accordingly.  Thus  the  institutions 
of  the  present,  which,  in  fact,  had  been  developed  gradually,  are 
represented  as  organized  in  their  completeness  by  David;  the 
ritual  of  the  Priests'  Code  is  duly  observed ;  the  Passovers  of 
Hezekiah  and  Josiah  (the  former  of  which  is  not  mentioned  in 
the  Book  of  Kings  at  all,  the  latter  only  briefly)  are  described 
with  an  abundance  of  ceremonial  detail,  suggested  no  doubt  by 
occasions  which  the  compiler  had  witnessed  himself;  David 
organizes  a  vast  military  force,  and  amasses  for  the  Temple 
enormous  treasures ;  his  successors  have  the  command  of  huge 
armies,  and  are  victorious  against  forces  huger  even  than  their 
own.  In  these  and  similar  representations  there  is  certainly 
much  that  cannot  be  strictly  historical;  but  it  was  not  the 
Chronicler's  intention  to  pervert  the  history;  he  and  his  con- 
temporaries did  not  question  that  the  past  was  actually  as  they 
pictured  it,  and  the  Chronicler  simply  gives  expression  to  this 
persuasion.  It  is  not  necessary  to  deny — on  the  contrary,  it  is 
highly  probable — that  a  traditional  element  lies  at  the  basis  of 
his  representations ;  but  this  element  has  been  developed  by 
him,  and  presented  in  a  literary  form,  with  the  aim  of  giving 
expression  to  the  ideas  which  he  had  at  heart,  and  of  inculcating 
the  lessons  which  he  conceived  the  history  to  teach. 


534  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

There  is,  for  instance,  no  improbability  in  the  statement  that  David 
amassed  materials  for  a  Temple,  though  the  details  as  recorded  in  Chr.  must 
be  greatly  exaggerated  (in  I  22^"*  David  states  that  he  has  accumulated 
100,000  talents  of  gold  and  1,000,000  talents  of  silver  ;  contrast  the  very  much 
more  moderate  estimate  of  even  Solomon's  revenue  in  i  Ki.  lo^^*-) ;  and  the 
manner  in  which  David  expresses  his  aims  and  wishes  is  entirely  that  of  the 
compiler  and  his  age.  In  2  Sa.  6*  we  appear  to  possess  a  tolerably  circum- 
stantial account  of  the  transference  of  the  ark  from  Kirjath-jearim  to  Zion, 
and  if  the  ground  of  Uzzah's  misfortune  was  really  at  the  time  attributed  to 
the  Levites  not  having  borne  the  ark  as  (according  to  the  Priests'  Code) 
they  should  have  done,  and  if  afterwards  they  and  the  singers  took  the 
prominent  part  in  the  ceremony  ascribed  to  them  in  i  Ch.  15-16,  the  silence 
of  the  earlier  narrative  is  inexplicable.  But  the  Chronicler  appears  just  to 
have  constructed  a  picture  of  the  ceremony  which,  in  his  eyes,  was  worthy  of 
the  occasion,  and  to  have  inserted  it  into  the  narrative  excerpted  by  him 
from  Samuel  (comp.  p.  378).  In  i  Ki.  8^  the  ark  is  borne  by  priests  (in 
accordance  with  the  general  pre-exilic  practice) ;  but  in  2  Ch.  5^  ' '  Levites  "  is 
substituted  to  bring  the  passage  into  conformity  with  the  later  Levitical  law  : 
I  Ki.  8^^*-  is  similarly  altered  in  2  Ch.  7^^-  so  as  to  harmonize  with  the  custom 
of  the  Second  Temple.  In  cases  such  as  these  it  is  clear  [502]  that  the 
representation  has  been  modified  in  details  so  as  to  accord  with  the  concep- 
tions of  the  Chronicler's  own  age.*  Elsewhere  traits  have  been  altered,  or 
added,  for  the  purpose  of  inculcating  more  pointedly  the  author's  doctrine  of 
retribution  :  see  some  good  examples  of  this  in  W.  R.  Smith,  OTJC."  p. 
140  ff.  In  2  Ch.  23,  24^-1^,  28^-*-  2^^-,  the  older  narrative  has  been  so  trans- 
formed that  a  new  complexion  has  been  given  to  the  whole  occurrence :  cf. 
Berth,  ad  locc;  Kuen.  §§  30.  21,  31.  2  ;  Wellh.  Hist.  pp.  194-200.!  In2  Ch. 
23-16  j-jjg  correspondence  between  Hiram  and  Solomon  (i  Ki.  5^''^)  has  been 
rewritten  by  the  Chronicler  (with  reminiscences  from  other  parts  of  Kings) 
in  his  own  style.  J  On  the  historical  value  of  the  lists  of  names  found  in  the 
Chronicles,  see  especially  G.  B.  Gray,  Studies  in  Hebrew  Proper  Names 
(1896),  pp.  170-190,  211-241. 

We  are,  of  course,  very  imperfectly  informed  as  to  the  precise 
nature  of  the  sources  used  by  the  Chronicler ;  but  it  has  been 
supposed,§  not  improbably,  that  the  new  point  of  view  from 
which  the  history  is  regarded,  and  its  didactic  treatment,  had 

*  The  singers,  who,  in  the  register  of  B.C.  536,  and  even  by  Neh.,  are 
distinguished  from  the  Levites,  and  named  after  them  (Ezr.  2^"^-  "'^  ;  Neh.  7^ 
10-8)  are,  in  Chr.,  classed  as  beloni^ing  to  them  (I  9^^  i^ieff.  &c,),  it  seems  as 
though  in  the  interval  the  singers  had  come  to  be  reckoned  as  Levites ;  and 
the  new  point  of  view  is  represented  by  the  Chronicler. 

t  On  2  Ch.  23-24,  see  also  F.  W.  Farrar,  Expositor,  Aug.  1894,  p.  81  fif. 

Ij:  Prof.  Sayce  also  does  not  question  that  in  the  Chronicles  we  have 
frequently  "Plaggadah"  rather  than  history  in  the  modern  sense  of  the 
term  [Momiments,  p.  467  ;  cf.  p.  465). 

§  E.g.  by  Berth,  p.  xxxvii ;  Dillm.  p.  224  ;  cf.  above,  p.  531. 


CHRONICLES  535 

already  appeared  in  the  "Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and 
Judah."  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  two  of  the  sources 
quoted  by  him  are  expressly  termed  Midrashim  (p.  529  f.). 
From  what  has  been  said,  the  importance  of  the  Chronicles  as 
evidence  respecting  the  ideas  and  institutions  of  the  period,  c. 
300  B.C.,  in  which  the  compiler  himself  lived,  will  be  apparent. 

The  style  of  the  Chronicles  is  singular.  Not  only  does  it  dis- 
play the  general  novelties  of  vocabulary  and  syntax  indicated  on 
p.  505  f.,  showing  either  that  the  language  itself  is  in  decadence, 
or  that  the  author  has  an  imperfect  command  of  it ;  but  it  has  in 
addition  numerous  peculiarities  and  mannerisms  of  its  own,  not 
found  in  other  post-exilic  writings,  which  are  often,  if  the  Book 
be  read  carefully,  perceptible  even  in  a  translation.  It  is  im- 
possible to  exemplify  here  all  the  characteristics  of  the  Chron- 
icler's style  :  the  following  are  some  of  those  which  are  the  most 
striking  and  of  most  frequent  occurrence.  In  some  instances 
they  appear  in  germ,  or  occasionally  (cf.  p.  505  ;/.),  at  an  earlier 
period  of  the  language ;  in  others,  they  consist  of  a  peculiar 
application  of  old  words.  The  occurrences  in  Ezr.-Neh.  are 
included  in  the  Hst. 

1.  \on\r\n  to  be  reckoned  genealogically  :  I  4^^  5^-  ''•  ^^  7^-  '^-  ^-  ^'^  <^-  -'^,  II  12^*^ 
^  31I6. 17. 18.  19^  Ezr.  2«^  {=Neh.  f^)  S^-  »,  Neh.  f\.     bn:  genealogy, 

Neh.  y^'p.     A  late  word  found  only  (in  the  OT.)  in  these  books. 

2.  m"?  abtmdantly.   I  /^   I240  22^  ^«- 4- s- 8.  14. 15  392.21^  jj   ii5(^^27  = 

^  I   Ki.    I027)  2^  4^8  9I.  9    ji23    14I4    j^9    i58    175    j31.  2   ^^1^   ^^\.  24   ^.f 

2935  3o5.  [503]  13.  24  3i5  325.  29,  go  Kch.  (f^,  Zcch.  14!^  In  the 
earlier  books  the  usage  here  and  there  approximates  ;  but  generally 
•yh  occurs  in  them  only  in  a  comparison  —  in  respect  of  midtittide  (as 
Jud.  6^).  The  earlier  language,  where  the  Chr.  has  m"?,  would 
use,  as  a  rule,  d-dt  or  r\'^'\r\. 

3.  '^i'D  trespass  (subst.  and  verb):    I  5^5  9I  iqIS,  II   122  2616- is  aS^^- 22 

296. 19  30?  3319  3514^  E2r.  92-  '*  io2-  e-  10,  Neh.  i^  1327.  A  favourite  term 
with  Chr,:  see  also  p.  134,  No.  43.  (In  I  2'^,  from  Jcsh.  7^  P.)  Cf. 
Dan.  9'  (prob.  from  Lev.  26^°:  but  see  also  i  Ch.  10",  Ez.  17'°  i824). 
^  4.  Tcyn  metaph.  to  establish,  appoint  (a  weakened  sense  :  in  earlier 
books  lit.  to  station) :  I  6^^  [AV.  3i]  15I6.  i?  1517  (  =  Ps.  10510)  171-* 
222,  II  S^^  98  iii5.  22  1^5.  8  2o2i  2413  (cf.  Ezr.  268)  255-  »  3o5  312  338 
[2  Ki.  'nn:]  352,  Ezr.  38,  Neh.  4^  6'  f  lo^^  i23i  1311- »>,  Dan.  ii^i- 
13- 1-1.  Cf.  Ps.  10725.  (Also  II  3432  used  specially.  In  II  23^^'  ^^ 
2925  3319^  p5,j.,  310^  ]sjg]^  ^7  J319  jj^g  ijj._  sense  is  more  prominent: 
in  Neh.  3^^-  6^  7\  of  setting  up  doors.)  An  approximation  to  the 
weaker  sense  occurs  in  i  Ki.  12^2  154. 
5.  D'n'?Nn  n'3  house  of  God-.  I  6^  [AV.  ^8]^  and  33  times  besides,  as 
well  as  often  in  Ezr.  Ifcid  Neh.     So  Dan.  i**  (in  Kings,  &c.,  always 


536  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

**  house  of  Jehovah, "  which  also  occurs  frequently  in  Chr. ).     Comp. 

above,  p.  21  note. 
JS.  Jon  to  establish y  prepare,  in  different  applications  :  I  (f^  12^^  15I  &c. 

(about  40  times  in  all),  and  Ezr.  3^  ;  esp.  with  3*?  to  set  or  Jix  the 

heart,  I  29^8^  II  1214  193  ao^s  3019,  Ezr.  f\ 
7.  vr\  to  seek  to,  enquire  ^(God),  in  a  general  sense,  of  seeking  Him  in 

the  various  exercises  and  offices  of  religion  :  I  13^  15^^  16^^  (from  Ps. 

105^),  2i30  (at  altar),  22^9,  II  i^obj.  the  altar),  121^  H^-  '[Heb.  3-  6] 

1^-2.  VI.  13  1612  173  (to  the  Baals),  *   19*  20'  22^  25!^  and  20  (foreign 

gods),  26^  30^^  31^^  34^,  Ezr.  4^  6^^ ;  cf.  7^**.     (A  weakened  sense  of 

the  Heb.  word.     In  the  earlier  historical  books  very  much  rarer, 

and  only  of  a  special  inquiry,   esp.   by  a  prophet,  as  I  Ki.  22^, 

2  Ki.  22^3.) 
^8.  pmnn  to  strengthen  oneself-.    I    ii^°   19^^  (  =  2  Sa.    10^-),   II   i^   12^^ 

137.  8.  21  1^8  i69  17I  2i4  23I  25I1  276  32^;  cf.  Dan.  lo^s-^i.     Use  in 

earlier  books  both  rarer  and  more  distinctive. 
9.  niD^D  kingdom'.  I  11^*^  and  nearly  30  times  besides.     Ezr.  i^  45- «  7I 

8^,  Neh.  9^^  12^2.     Regularly  also  in  Est.  Dan.     Very  rare  in  the 

older  language  :  which  prefers  hd'^dd,  or  n3i'?D. 

10.  niy  to  help,  in  connexion  with  God:  I  12^8  1526^  H  iS^i'^  (in  a  half- 

verse  inserted  into  the  narrative  of  I  Ki.  22)  26'^ ;  cf.  14'"  25^  32^ : 
in  the  passive,  I  5^0,  II  26^^. 

11.  '?3p  to  receive:  I  12'^  21^^  (in  a  passage  inserted  into  2  Sa.  24^^),  II 

2q16.  22  Y.ZX.  8^.  A  common  Aramaic  word.  Elsewhere  only 
Pr.  1920,  Job  210,  Est.  4''  923-  27  .  and  in  the  Aram,  of  Daniel. 

12.  niDK'D  mpj  to  be  expressed  by  names  :  I  12^1  16^^,  II  28^^  31^^,  Ezr.  8^0, 

Nu.  ii7  (P)|. 

13.  n'?yD'?  z^/war^j = exceedingly  :  I  14^  22'  23^'^  29^- ^s^  [504]  II  i^  16^2 

1712  20^^  26*^.  This  metaph.  use  of  upwards  as  a  mere  intensive  = 
"exceedingly"  is  exclusively  a  late  one,  and  confined  to  these 
passages.     (Ezr.  9^  the  use  is  different.) 

14.  ni!i-iN  lands  (see  p.  297,  No.  4)  :  I  14^''  22^  2.(f^,  II  92^  12^  13"  15^  17^'* 

2o29  32^3  bis.  17  3433^  £2^,  33  gi.  2.  7. 11^  Neh.  920  io2»  :  even  "  lands 
of  Israel  and  Judah,"  I  132,  II  ii23. 

15.  I'jD  tinder  standing,  of  those   technically  skilled  :    I  15^2  2^-  ^  27^2, 

II  34I2,  E^r.  8^6.  Comp.  {a)  II  26^  ;  {b)  more  generally,  Neh.  82-  3 
io29 ;  {c)  transit.,  II  353,  Neh.  8'-  \ 

16.  SSiv\  nmn  I  16^  2330  253,  II  513  312^  Ezr.  3",  Neh.  1224. 

17.  T\r\n  joy:    I  i627  [substituted  for  rnxsn  Ps.  96^],  Neh.  8^'>,  Ezr.  6^« 

(Aram.)t.  An  Aramaic  word.  The  cognate  verb  Ex.  18^  (E),  Ps. 
2i7,  Job  361. 

18.  yjDj  to  humble  oneself  or  be  humbled  (esp.  morally*)  :  I  20"*,  II  7^^* 

J26*.  7  bis*  12*  J ^18  Wi*  322^*  'i^i2*.  19*.  23  *3427  bis*  (first  time  = 

2  Ki.  2219),  3612*:  cf.  to  humble  I  17I"  i8»  (=2  Sa.  8^),  II  28i«. 
Observe  how  this  word  appears  frequently  in  a  short  insertion 
introduced  into  an  excerpt  from  Kings. 

19.  ncB'N  guilt :  I  2x3  {altered  from  2  Sa.  243),  II  24^8  2%^"^'  ^3  33''i3^  Ezr, 

06. 7. 13. 15  jqIo-  19,     Uncommon. 


CHRONICLES  537 

20.  riijT  substance  :  I  21"  2721  28^,  II  20^5  21^^  318  32=9  35V,  Ezr.  i*-  •  821 

10^,  Dan.  11^^-  2^-  ^.  The  use  of  this  word  is  somewhat  peculiar  : 
see  p.  132,  No.  17. 

21.  ns3  to  oversee  :  {a)  generally  I  23^  II  '2}-  "  34i'^-  ^^^  Ezr.  3^-  "j  ;  ((J)  in 

:  I  15^^.     (Only  so  besides  : 

vcsi'ch,  AV.  to  the  precentor. ) 

22.  '•JiyoB'  i/^ar  wg  (esp.  at  the  beginning  of  a  speech)  :  I  28^  (David), 

II  134  (Abijah),  152  (Azariah),  2020  (Jehoshaphat),  28"  (Oded),  29^ 
(Hezekiah).  One  of  the  many  marks  which  the  speeches  in  Chr. 
contain  of  the  compiler's  hand.  No  other  speech  in  the  OT.  so 
begins  :  cf.,  however,  Gen.  23^.    . 

23.  mnn  to  show  oneself  ready  in  sacred  gifts  or  services  :  I  29^-  ^-  ^-  "•  ^'^, 

II  17^^,  Ezr.  i^  2^  (in  a  passage  inserted  into  the  text  of  Neh,  7'^ 
after  "fathers'  houses'\  f  713.  15.  le  (Aram.),  Neh.  ii^.  Only 
besides  Jud.  5--  ^  (of  warriors). 

24.  Riches  and  honour-.  I  2912-28^  II  i"- 12  175  igi  3327,     The  example 

shows  how  a  combination  of  ordinary  words  may  be  a  favourite 
with  a  particular  writer. 

25.  jiDn   multittide '.    II  ii-'^  (strangely:   read  probably  with  F.  Perles, 

Analekten  zur  Textkritik  des  AT.s,  1895,  p.  47,  wm  urh  ^H\ff'^^) 
138  i4i»  2o2- 12.  15.  24  32?^  Dan.  iiio-i3.  Only  used  exceptionally  in 
early  prose. 

26.  And  the  fear  of  Jehovah  was  upon  ...  II  14^^  [Heb.  ^]  17'°  (19^) 

2o29  :  cf.  I  14"^. 

The  following  are  chiefly  instances  of  singular  syntactical  usages  : — 

27.  Sentences  expressed  peculiarly  (without  a  subject^  or  sometimes  with- 

out a  verb)  :  I  g^^b  (cf.  Ezr.  3^),  \^^^,  [505]  II  Ii22i>  158  i6io-  12a.  b 
i83'«'^  (altered  from  i  Ki.  22^),  196^  2ii5  2618b  282">  3o9-  ""  3521  ; 
and  some  of  the  cases  with  vh  in  No.  40.     Comp.  Ew.  §  303^. 

28.  The  inf.  constr.  used  freely,  almost  as  a  subst. :   I  7»-  '•  9-  ^o  922  (^11 

Dcn^nn),  2381,  II  3^  24"  (cf.  Ezr.  3"),  33^9,  Ezr.  i",  Neh.  12^6  .  ^f. 
Est.  i'.     Cf.  Ewald,  Lehrb.  §  236*. 

29.  DV3  DV :  I  1222  (mu  DV  ny^),  II  8^3  24"  (ovn  or"?),  3021,  Ezr.  3^  6» 

(Aram.),  Neh.  %^^\. 

30.  The  relative  omitted  (very  rare  in  prose  :  see  Notes  on  Samuel^  i  Sa. 

142J) :  1922b  1223  1512b  29I.  3b^  II  139  (poet.:  cf.  Jer.  5'),  14IO  (poet.: 

cf.   Isa.   4029),     I5II    l69    2022   24"    289   2927  3ol8b-19a   31^    Y.ZX.    I^- «, 

Neh.  8^0  1323. 

31.  D^  (very  strangely) :  I  15^3^  II  30^1. 

32.  ^  with  the  inf.  at  the  end  of  a  sentence  :  I  15^^  ^ip3  ^-"vh,  ^^'  21  22^* 

('?nan'?)  25^  II  5^^  2'2F°  25^^  (varied  curiously  from  2  Ki.  14^") 
3519  «,rf  Ezr.  312. 

33.  S  IDN  =  to  purpose,  or  promise,  that  ...  (in  preference  to  quoting  the 

words  used) :  I  21^'  272a,  II  1I8  (as  i  Ki.  S^^),  6^  (as  i  Ki.  8^2),  20 
(altered  from  i  Ki.  829),  138  2 1'  (as  2  Ki.  8^9),  2810- ^^  331  3521^ 
Neh.  922.  See  also  p.  506,  No.  3.  So  sometimes  also  in  early 
Heb.  (cf.  p.  505  ;/.).  ,Cf.  I  172^  {altered  ixom  2  Sa.  72'). 


538  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

34.  "T  ^]}  =  at  the  direction  or   appointment  of:    I   252- 3.  0  Sij-^   \\   2318b 

29^,  Ezr.  3^".     (An  unusual  sense  :  Jer.  5^^  33^^. ) 

35.  Combinations  of  the   type  nycn  nya',  t^i  Ty,  dim  dv,  often  with  Si 

prefixed,  to  express  every  several  gate,  city,  day,  &c.  :  I  26^^ 
28" *^  II  8^4  iii^  195  28^5  3119  3228  3413  3515,  Ezr.  10",  Neh.  1324, 

Est.    l8-  22*'^  2^1-  12    34.  12.  14  43  39.  n.  13.  17  ^21.  27.  28  (^^^^    ^„)^   pg^   §75, 

The  phrase  in  which  this  idiom  appears  to  have  first  come  into  use 
is  nm  nn  Dt.  32'^ ;  but  even  this  occurs  mostly  besides  in  passages 
not  earlier  than  the  close  of  the  exile,  Lam.  5^^,  Isa.  132°  34!'  58^2 
60^^  61^,  Jer.  50^^,  Joel  22  420,  and  often  in  the  Psalms,  esp.  those 
which  appear  to  be  late.  Except  in  this  phrase,  the  idiom  is  a 
distinctively  late  one,  being  found  only  in  the  passages  quoted.  It 
is  common  (especially  with  '?3)  in  post-Biblical  Hebrew. 

36.  n  for  the  relative  I  262**  29^  (unless  this  be  analogous  to  the  Arabic 

<IlJ  jJ*^^,  Ewald,  gr.  arab.  ii.  p.  242  f.),  ^\  II  i^  (i'?  pans),  2926 
(D\n'?Nn  y'2nr\  Vy),  Ezr.  825  iqI^-  ",  Very  singular,  and  of  doubtful 
occurrence  elsewhere  (see  Ew.  §  331^;  Ges.-Kautzsch,  §  138.  3^; 
and  the  writer's  note  on  i  Sa.  92*). 

37.  .  .   .  niVsai  :  II  7I  292^  31^,  Ezr.  9^.     The  same  order  constantly  in 

these  books,  as  12'  158  2020-22.23  24I4.  25  &<,.  The  older  language 
in  such  cases  would  either  prefix  'n-i  (so  Josh.  824  io20,  i  Ki.  8^4 
[omitted  in  2  Ch.  7^]  9^,  and  constantly),  [506]  or  place  the  infin. 
later  in  the  sentence  (as  Gen.  19^^  34'  &c.).  Cf.  p.  506,  No.  12  ; 
and  the  author's  note  on  i  Sa.  17^^ 

Prepositions  used  in  combinations  either  entirely  new,  or  occurring  with 
much  greater  frequency  than  in  earlier  writings  : — 

38.  '^  ly  (where  the  older  language  would  find  ny  or  *?  alone  sufficient)  : 

(a)  before  a  snbst.,  I  4^9  1222  232^  uh^V^  ny  (so  28^),  II  1412  nnji?  ny^ 
16^2  n'^yo'?  ny  (so  1 7^2  268),  iS^^  -\nr:h  ly,  26^^  pimn"?  ly  (so  Ezr.  3^3), 
28^^  D'Dti''?  ^y  (so  Ezr.  9^^),  292'>  36^^  NDno  J'n"?  ly,  Ezr.  9^''  nnjo'?  ^y 
myn,  10^^  nm  nm"?  ny  ;  {b)  before  an  inf.,  I  2820  ni'?3^  ly  (so  II 
2928),  II  2410  26^6  31I.10  3224  n^cjC,  ^j;  (2  Ki.  20I  np"?),  Ezr.  loH 
Only  before  in  the  phrase  .  .  .  Nu!?  ly  Josh.  I35=jud.  3^,  as  also 
I  5^  135,  II  268 ;  and  in  nnaon  ni'?y'?  ny  i  Ki.  182^^. 

39.  7  as  the  mark  of  the  accus. : — [a)  in  general,  as  i  Ch.   16^''  22^^  and 

often  ;  {b)  after  a  preceding  verbal  suffix,  in  the  Syriac  fashion  :  I 
526  23^  II  25^- 10  28^5  (cf.  Neh.  9^2)  .  (^)  introducing  the  definite 
obj.  after  the  indef.,  I  29^8,  II  2^2  23^,  so  Ps.  135^1  136^9- 20  (=the 
earlier  nx  Gen.  26^^  Jud.  3^^  &c.);  {cf)  carrying  on  the  suff.  of  a 
noun,  II  31^8^  Ezr^  ^ib  ((.f_  ioi4aj  ^  q^^q  denotes  the  goal  after  a 
verb  of  motion  much  more  frequently  in  Chr.  than  in  the  earlier 
prose  (in  which  it  is  chiefly  confined  to  certain  phrases,  as  v^hn^, 
in'a"?,  M-rh,  inipn'?, — naturally,  also,  with  other  suffixes). 

40.  h  with  the  inf.,  expressing  necessity,  purpose,  intention  (much  more 

freely  and  frequently  than  by  earlier  writers,  and  sometimes  very 
peculiarly):  I  92^  lo^^  22^,  II  8^^  1122  192  3121  3519  (cf.  26^),  Ezr. 
10^^  (Hahn,  but  not  Baer),  Neh.  8i3b .  ggp   ^fter  pN  or  vh  I  5I  152 


CHRONICLES  539 

2j^,   II  5"   7"   12^2  206  22»  3o9  3510,  Ezr.  915  ;   cf.  2  Ch.   2821. 
Comp.  the  writer's  Hebrew  TenseSy  §§  202-206. 

41.  3  expressing  concomitance  {without  a  verb) :  I  1^19-20.21.22  j^o  2.^^ 

II  5^^  7^  i3io.«rf  3514^  E^r.  s^^b 

42.  iDiu  or  naiS  :    I   \6^,  II  S^^  si^^f.     (In  the  earlier  language,  without 

<?;  e.g.  Ex.513.) 

43.  .   .  .  \>^  in  the  condition  of  none  .  .  .    =  without:  I  22*,  II  14^22025 

21^8  (j,2-|o  I'k"?  :  cf.  36I6  N31D  pj*"?  H^),  Ezr.  qI"*.     Cf.  K*?^  II  iss^'-. 
(Peculiar.     Not  elsewhere.) 

44.  nmn'?:  II  1112  168,  Neh.  5i8|. 

45.  '73'?  as  regards  all  .  .  .  {  =  namely,  in  brief:    Ew.  §  310*) :    I  13^, 

II  5^225531163385^  Ezr.  i\     (Comp.  p.   132,  No.   14.)     <?  is  also 
used  peculiarly  in  Chr.  in  other  ways,  as  the  *?  of  **  introduction," 
I  52  7I  281b- 21  2965^  11  721  (I  Ki.  98  '?D  only),  Ezr.  728,  a/.,  which 
the  reader  must  observe  for  himself,  or  which  he  may  find  noted  by 
Bertheau  (see  also  )  in  the  New  Heb.  Lex. ). 
46    The  following  four  technical  expressions  occur  only  in  these  books,  the 
first,  second,  and  fourth  with  great  frequency  :  omiE'D  singers,  I  6I8 
9^  &c. ;  Dn;;^  gate-keepers  or  porters  (of  the  Ark  or  Temple),  I 
917-18  &c.;  wrh^D  cymbals,  I  y-^  {altei-ed  from  2  Sa.   6^),  15I6  &c.; 
np'?nD  division,  of  the  courses  of  the  [507]  priests,  &c.  I  23*  24I  &c. 
(nyic  and  rp^no  are  also  found  elsewhere,  but  not  in  these  applica- 
tions). 
In  addition  to  the  idioms  that  have  been  noted,  hardly  a  verse  occurs, 
written  by  the  Chronicler  himself,  which  does  not  present  singularities  of 
style,   though  they  are  frequently  of  a  kind  that  refuses  to  be  tabulated. 
Amongst  these  may  be  noticed  the  heavy  combined  sentences,  such  as  would 
be  avoided  in  the  earlier  language  by  the  use  of  two  clauses  connected  by  ~\vx  : 
e.g.  I  Ch.  ii3  ^NiDB'  T3  "  nm3  [contrast  i  Kj.  1529^  1612^],  v^^  2^  281*^  292^^, 
2  Ch.   i»  815  138a  20"  D3Dy  "  nyiB"  nN,  249- n*- 27  1'"?^  Ntj'Dn  a'm,   26"  28^ 
2915  3oi2b  3222  338b^  34i4b;3  356. 22  3612b.  21.  22  E^r.  3^  Dn''?^  ons  i"?d  t7ni3  \vvf\'2 ;  al. 
For  examples  of  strangely-worded  sentences,  see    i  Ch.   12I8  (03'*?^  '"?  .t.t 

nn'"?  33"?)  23  132  1513a  225   2821b   298-  "-  "b^   2  Ch.   512    I2l2*^    I4I2  1 69  192-  «»>  26I8 

2813  &c.  The  Chronicler  also  sometimes  uses  words  or  constructions  which 
otherwise  are  only  poetical,  as  i  Ch.  2^-  ^2  d'J3  n"?  (Ges.-K.  §  152.  i  h.  Rem.), 
289  ^y^^  2  Ch.  139  K  nS*?,  1410  n3  ytfh  3T  p3  (see  Isa.  4029^  Job  262-  3),  i6i» 
2619  28^  ^y]  (cf.  Jon.  ii5)^20^  33I''  3'B'pn,  3215  (the  sing.  Tvh»,  as  Neh.  91^, 
Dan.  1 1^-  38-  39)^  32I8  ^na,  ^phe  following  are  words  found  either  {a)  only  in 
Chr.,  or  {b)  only  in  Chr.  and  other  late  writings,  esp.  Ezr.  Neh.  Est.  Dan., 
many  also  being  common  in  Aram,  or  New  Heb.  : — (a)  nVi-i'3  ;  nsiJ ;  "ina ;  n'Jin 
{hiph.) ;  E'B';  {^'^1,  4  times  in  Job);  b'33  2  Ch.  9I8;  ^^ipo  (cf.  N'?3^3  Dan. 
3*^1);  ^'Dns  crimson  (prob.  Pers.);  3'i;'7n  {ethp.  in  Syr.  and  Targ.);  J'i;'?n 
///>>^.  (as  NH.) ;  nsp  2  Ch.  2I6  ;  my  ^^  arrange  i  Ch.  I234-  39  (text  dub.) ;  p'ny 
ancient  (i  Ch.  422^  ;  in  Aram.,  Dan.  7^  &c.) ;  "^^f^^  to  free  from  service  (i  Ch, 
933,  2  Ch.  238);  n^i?  a«  open  portico  (i  Ch.  26I8 :  Persian,  ^xo^xXy  lighted 
(by  the  sun);  cf.  onns  2  Ki.  23");  nybiJD ;  !]>•  «^^^  (2  Ch.  2i5|)  ;  no'nc' 
(2  Ch.  30":  cf.  p.  484«.);  ^'Thr\  scholar  (i  Ch.  25^);  {b)  mJK  (p.  485); 
jm-iN  (I  Ch.   297,   Ezr.   82^1  :«cf.   pD3m  Neh.   76^-70  (;  =  Ezr.  2«']7it);    nT3 


540  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

I  Ch.  29^'  ^*,  Dnnn  choseti,  choice  (lit.  separated),  i  Ch.  7^  9^2  le"*!,  Neh. 
5I8 ;  ^m3  2  Ch.  2620,  gst.  e^^f  (cf.  qim  Est.  31^  S^^) ;  D'^i  2  Ch.  16",  Ps.  14413 
(jl),  and  Aram.  ;  nis?  i  Ch.  28",  Ezr.  i^*  %'^\  ;  I"i.4  J/^m//^  i  Ch.  21^7,  Dan. 
f^\  (p-  501);  D'P?^  2  Ch.  i"-^2  (p_  ii2«.);  D'E'j  NB'i  (p.  455);  riDnyon  on*? 
I  Ch.  9^2  232^,  Neh.  10^  (for  the  earlier  D'^^n  onV) :  ^  (p.  449  ;  but  only  i  Ch. 
520  2727,  Ezr.  82")  ;  xho  weapon  2  Ch.  2310  32^,  Neh.  4"- 1^,  Job  33I8  36^2, 
Joel  2^1 ;  rhm  2  Ch.  29"  (p.  188;/.);  Sy?  2  Ch.  321^,  Ps.  119I''  (dififerently 
Isa.  59I®  63')!  ;  see  also  p.  475,  Nos.  2,  4,  6,  8,  9,  11,  and  p.  506 f.,  Nos.  5, 
6,  7,  14,  15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  23,  with  the  note  at  the  end  of  the  same  list. 
Comp.  further  the  idioms  noted  by  Prof.  Francis  Brown,  in  Clark's  Bible  Dic- 
tionary, s.v.  Chronicles. 

§  2.  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 

Literature. — Ewald,  Hist.  i.  189  ff.  ;  E.  Bertheau  in  the  Kgf.  Hdb. 
1862,2  by  V.  Ryssel,  1887;  C.  F.  Keil  (see  p.  478);  Eb.  Schrader,  "Die 
Dauer  des  zweiten  Tempelbaues.  Zugleich  ein  Beitrag  zur  Kritik  des  B. 
Esra,"  Stud.  u.  Krit.  1867,  pp.  460-504  (important ;  pp.  494-498  to  be 
qualified  by  A"^  7!  2  p.  374f.);  Rud.  Smend,  Die  Listen  der  Bb.  Esra  u. 
Nehemia  [tabulated  synoptically,  and  discussed];  S.  Oettli  (see  p.  516);  A. 
Kuencii,  Onderzoek,  ed.  2,  §§  29,  33-35*  and  De  Chronologie  van  het  Ferzische 
tijdvakderjoodschegeschiedenis,  Amsterdam,  1890  (tr.  in  Gesammelte  Abhand- 
lungen,  1894,  pp.  212-251);  P.  H.  Hunter,  After  the  Exile:  a  Hundred 
Years  of  Jewish  History  and  Literature,  1890  ;  IL  E.  Ryle  in  the  Camb. 
Bible  for  Schools,  1893;  C.  C.  Torrey,  The  Composition  and  Hist.  Value  of 
Ezra-Neh.,  Giessen,  1896;  Ed,  Meyer,  Die  Entstehung  des  Jtidenthuins, 
1896. 

Chronological  Table. 


B.C. 

B.C. 

536. 

Cyrus. 

425- 

Xerxes  II.  (2  months). 

529- 

Cambyses. 

425. 

Sogdianus  (7  months). 

522. 

Pseudo-Smerdis  (Gaum§,ta),  for 

424. 

Darius  II.  (Nothus). 

7  months. 

405- 

Artaxerxes  II.  (Mnemon). 

522. 

Darius  Hystaspis. 

359. 

Artaxerxes  III.  (Ochus). 

516. 

Completion  of  the  Temple. 

351- 

331.  Jaddua,  high  priest  (Neh. 

485. 

Xerxes. 

12II). 

465- 

Artaxerxes  I.  (Longimanus). 

339. 

Arses. 

458. 

Mission  of  Ezra. 

336. 

Darius  Codomannus. 

444. 

Nehemiah' s  first  visit  to  Jeru- 

333- 

Persian  empire  overthrown  by 

salem  (Neh.  2I). 

Alexander  the  Great. 

432. 

Nehemiah'' s  second  visit  to  Jeru- 
salem (Neh.  I3«-). 

As  remarked  above  (p.  516),  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  form  in  the 
Jewish  canon  a  single  book,  "  Ezra."  This  book  embraces  the 
period  from  the  return  of  the  exiles  under  Zerubbabel,  B.C.  536,  to 
the  second  visit  of  Nehemiah  in  b.c.  432  ;  but  the  history  is  not 


EZRA  AND  NEHEMIAH  54I 

told  continuously :  it  is  confined  chiefly  to  certain  periods  or 
occasions  of  importance,  viz.  the  return,  and  events  immediately 
following  it  (B.C.  536),  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple  (b.c.  520-16), 
and  the  visits  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  in  b.c.  458,  444,  and  432. 
[508]  Parts  of  the  Book  of  Ezra  are  written  in  Aramaic  (4^-6^^ ; 

yl2-26\ 

Contents.  I.  Ezr.  1-6.  Events  issuing  in  the  restoration  of 
the  Temple.  C.  i.  The  edict  of  Cyrus  (b.c.  536),  granting  the 
Jews  permission  to  return  to  Jerusalem,  and  to  take  back  with 
them  the  sacred  vessels  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  removed  to 
Babylon.  C.  2.  A  register  of  the  numbers  and  families  of  those 
who  availed  themselves  of  this  permission.  C.  3.  The  altar  of 
Burnt-offering  is  set  up,  and  the  feast  of  Booths  observed  (v.^"'^) ; 
in  the  2nd  month  of  the  2nd  year  (b.c.  534)  the  foundations  of 
the  Temple  are  laid  amid  the  mingled  rejoicings  and  regrets  of 
the  people  (v.^-^^^^  q  ^  Tjie  « adversaries  of  Judah  and  Ben- 
jamin "  (chiefly,  as  the  context  shows,  Samaritans)  ask  permission 
to  assist  in  the  task  of  rebuilding  the  Temple,  which  is  refused 
by  Zerubbabel  and  Jeshua :  they  exert  themselves  consequently 
with  success  to  stop  the  further  progress  of  the  restoration  till 
the  second  year  of  Darius  (b.c.  520),  v.^'^-  2*.  V.^*  ^-^^  deal  with 
a  different  matter,  viz.  the  interruption  of  the  work  of  rebuilding 
the  city  walls^  caused  by  misrepresentations  made  by  the  enemies 
of  the  Jews  at  the  Persian  court,  under  Xerxes  (b.c.  485-465), 
and  Artaxerxes  (b.c.  465-425).  C.  5.  B.C.  520,  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  the  prophets  Haggai  and  Zechariah,  the  restoration  of 
the  Temple  is  resumed :  Tattenai,  the  Persian  governor  of  the 
provinces  west  of  Euphrates,  and  Shethar-bozenai,  in  doubt 
whether  it  should  be  permitted  to  proceed,  make  a  formal 
application  to  Darius  for  instructions  (5^'^^) ;  a  favourable  answer 
is  returned  by  him  (6i'^2) ;  the  work  in  consequence  advances 
rapidly ;  and  the  restored  Temple  is  solemnly  dedicated  in  the 
6th  year  of  Darius,  b.c.  516  (613-^^).  There  follows  a  brief  notice 
of  the  Passover  of  the  following  year  (6^^-22) ;  and  with  this  the 
first  part  of  the  Book  of  Ezra  ends.  Between  6^2  and  7^  there  is 
an  interval  of  nearly  sixty  years. 

II.  Ezr.  7-10.  The  journey  of  the  scribe  and  priest  Ezra  to 
Jerusalem  in  the  7th  year  of  Artaxerxes  (458  b.c.),  and  the  reforms 
introduced  by  him  upon  his  arrival  there.  C.  7,  after  stating  who 
Ezra  was,  and  mentionin^riefly  how  he  obtained  leave  to  return 


542  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

to  Jerusalem  with  such  of  the  Jews  as  were  disposed  to  accom- 
pany him  (v.i"^^),  recites  (in  Aramaic)  the  edict  of  Artaxerxes, 
defining  the  terms  of  Ezra's  commission,  and  authorizing  the 
different  Persian  officers  west  of  the  Euphrates  to  afford  him 
(within  certain  specified  limits)  such  assistance  as  he  might  need 
^y  12-26)^  The  edict  ended,  Ezra  speaks  in  the  first  person  to  the 
end  of  c.  9.  First,  after  an  expression  of  thankfulness  (7^^^-)  to 
the  God  of  his  fathers  for  having  thus  put  it  into  the  [509] 
heart  of  the  Persian  king  to  benefit  his  nation,  he  states  (c.  8) 
the  numbers  of  his  countrymen  who  accompanied  him  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  describes  the  journey  thither :  afterwards  (c.  9)  he 
relates  how  he  learnt  that  the  Jews  in  Judah  had  contracted 
numerous  foreign  marriages,  for  which  he  makes  solemn  con- 
fession to  God  in  the  name  of  his  people  (v.^-^^).  In  c.  10 
the  narrative  is  resumed  in  the  third  person.  Certain  of  the 
leading  Jews  express  their  willingness  to  reform  the  abuse  :  Ezra, 
having  exacted  a  promise  from  them  to  abide  by  their  word, 
summons  a  general  assembly  of  the  people,  and  expostulates 
with  them  on  their  dereliction  of  duty ;  they  undertake  to  put 
away  their  foreign  wives ;  and  the  chapter  closes  with  a  list  of 
the  offenders. 

The  Book  of  Nehemiah  falls  into  three  main  divisions,  c.  1-7, 
c.  8-10,  c.  11-13.  I.  In  Neh.  1-7  the  narrative  is  told  in 
the  first  person.  In  c.  1-2  Nehemiah  relates  the  occasion  of 
his  visit  to  Jerusalem,  Tidings  reached  him  in  Shushan  of  the 
ruined  condition  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem ;  being  cup-bearer 
to  Artaxerxes,  the  grief  manifest  on  his  countenance  attracted 
the  notice  of  the  king,  and  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  permission 
to  visit  Jerusalem  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  their  restoration. 
Upon  his  arrival  there  he  induced  a  number  of  the  leading 
Jewish  families  to  co-operate  with  him;  and  successfully  de- 
feated the  efforts  made  by  the  Jews'  enemies,  Sanballat  the 
Horonite,  Tobiah  the  "servant,"  and  Gashmu  the  Arabian  to 
interfere  with  the  progress  of  the  work  (c.  3-4).  C.  5  he  relates 
how  he  persuaded  the  wealthier  of  his  fellow-countrymen  no 
longer  to  treat  their  impoverished  brethren  as  slaves  (viz.  by 
holding  them  in  bondage  for  debt) ;  and  describes*  his  own 
solicitude  not  to  be  chargeable  to  the  people  during  the  time 
that  he  held  the  office  of  governor  among  them.  C.  6  he 
narrates    the    fresh    efforts    made   by   Sanballat,   Tobiah,   and 


EZRA  AND  NEHEMIAH  543 

Gashmu  to  hinder  the  completion  of  the  walls,  and  the  series 
of  unsuccessful  attempts  made  by  them  to  allure  him  to  a 
personal  conference.  Provision  having  been  made,  y^^^,  for  the 
safe  custody  of  the  gates,  Nehemiah  determines,  7'*^-,  to  take 
measures  to  augment  the  number  of  residents  in  the  city. 
Before,  however,  describing  how  he  does  this,  he  inserts  in  his 
narrative  the  list  found  by  him  of  the  exiles  who  returned  with 
Zerubbabel  90  years  previously,  7^"''^.  This  list  agrees  [510] 
(except  for  verbal  alterations,  which,  however,  are  somewhat 
numerous)  with  Ezra,  c.  2. 

II.  Neh.  8-10.  In  this  division  of  the  book,  Nehemiah  no 
longer  speaks  in  the  first  person;  and  Ezra^  assisted  by  the 
Levites,  appears  as  the  chief  actor.  The  people,  on  the  ist  day 
of  the  7th  month,  assembled  on  "the  broad  space  before  the 
water-gate,"  express  a  desire  to  have  the  Law  read  to  them. 
Ezra,  supported  by  the  Levites,  responds  to  their  request ;  and 
they  are  deeply  impressed  by  the  words  which  they  hear,  8^"^^. 
On  the  following  day  the  reading  is  continued ;  and  finding  the 
observance  of  the  feast  of  Booths  inculcated  (Lev.  23^0. 42^^  ^-j^gy 
celebrate  it  solemnly  in  accordance  with  the  instructions,  8^3-i^. 
Two  days  after  the  close  of  the  feast,  on  the  24th  of  the  7  th 
month,  the  people  assemble  again  in  order  publicly  to  acknow- 
ledge their  sins,  9^"^,  the  Levites — or,  more  probably,  Ezra  (see 
V.6  LXX) — leading  their  devotions  in  the  long  confession,  v. ^-3''. 
At  the  end,  v. 3^,  the  confession  passes  into  a  covenant,  which  is 
solemnly  sealed  by  Nehemiah  and  other  representatives  of  the 
people,  lo^-^'',  the  terms  of  the  covenant,  reciting  the  obligations 
taken  by  the  people  upon  themselves,  being  afterwards  stated  in 
detail,  v.28-39. 

III.  Neh.  11-13,  of  miscellaneous  contents,  (i)  C.  \\\  a. 
v.i-24  (the  sequel  to  7^)  the  names  of  those  men  (one  in  ten) 
taken  by  lot  to  reside  in  Jerusalem;"^  h.  vP-^^  a  list  of  the 
villages  and  towns  in  the  neighbourhood  which  were  occupied  by 
the  returned  Israelites.  (2)  12I-26:  a.  v}-^  a  list  of  the  priests 
and  Levites  who  returned  with  Zerubbabel  in  536 ;  b.  v.  10-11  the 
series  of  high  priests  from  Joshua  to  Jaddua  (536-331  B.c.);t 
c.  v.  12-21  the  heads  of  families  of  the  priests  in  the  time  of  the 
high   priest  Joiakim,   son   of  Jeshua  (499-463  B.C.);  d.  v.22-26 

♦  V.'^-i^*  is  repeated  in  i  Ch.  Q^-"*. 

t  Forming  the  sequel,  fo^  the  /t?j/-exilic  period,  to  I  Ch.  6''-". 


544  LITERATURE   OF  THE   OLD  TESTAMENT 

chief  Levitical  families  to  the  time  of  Johanan  (383-351).  (3) 
J  227-43  Nehemiah's  own  account  (in  the  first  person)  of  the 
dedication  of  the  walls.  (4)  1 2^^-^^  the  appointment,  at  the  same 
time,  of  officers  to  collect  the  dues  of  the  priests  and  Levites ; 
and  the  liberality  shown  by  the  community  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  porters  and  singers.  (5)  C.  13.  Nehemiah's  narrative  (in 
\k\&  first  person)  of  his  second  visit  (12  years  later)  to  Jerusalem, 
of  his  removal  of  the  heathen  Tobiah  from  the  [511]  precincts  of 
the  Temple  v. 4-^,  and  of  the  measures  taken  by  him  to  secure 
the  payment  of  their  dues  to  the  Levites  v.^^-^*,  to  ensure  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath  v.^^-^^,  and  to  prevent  marriages  with 
foreign  women  v.^^"^^. 

Structure. — The  Books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  are  a  compila- 
tion made  by  an  author  (to  all  appearance  identical  with  the 
Chronicler)  writing  long  after  the  age  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah 
themselves,  on  the  basis,  partly,  of  the  authentic  "  memoirs  "  (as 
the  parts  written  in  the  first  person  are  generally  termed)  of  those 
two  reformers,  and  partly  of  other  materials.*  The  compilatory 
character  of  the  two  books  is  apparent  from  many  indications  : — 
(i)  The  change,  in  both,  from  the  ist  to  the  3rd  person,  and 
vice  versa^  which  one  and  the  same  writer  might  make,  as  Thucy- 
dides  does,  at  wide  intervals  in  his  work,t  but  which  is  not 
probable  in  nearly  contiguous  sections.  (2)  The  unevenness  in 
the  treatment  of  the  history.  There  are  long  periods  on  which 
the  narrative  is  silent :  in  one  case  especially  (Ezr.  62--7I),  an 
interval  of  sixty  years,  immediately  before  Ezrd?s  own  time,  being 
passed  over  by  the  words,  "After  these  things,"  in  a  manner  not 
credible  if  the  writer  were  Ezra  himself,  but  perfectly  natural  if 
the  writer  lived  in  an  age  to  which  the  period  B.C.  516-458  was 
visible  only  in  a  distant  perspective.  (3)  The  style  and  language 
differ.  In  certain  parts  of  the  two  books  the  personality  of  the 
writers  is  very  prominent ;  it  is  conspicuous  both  in  their  tone 
and  manner  and  in  their  phraseology  :  other  parts  show  much 
less  force  and  originality,  and  at  the  same  time  exhibit  close 
affinities  with  the  style  of  the  Chronicler. 

*  So  also  now  Prof.  Sayce  {Monuments,  pp.  537,  538,  548),  abandoning 
his  former  view  {Tntrod.  to  Ezr.  Neh.  Est.,  1885,  p.  29  f.)  that  the  Book  oi 
Ezra  is  the  work  of  Ezra  himself. 

t  The  change  from  the  3rd  person  to  the  ist  in  Thuc.  5,  26  arises  mani- 
festly from  the  nature  of  the  fact  to  be  narrated. 


EZRA  AND   NEHEMIAH  545 

Passages  bearing  the  impress  of  Ezra's  and  Nehemiah's  personality  hardly 
need  to  be  quoted :  some  illustrations  of  Nehemiah's  style  will  be  found 
below.     The  phraseology  of  the  Chronicler  is  especially  noticeable  in  Ezr. 

I,   3,   6^6-22  7I-W     Neh.    I2--26.43-47, 

(4)  The  books  contain  internal  marks  of  having  been  compiled 
in  an  age  long  subsequent  to  that  of  Ezr.  and  Neh.  Thus 
notice : — 

(a)  The  phrase  "  King  of  Persia;'  Ezr.  \^'  -•  8  3'  43.  s-  7.  24  7I .  the  addition 
would,  during  the  period  of  the  Persian  supremacy,  be  at  once  unnecessary 
and  contrary  to  contemporary  usage  (see  p.  546,  «. ) :  the  expression  used 
by  Ezr.  and  Neh.,  when  speaking  in  their  [512]  own  person  (Ezr.  J^*-  8*-  '^' 
25.  86^  ]sjeh.  l"  2^^-  ^^'  5^-  "  6'^  13^),  or  in  passages  extracted  from  sources 
written  under  the  Persian  rule  (Ezr.  4^'  "*  "'  '^  5"'  ^^''  "  6^*  ''  '^- ''  *  f-  "'  '\ 
Neh.  ii23-  24)^  is  simply  "the  king"  (so  Hag.  i^-  ^5,  Zech.  7^).  The  observa- 
tion is  due  to  Ewald,  Hist.  i.  173. 

(^)  Neh.  12^^' 22  Jaddua,  three  .generations  later  than  Eliashib,  the  con- 
temporary of  Nehemiah,  high  priest  B.C.  351-331,  is  mentioned.f 

{c)  Neh.  12^2  *' Darius  the  Persian"  must  (from  the  context)  be  Darius 
Codomannus,  the  last  king  of  Persia,  B.C.  336-332:  and  the  title  "the 
Persian  "  could  only  have  become  a  distinctive  one  after  the  Persian  period 
was  past. 

(d)  Neh.  122^-  ^7  the  "days  of  Nehemiah"  are  spoken  of  in  terms  clearly 
implying  that  the  writer  looked  back  upon  them  as  past. 

(g)  Other  indications  of  the  same  fact  will  appear  below  ;  e.g.  the  position 
of  Ezr.  4^'23  (which,  referring,  as  it  does,  to  what  happened  under  Xerxes 
and  Artaxerxes,  could  not  possibly  have  been  placed  where  it  now  stands 
by  Ezra,  a  contemporary  of  the  latter),  the  contents  and  character  of 
7^-w  &c. 

The  two  books  may  now  be  considered  briefly  in  detail. 

Ezr.  1-6,  which,  even  if  written  by  Ezra,  would  not  be  the 
work  of  a  contemporary,  consists  only  partially  of  extracts  from 
earlier  documents ;  other  parts  are  shown  by  their  style  to  be  the 
work  of  the  Chronicler,  such  materials,  whether  written  or  tradi- 
tional, as  were  at  his  disposal  being  (in  accordance  with  his 
custom)  considerably  expanded.  In  c.  i  the  edict  of  Cyrus  (to 
judge  from  its  Jewish  phraseology  and  Jewish  point  of  view)  is, 
no  doubt,  recited  only  in  general  terms,  not  reproduced  with 

*  In  &-'^'^  the  words  "and  Artaxerxes,  king  of  Persia,"  can  hardly  (on 
account  of  the  context)  be  part  of  the  original  narrative. 

t  It  is  sometimes  supposed  that  both  this  genealogy  and  the  one  in  i  Ch. 
^siff.  jj^ay  have  originally  ended  at  an  earlier  stage,  the  later  names  being 
filled  in  subsequently.  But  even  supposing  this  to  have  been  the  case,  the 
other  marks  of  late  composition^hich  the  books  contain  would  still  remain. 


54^  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

literal  exactness.*  The  interest  of  the  writer  (as  in  the  [513] 
Chronicles)  centres  evidently  in  the  Temple;  hence  he  dwells 
more  on  the  restoration  of  the  sacred  vessels  than  on  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  journey  homewards  (contrast  Ezra  himself,  S^^^-).! 
The  register  in  c.  2  has  every  appearance  of  being  a  nearly  con- 
temporary document,  :j:  but  it  must  have  been  derived  immediately 
by  the  compiler  from  Neh.  7,  where  it  was  incorporated  by 
Nehemiah  —  who  states  that  he  found  it  himself — in  his 
memoirs. 

The  passage  Ezr,  2^^^-  (on  the  offerings  to  the  treasury  and  for  the  priests' 
vestments)  differs  considerably  from  the  parallel  Neh.  7'°"'^2 .  ^nd  in  neither, 
probably,  is  it  quite  in  its  original  form  (of.  Kuen.  §  34.  3  ;  Stade,  Gesch.  ii. 
108  ;  Meyer,  p.  195).  In  Ezr.  2''^"^^*  there  is  an  insertion  in  the  text  of  Neh. 
7''^,  which  shows  marks  of  the  compiler's  hand  {e.g.  m^nn,  Tsyn,  p.  535  ff., 
Nos.  23,  4 ;  cf.  also  v.^^  with  i^**-  •*^).  The  introduction  to  the  sequel  of  the 
list  in  Neh.  was  borrowed  by  the  compiler  of  Ezra  at  the  same  time  (for  the 
"seventh  month"  belongs,  in  Neh.,  to  a  year  previously  stated,  whereas  here 
no  year  to  which  it  can  be  referred  has  been  named) :  hence  the  remarkable 
similarity  of  Ezr.  3^  (to  as  one  man  to)  and  Neh.  7'^3^-8^*. 

3^-4^  is  similar  in  literary  character  to  c.  i,  c.  3  in  particular 
displaying  throughout  marks  of  the  compiler's  style,  and  being 

*  Comp.  Ewald,  Hist.  v.  48 f.;  Ryssel,  p.  4ff.;  Schrader,  KAT."^  p.372f.; 
Meyer,  p.  49.  Persia  was  absorbed  and  lost  in  the  wider  empire  of  which, 
by  Cyrus'  conquest  of  Babylon,  the  Achsemenidse  became  the  heirs ;  hence 
after  that  date  their  standing  official  title  is  not  **  King  of  Persia,"  but 
"King  of  Babylon"  {Records  of  the  Pasty  ist  series,  ix.  67;  cf.  2nd  series, 
V.  166,  and  comp.  Ezr.  5^^),  or,  more  commonly,  "the  King,"  "the  great 
King,"  "King  of  kings,  "King  of  the  lands,"  &c.  (often  in  combination): 
see  the  series  of  inscriptions  of  Persian  kings  in  Records^  ist  series,  i.  iii  ff. 
(Behistun),  v.  151  ff.,  ix.  67-88  ;  also  the  Aramaic  funereal  inscription  found 
at  Saqqarah,  near  Memphis,  in  1877  {CIS.  II.  i.  No.  122),  dated  the  4t,i 
year  of  [no'^Jo  'T  n^Vd  tynx'K'n,  i.e.  of  "Xerxes,  King  of  k[ings]";  and 
pa<riXei>s  ^acriX^uv  Aapetos  6  'TcrrdcrTrew  raSa'rat  SoiJXwt  rdde  \4yei,  in  the 
interesting  decree  cited  by  Meyer,  p.  19  :  comp.  Ezr.  'j'^\  ("  King  of  Persia  " 
is  used  of  Cyrus  only  de/ore  his  conquest  of  Babylon,  Records,  2nd  series, 
V.  160 ;  and  of  Darius  only  exceptionally,  in  the  midst  of  other  titles,  id.  1st 
series,  i.  iii.  By  their  subjects  the  Persian  kings  are  also  styled  "King  of 
Babylon,"  or  "  King  of  the  lands"  (often  in  combination) :  see  the  numerous 
contract-tablets  belonging  to  the  reigns  of  Cyrus,  Cambyses,  and  Darius, 
published  in  Schrader's  Keilimchr.  Bibliothek,  iv.  259-311.) 

t  In  the  language  of  c.  i,  notice  e.g.  v.^  (  =  2  Ch.  36^^)  ^  nn  Tyn,  as  i  Ch. 
S^y  2  Ch.  21I6  [also  Jer.  51I1,  Hag.  i^^f]  ;  v.^  nuuD,  2  Ch.  2i3  32^3  [also  Gen. 
24**^ J];  and  see  the  list,  p.  535  ff.,  Nos.  9,  20,  23,  28,  30,  45. 

X  Cf.  Meyer,  p.  150  ff.  ;  also  Wellh.  Golt.  gel.  Anz.,  1897,  p.  94  (where 
he  qualifies  what  he  had  said  in  Die  RiUkkekr,  &c.  [below,  p.    552],  p.  ii  ff.). 


EZRA  AND  NEHEMIAH  547 

manifestly  his  composition,  constructed,  it  may  be  reasonably 
supposed,  upon  a  traditional  basis. 

Notice,  for  instance,  3^""^,  to  offer  'ji  ninoa,  2  Ch.  2^^^^,  cf.  31^  3512-  26^ 
Ezr.  618  (Aram.),  Neh.  io=^^-  ^6  [Heb.  ^- 3Vj,  i  Ch.  la^'^  i/ie  man  of  God,  as 
I  Ch.  2314,  2  Ch.  24^  esp.  3oi«  (Ukewise  of  Moses :  of  David  2  Ch.  8^^  Neh. 
J  224. 36) .  y  3  j^j^g  strange  sentence  D.T'^i;  hd'nd  '3,  2  Ch.  161**  icy  Fjyia  '3  (cf.  p. 
535  ff.,  No.  27) ;  my'^i  ipn'?  m"?;;  i  Ch.  16-*",  2  Ch.  2^ ;  v.-*  era  cv  (/(5.  No.  29) ; 
Dijcj-OD  according  to  the  ordmauce,  cf.  I  Ch.  23^1  Dn''?y  B2E'D3  nsDD3  (also  i  Ch. 
1513,  2  Ch.  42"  35^3,  Neh.  8^8).  ^,5  ■y^:^nr\  to  offer  freely  {ib.  No.  23);  v.s- 10 
n^Dyn  /^  appoint  (No.  4) ;  v.^  Sy  nsj  /^  preside  over  (No.  21  :  esp.  i  Ch.  23* 
ni.T  nu  n3{<'?D  "ry  ni-j"?) ;  v.^"  nn  n'  *?y  (No.  34 :  esp.  2  Ch.  23^^) .  y^u  t,i^,^-j 
nninm  (No.  16,  and  for  the  inf ,  No.  28:  cf.  also  2  Ch.  ^^  generally);  v.^-'' 
the  use  of  3  (No.  41) ;  •?!?  Dnn"?  (phrase  as  2  Ch,  5^2 :  constr.  with  *?  as  No. 
32);  V.13  ■?  ny  (No.  38;  esp.  2  Ch.  261^^).  See  further  on  this  chapter 
Schrader,  I.e.  p.  481  ff.;  Ryssel,  p.  xxi. 

[514]  The  account,  32^*,  of  the  erection  of  the  altar  is  confirmed  independ- 
ently by  the  allusion  in  Hag.  2^^ :  but  in  connexion  with  38-^3  ^  difficulty 
arises  ;  and  Schrader,  in  his  study  on  Ezr.  1-6  in  the  St.  tt.  Krii.  1867, 
adduces  strong  reasons  (p.  460 ff.)  for  supposing  the  foundation  of  the  Temple 
to  have  been  ante-dated  by  the  compiler  (comp.  Steiner,  Coffim.  on  Hagg. 
p.  322,  and  Kuenen,  §  34.  4).  The  earlier  narrative  of  5^  speaks  of  Zerub- 
babel  and  Jeshua  as  "  beginning  to  build  the  house  of  God,"  not  in  535,  but 
in  520 ;  Hag.  2^^-  ^^  names  expressly  the  24th  day  of  the  9th  month  in 
Darius'  second  year  (520)  as  that  on  which  the  foundations  of  the  Temple 
were  laid  (comp.  Zech.  8^) ;  and  the  terms  of  ^^^  appear  to  preclude 
the  idea  of  any  interruption  having  occurred  since  the  work  was  begun. 
Thus  all  contemporary  sources  mention  only  a  foundation  of  the  Temple  in 
the  2nd  year  of  Darius ;  a  foundation  in  the  2nd  year  of  the  return  appears 
to  have  no  better  authority  than  a  tradition  committed  to  writing  some  200 
years  subsequently.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  think  that  this  tradition  can 
have  arisen  without  some  historical  basis  ;  and  the  truth  probably  is  that  the 
ceremony  described  in  Ezr.  38-^3  ^^^^^  Qj^g  of  ^  pmely  formal  character,  such  as 
Haggai  could  afford  to  disregard  altogether  (cf.  Stade,  ii.  I22f.;  Ryle,  p. 
xxxiiif. ;  Meyer,  p.  44 f.;  and  on  the  other  side,  Konig,  £inl.  p.  281  ff.). 

The  sequel  of  4^  is  4^*.  The  section  4.^-^^ — containing  the 
notice  of  the  letter  to  "Ahasuerus,"  and  the  correspondence 
with  Artachshasta — relates  to  a  different  and  subsequent  period, 
and  is  here  out  of  place :  it  relates,  viz.,  to  the  interruptions 
caused  by  the  Samaritans  and  other  enemies  of  the  Jews  to  the 
project  of  rebuilding — not  the  Temple,  but — the  dly  walls  (cf. 
Neh.  i-^),  probably  shortly  before  the  20th  year  of  Artaxerxes 
(B.C.  444),  when  Nehemiah  (Neh.  2^)  succeeded  in  impressing 
the  Persian  king  favourably  on  behalf  of  his  nation ;  and  helps 
to  fill  up  the  gap  between  !^ra  10  and  Neh.  i. 


548  LITERATURE   OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

This  is  apparent  from  two  independent  considerations,  (i)  Achashwhosh 
and  Artachshasta  in  v.^-  '  are  elsewhere  regularly  the  Hebrew  forms  of  the 
names  which  we  know  as  Xerxes  *  and  Artaxerxes  f  respectively  ;  these  two 
kings,  however,  reigned  long  after  the  age  of  Cyrus  or  Darius  (v.^),  viz.  485- 
465,  and  465-425  ;  (2)  in  4^-^  all  that  the  Jews  are  represented  as  con- 
templating is  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple ;  so  in  the  sequel,  4^^,  only  the 
Temple  is  referred  to  ;  J  in  the  two  letters,  on  the  contrary,  mention  is  made 
throughout  of  nothing  but  the  rebuilding  of  the  city  walls  (v.  ^2. 13. 16.  21  j^ 
[515]  This,  however,  was  the  work  which,  as  we  know  from  Neh. ,  the  Jews 
took  up  in  the  days  of  Artaxerxes.  The  allusion  in  v.-^^  appears  to  be  to  the 
Jews  who  had  returned  in  458  with  Ezra. 

All  recent  writers  on  Ezra  agree  in  this  view  of  the  contents 
of  4^-23 :  they  differ  only  in  their  explanation  of  the  disregard  of 
chronological  sequence  shown  here  by  the  compiler.  Bertheau, 
Keil,  Oettli  suppose  that,  though  aware  in  fact  that  the  section 
related  to  occurrences  some  80  years  later  than  the  period  he 
was  describing  (4^-^  c.  5-6),  he  inserted  it  here  "episodically," 
or  with  the  view  of  "  giving  a  synopsis  of  the  entire  series  of 
hostilities  experienced  by  the  Jews  at  the  hands  of  their  neigh- 
bours." But  this  explanation  cannot  be  deemed  a  probable  one ; 
it  is  difficult  to  think  that  a  method  which  could  only  mislead 
and  confuse  the  reader  would  have  been  adopted  by  the  compiler 
intentionally.  It  is  far  more  natural  to  suppose  that,  for  some 
reason,  the  true  reference  of  the  section  was  not  perceived  by 
him ;  and  that  he  referred  by  error  to  troubles  connected  with 
the  restoration  of  the  Temple  what  related  in  fact  to  the  restora- 
tion of  the  city  walls  (so  also  Ryle,  p.  66  ;  Meyer,  p.  14  if.). 

The  letter  to  Artaxerxes,  and  his  reply,  4^-22,  are  taken  by 
the  compiler  from  an  Aramaic  source  j  4^*  is  generally  thought 
to  have  been  added  by  him  partly  as  a  comment  on  his  inter- 
pretation of  their  contents  (Schrader,  p.  474 ;  Ryssel ;  Kuenen  ; 
Meyer,  p.  14),  partly  for  the  purpose  of  connecting  4^^^  with  5^^-. 

5^-6^^  is  another  extract  from  an  Aramaic  source,  the  same, 
probably,  as  that  from  which  a^-'^^  is  derived. 

*  In  the  Persian  inscriptions  Khshydrsha  or  KhshayarsJia,  with  which  the 
form  used  in  contemporary  Aramaic  (p.  546,  note)  closely  agrees. 

t  In  the  Persian  inscriptions  ArtakhshathrA. 

X  The  case  is  the  same  in  c.  5-6  ;  in  5'-  ^-  ^  the  words  rendered  "  walls  " 
are  different  from  the  one  in  4^2.  i3. 16  (nitr^Heb.  nmn ;  e.g.  2  Sa.  ii^o  Targ.), 
and  do  not  denote  the  walls  of  a  city  {^-  '^  n^K'n  of  uncertain  meaning ;  5^ 
'?n3  =  Heb.  n'p ;  e.g.  i  Ki.  6^-^  Targ.,  of  the  Temple,  and  Dan.  5^  of 
Belshazzar's  palace). 


EZRA  AND  NEHEMIAH  549 

What  the  nature  of  this  Aramaic  source  may  have  been,  can,  of  course, 
only  be  conjectured;  Bertheau,  p.  6  (  =  Ryssel,  p.  xiii),  supposes  it  to  have 
been  a  narrative  of  the  troubles  which  arose  between  the  returned  exiles  and 
their  neighbours,  down  to  the  period  of  Artaxerxes.  Stade  (ii.  188)  thinks  it 
may  have  been  a  more  comprehensive  history  of  the  restored  community.  It 
certainly  appears  to  have  been  a  thoroughly  trustworthy  document  (cf.  Stade, 
ii.  100),  though  the  edicts  contained  in  it,  so  far  as  their  form  is  concerned, 
[516]  are  open  to  the  suspicion  of  having  been  coloured  by  their  transmission 
through  Jewish  hands.  Notice  in  6^*  "^^  the  technical  expressions  of  the  Jewish 
law  ;  in  v.^^  a  phrase  characteristic  of  Dt.  (p.  loi,  No.  35) ;  and  cf.  pp.  537, 
No.  29,  553  (Kuenen,  §  34.  9).  The  dialect  in  which  it  is  written  (including 
the  edicts)  is  the  Western,  or  Palestinian^  Aramaic  (p.  503).* 

619-22  (where  the  Hebrew  recommences)  the  compiler  (as  is 
plain  from  the  phraseology)  speaks  again  in  his  own  person,  f 

The  second  section  of  the  book,  c.  7-10,  dealing  with  Ezra's 
own  age,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  is  throughout  either  written 
by  Ezra  or  based  upon  materials  left  by  him.  727-915 — 
with  the  exception,  as  it  seems,  of  occasional  glosses  or  slight 
additions  made  by  the  compiler — is  thus  an  extract  from  Ezra's 
own  memoirs.  But  7^'^**  is  certainly  not  Ezra's  work,  though 
doubtless  composed  on  the  basis  of  Ezra's  materials ;  it  is  mani- 
festly a  summary  account  of  Ezra,  prefixed  by  the  compiler  as  an 
introduction  to  the  excerpt  from  Ezra's  memoirs  which  follows. 

In  7^'^°  notice  [a)  the  omission  of  Ezra's  immediate  ancestors  (for  Seraiah 
was  contemporary  with  Zedekiah,  2  Ki.  25^*-^^,  130  years  previously  to  Ezra's 
time) ;  {b)  the  fact  that  v.*^"^  anticipates  c.  8 ;  {c)  the  expressions  of  the  com- 
piler in  v.io  (p.  536,  Nos.  6,  7 ;  esp.  2  Ch.  12^*  19^  30^^).  The  phrase  in 
v,^  end.  ^  end  ^\\\  havc  been  taken  naturally  from  Ezra's  memoirs  (see  7^). 
In  7^-9^^,  the  clause  in  8^**  **whom,"  &c.,  for  instance,  reads  like  an 
explanatory  gloss  ;  notice  also  r,  never  besides  in  Ezr.  Neh.,  and  only  twice 

*  Meyer  (pp.  8  fF.,  41  ff.)  defends  the  authenticity  of  the  letters  and  edicts 
(4I1-22  ^7-17  63-12  712-26)  in  their  existing  form  (except  (P^),  supposing  the 
Jewish  colouring  of  the  latter  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that  they  were  drawn  up 
in  the  first  instance  by  Ezra  and  other  Jews  possessing  influence  at  the  Persian 
court,  and  were  then  accepted  without  material  modification  by  the  king.  Cf. 
the  criticism  of  Wellh.,  Gott.gel.  Anzeigen,  1897,  No.  2,  p.  89  ff.;  and  Meyer's 
reply,  Julius  Wellhausen  u.  meine  Schrift,  Die  Entstehung  des  JudenthumSt 
1897  (see,  briefly,  the  Expos.  Times,  1897,  Apr.  p.  320 ff".,  June,  p.  415 f.)' 

t  Probably,  indeed  (Schrad.  p.  477  ;  Ryssel,  pp.  xiv,  xix  ;  Kuen.  §  34. 
9  J  Meyer,  p.  13),  v.^^"^^  are  also  due  to  the  compiler,  who,  designing  them  as 
the  conclusion  of  the  Aramaic  narrative  of  the  building  of  the  Temple,  may 
have  written  them  in  the  same  language.  Wellh.  [below,  p.  552],  p.  13, 
remarks  on  the  appearance  in  v.^^of  rhr^r\  '33,  a  favourite  expression  of  the 
compiler's  (4^  6"-  "^  %^  id'-  '«).      • 


550  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

in  Ch.  (I  5^°  2']'^) ;  the  last  clause  of  the  verse  includes  a  phrase  of  the 
compiler's  (p.  536,  No.  12).  And  8^^-  (unlike  the  context)  is  written  without 
reference  to  Ezra  himself;  it  is  not  improbable  therefore  that  it  may  have 
been  condensed  by  the  compiler  from  Ezra's  own  more  detailed  and  personal 
description.  The  decree  of  Artaxerxes,  712-26^  as  is  evident  from  the  terms  of 
7^,  must  also  have  stood  in  Ezra's  memoirs,  though  it  may  have  been  cast 
into  its  present  form  by  one  familiar  with  the  terminology  of  the  Jewish 
sacred  books  (see  v.^^b  [p.  537,  No.  23]  ^5. 16. 17.  24.  26  .  comp.  Ewald,  i.  191). 
The  dialect,  as  before,  is  the  Palestinian  Aramaic.  In  substance^  it  is  un- 
doubtedly genuine  (Stade,  ii.  153). 

C.  10,  though  the  immediate  sequel  of  c.  9,  is  distinguished 
from  it  by  the  use  of  the  third  person,  and  also  by  being  in  parts 
considerably  less  circumstantial  (see  especially  the  brief  and 
incomplete  notices  in  v.^^- 1*^^-) :  at  the  same  time,  in  other  [517] 
respects  the  particulars  are  full  and  graphic  (v.^^- 1^) ;  so  that 
in  all  probability  the  narrative  has  merely  been  somewhat  altered 
in  form,  and  abridged,  from  the  memoirs  of  Ezra.* 

Neh.  1 1-773*  is  an  excerpt,  to  all  appearance  unaltered,  from 
the  memoirs  of  Nehemiah, — the  register,  76-70*  (relating  to  the 
time  of  Zerubbabel),  being  expressly  stated  in  v.^^  to  have  been 
an  earlier  document,  found  by  Nehemiah,  and  incorporated  by 
him  in  his  memoirs. 

In  Neh.  'f^'^-o,.  10  Ezra  reappears;  and  both  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah  are  mentioned  in  the  third  person  (S^^^  &c.:  in  8^ 
lo^  alone  Nehemiah  receives  the  Persian  title,  "  the  Tirshatha  " 
[cf.  7^5-  70j  Ezr.  2 6^  of  Zerubbabel]).  The  connexion  of  the 
section  with  11-773*  jg  also  imperfect :  for  7^3^  c.  8  is  not  the 
sequel  to  7*-^  (Neh.'s  purpose  to  class  the  people  genealogically), 
but  relates  to  an  entirely  different  matter,  viz.  the  people's 
engaging  to  observe  the  Mosaic  law.  It  cannot  therefore  be 
regarded  as  a  continuation  of  Nehemiah's  narrative,  though  it 
is  not  questioned  that  it  is  based  upon  a  well-informed,  con- 
temporary source,  perhaps  here  and  there  modified  by  the  com- 
piler :  by  many  critics  this  source  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
memoirs  of  Ezra. 

So  Ewald,  Hist.  i.  192;  Berth,  p.  8;  Schrader,  Einl.  §  237;  Ryssel, 
pp.  xvi,  XX  ;  Oettli,  p.  150  ;  and  at  least  for  9^-10^°  (except  the  list  of  names, 
io3-i4  J-2-13JJ  Stade,  Gesch.  ii.  153,  178,  179,  who  points  to  the  great  similarity 
of  the  prayer  in  c.  9  with  that  in  Ezr.  9  (in  Neh.  (f  the  words  And  Ezra 

*  Keil's  explanation  {Einl.  §  146.  3)  of  the  change  of  person  is  most 
inadequate. 


EZRA  AND   NEHEMIAH  55  I 

spake  should  very  possibly  be  restored  from  the  LXX  :  so  Berth.,  Ryssel, 
Stade).  It  is  true,  the  section  exhibits  some  affinities  with  the  style  of  the 
compiler  ;  but  they  are  not  here  sufficiently  numerous  or  marked  to  indicate 
identity  of  author  :  they  are  rather  (as  in  the  case  of  Ezr.  'j'^-c.  9)  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  theme  is  in  part  similar  (the  functions  of  the  Levites,  theo- 
cratic ordinances,  &c.),  and  that  some  of  the  expressions  used  by  the 
Chronicler  were  already  current  in  Ezra's  time.  It  is  remarked  justly  by 
Kuenen,  that  in  point  of  grammar  and  literary  style  Neh.  7'3^-c.  10  stands 
on  a  much  higher  level  than  the  narratives  which  proceed  from  the  pen  of  the 
Chronicler :  so  the  prayer  in  c.  9,  for  instance,  shows  no  traces  of  his  peculiar 
mannerisms.     For  details  of  the  style,  see  Kuenen,  §  34.  13. 

To  c.  1 1,  on  the  other  hand,  the  remark  in  y'*  forms  a  natural 
introduction,*  though  the  narrative  is  hardly  continued  uno  [518] 
tenore^  for  no  allusion  is  made  to  the  "assembly"  mentioned 
in  7^  and  the  absence  of  all  notice  of  Nehemiah's  initiative,  so 
prominent  in  ']^'^,  is  remarkable.  In  all  probability,  the  par- 
ticulars contained  in  c.  11  are  based  upon  materials  left  by 
Nehemiah  himself,  or  dating  from  his  time,  but  not  strictly  a 
continuation  of  the  memoirs  of  1^-7 '^^^ 

In  c.  12  f.,  12^'^"*^  13^"^^  (in  the  first  person)  are  two  addi- 
tional extracts  from  Nehemiah's  memoirs,  the  former  probably 
in  the  introductory  and  concluding  verses  (i2*^''-30-  42f.)  somewhat 
altered  in  form,  or  glossed,  by  the  compiler.!  The  lists  in 
J2I-7.  8f.  12-21  jjja^y  |-)g  regarded  as  derived  from  other,  older 
sources,  accessible  to  the  compiler  :  it  is  a  plausible  conjecture 
of  Wellh.'s  that  the  "Book  of  Chronicles"  mentioned  in  12^3 
is  one  of  them:  i2i<>^- 22-26  (relating  to  circumstances  after  the 
age  of  Nehemiah),  and  1 2^^-^''  (in  which  "  the  days  of  Nehemiah  " 
are  referred  to  as  past),  will  be  due  to  the  compiler.  | 

It  is  manifest  thar  we  possess  the  memoirs  neither  of  Ezra  nor  of  Nehe- 
miah in  their  integrity.  Those  of  Ezra,  besides  showing  in  parts  (see  above) 
marks  of  condensation,  end  (as  it  seems)  in  the  midst  of  the  narrative  of  his 
reforms  (cf.  Kuenen,  Ges.  Abhaiidlungen,  p.  245 ff.)  :  in  those  of  Neh.,  7^* 
promises  what  is  not  described,  and  the  account  of  the  dedication  of  the  walls 
is  introduced  abruptly,  and  without  mention  of  the  date  or  other  circumstances 

*  So  Ew.  v.  159  note ;  Kuen.  §  29.  9  ;  Smend,  p.  23  ;  Stade,  ii.  98,  174  ; 
Ryssel,  p.  xix  ;  Meyer,  p.  99. 

t  Comp.  12^3  ^yjitj^  2  Ch.  iQp,  Ezr.  (P  (also  3")  ;  and  cf.  Meyer,  p.  103  f. 

X  Notice  also  the  resemblance  of  12^'*^  with  2  Ch.  5^^  8^^  29^5,  and  with 
I  Ch.  26^^  ("  ward  against  ward  "  ;  cf.  v.^^j .  t^g  absence  of  the  verb  in  12**** 
(p.  537,  No.  27) ;  12^51,^  2  Ch.  3515  (also  8^^  35*^) ;  12^^  the  infin.  as  subst. 
(P-  537>  ^^o-  28),  and  2  Ch.  29*  35^^     Cf.  Meyer,  pp.  94,  97 ;/. 


552  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

which  Neh.'s  generally  careful  and  methodical  style  would  entitle  us  to 
expect.  The  connexion  of  13^  (or  13^)  with  what  precedes  is  also  imperfect ; 
comp.  Ryssel,  pp.  xvii,  346 ;  Kuen.  §  33.  13.* 

It  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  present  volume  to  discuss  the 
different  views  that  have  been  held  of  recent  years  respecting  the  history  ot 
the  restoration-period ;  though,  as  they  have  some  bearing  on  the  narrative 
of  Ezr.-Neh.,  a  brief  notice  of  them  may  not  be  out  of  place.  The  con- 
troversy has  been  carried  on  chiefly  between  van  Hoonacker,  Kuenen, 
Kosters,  Wellhausen,  and  Ed.  Meyer.  Van  Hoonacker  {Nehemie  et  Esdras, 
nouvelle  hypothhe,  &c.,  1890)  places  the  mission  of  Ezra  after  Neh.,  in  the 
7th  year  of  Artaxerxes  //.  (B.C.  397) ;  his  view  was  criticised  at  length  by 
Kuenen,  Ges.  Ahhandlungen,  p.  212  ff.;  and  he  replied  in  Nehhnie  en  Van 
20  (TArtax.  /.,  &c.,  1892  ;  Zorob.  et  le  second  Temple,  1892,  and  Nouvelles 
Jtudes  stir  la  restauration,  &c.,  1 896.  W.  H.  Kosters  {Het  herstel  van 
Israel  in  het  Perzische  tijdvak,  1894  ;  Germ.  tr.  by  Basedow,  1895)  argues 
that  no  exiles  returned  from  Babylon  in  536,  the  list  in  Ezr.  2  relates 
really  to  the  time  of  Neh.,  the  temple  was  built  by  the  Jews  left  behind 
in  the  land  (2  Ki.  25^^-  22-26)^  "Ezra,  was  the  first  to  lead  back  a  body  of 
exiles  from  Babylon,  which  he  did,  not  before,  but  after,  Neh.,  c.  433  ;  it 
was  the  Chronicler  who  first  ascribed  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple  to  the 
returned  exiles  (the  "  Gola  "),  the  founder  of  the  later  spiritual  aristocracy  of 
Judaism,  whom  he  represents  (unhistorically)  as  actuated  from  the  first  (Ezr. 
1-3)  by  anxiety  for  the  restoration  of  the  Temple-worship  (cf.  Wildeboer,  Die 
Lilt,  des  AT.s,  pp.  411  f.,  419  f.;  Cheyne,  Introd.  to  Is.  pp.  xxxv-xxxvii). 
The  difficulties  attaching  to  Kosters'  view  (though  he  makes  some  concessions 
to  him)  are  pointed  out  by  Wellh.  in  Die  RUckkehr  der  Juden  aus  dem  bab. 
£xil  (from  the  Gottingen  Nachrichtcn  for  1 895,  No.  2).  Kosters  has  replied 
to  Wellh.  in  the  77/.  T.  1895,  p.  549  ff.  Meyer  (above,  p.  540)  discusses  at 
length  the  contents  of  Ezr.  -Neh. :  he  defends  (against  Kosters)  the  ordinarily 
accepted  view  of  the  history  of  the  restoration-period,  and  (against  Well- 
hausen, who,  though  he  does  not  question  the  general  course  of  events  as 
told  in  Ezr.  1-7,  regards  the  documents  quoted  as  free  compositions  of  the 
writer)  the  genuineness  of  the  documents  quoted  in  Ezr.  4-7  (cf.  A.  R.  S. 
Kennedy  in  the  Expository  Times,  March  1897,  p.  268  ff.;  and  see  also 
above,  p.  549».).  Although,  however,  Meyer  holds  that  in  these  cases  the 
Chronicler  has  preserved  genuine  documents,  his  general  estimate  of  him  as  a 
historian  is  highly  unfavourable,  and  he  refers  frequently  to  his  representations 
as  unhistorical  and  imaginative  {e.g.  pp,  i,  13  (Ezr.  G^''"^^ ;  cf.  p.  130),  49 
(the  terms  of  the  edict  of  Cyrus,  Ezr.  i^-^),  72  (Ezr.  i^"^^),  73  (Ezr.  3),  92^., 
97  «.  2,  106  (Neh.  ii25-36)^  124  (Ezr.  4^-'^ ;  cf.  pp.  14,  44,  74,  204),  140,  161, 
164,  189  f.  (Neh.  ii3-i9.  21-24)^  203).  Meyer  considers  that  the  sole  authority 
which  the  Chronicler  had  for  the  period  between  the  return  and  Ezra  (Ezr. 
1-6)  was  the  "  book  of  Chronicles  "  mentioned  in  Neh.  12"^,  from  which 
Ezr.  53-6i4a.  15  ^c-23  a^g  excerpted,  but  which  narrated  the  circumstances  of  the 

*  That  13^"'  is  not  to  be  referred  to  the  compiler,  appears  both  from  the 
general  difference  of  tone  and  from  nr.v  v.^,  and  **  our  God  "  v.^  (see  p.  553). 
With  v.^''  comp.  8^^'-. 


EZRA  AND  NEHEMIAH  553 

return  only  in  the  briefest  possible  terms  :  all  other  details  in  Ezr.  i-6, 
except  2^-3^  (derived  from  Nehemiah's  memoirs,  Neh.  7^-8^*),  and  5^'^ 
(based  upon  Hag.  and  Zech.),  are  due  simply  to  the  Chronicler's  *^  sehr 
ergiebige  Phantasie''''  (pp.  13,  74 f.,  104,  203 f.). 

On  the  style  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  much  need  not  be  said. 
From  a  literary  point  of  view,  Nehemiah's  memoirs  are  superior 
to  other  parts  of  the  two  books.  Nehemiah  writes  Hebrew  easily 
and  naturally.  As  might  be  expected,  his  memoirs  contain 
examples  of  late  words  and  idioms;*  but  they  are  much  less 
numerous  and  marked  than  those  which  occur  in  the  writings  of 
[519]  the  Chronicler ;  his  syntax  also  is  more  classical  than  his. 
Ezra's  style  approaches  slightly  more  than  Neh.'s  does  to  that  of 
the  compiler ;  this  may  be  partly  due  to  modifications  which  the 
compiler  has  allowed  himself  to  introduce  into  his  extracts  from 
Ezra's  memoirs  :  partly  it  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  Ezra  was 
a  priest,  and  consequently  used  more  words  belonging  to  the 
priestly  terminology  than  Nehemiah  did. 

Examples  of  recurring  phrases  in  the  memoirs  of  Neh. : — 

My  God,  2^-  12-  18  ^19  514  75  j^U.  22.  29.  31_ 

D^jjoni  Dnnn  nobles  and  deputies,  for  the  magnates  of  Judah  :  2^^^  4"-  ^^  5'' 
f'.  cf.  the  nobles  of  Judah  6"  13"  :t  the  "deputies"  2i6a  5"  12^0  1311, 
(d'JJD  only  Ezr.  9^  in  this  sense  besides. ) 

His  wyii  young  men  are  mentioned  :  4^^  5^^  13^^ 

Remember  unto  me,  O  my  God,  for  good  (or  similar  phrases) :  5^^  6" 
J  ^14.  22.  29.  31^ 

God  of  heaven  i^-  ^  2^-  ^  is  a  post-exilic  expression  often  used  in  converse 
with  heathen,  or  placed  in  their  mouth:  Ezr.  i^  (  =  2  Ch.  3623)  5"-  12  59- 10 
712.  21. 23^  Jon.  i9,  Dan.  2>^-  ^^-  37-  ^\  Only  once  earlier,  Gen.  24'  J  (where, 
however,  "and  God  of  the  earth  "  has  perhaps  fallen  out :  so  LXX,  cf.  v.^). 

Neh.  is  also  fond  of  'Wti  =  that  (o),  which  is  found  also  in  Dan.  Eccl. 
Est.,  and  occasionally  in  pre-exilic  writings,  but  is  used  very  rarely  (2  Ch. 
2')  by  the   Chronicler.      See    Neh.    2^-'^^  4"  ^^  (  =  Ezr.    2^)   S^*- ^^    iqSi 

jol.  19.  22^ 

Our  God  is  an  expression  occurring  frequently  in  the  parts  assigned  above 
to  the  memoirs  of  both  Ezr.  and  Neh. :  it  is  never  used  by  the  Chronicler 
when  speaking  in  his  own  person. 

Note. — In  the  Greek  Bible,  the  Book  of  Ezra  appears  in  two  forms  : 

*  As  2«  JDl  ;  423  (Heb.  ")  y^  with  the  nomin.;  5'  1^03  =  ^"^  consult,  as  in 
Aram.  (Dan.  42^);  5"  ^hv -,  if  p"?  (2  Ch.  182,  Dan.  ii«".  In  early 
Hebrew,  fpo) ;  1324  ayi  oy  (p.  538,  No.  35) ;  132^  {n^m)  urn  (p.  455). 

t  D'ln  is  an  Aramaic  word,  used  in  North  Israel  (p.  i88«.),  but  never 
applied  to  the  nobles  of  Judah,  except  Jer.  2720  39*,  in  two  passages  not  in 
the  LXX,  and  probably  of  later  origin  than  Jer.'s  own  time  (cf.  pp.  264, 
270).     Elsewhere  only  Isa.  34%(of  Edom),  and  Eccl.  10"  (onn-p). 


554  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

2  Esdras  representing — of  course  with  the  textual  variations  usual  in  LXX — 
the  Hebrew  "Ezra";  and  i  Esdras*  incorporating  the  Hebrew  "Ezra" 
(with  variations)  with  other  matter,  as  exhibited  in  the  following  table  : — 


Esdr 

I 

21-14 

215-25 

3^-5^ 

57-70 

c.  6-9* 

^37-55 

2  a 

.35^- 

-36^^ 

Ezr. 

I. 

J> 

47-24. 

« 

* 

* 

J> 

2^-4-^ 

„     c.  5-10. 
Neh.  773b_8i3a^ 

[520J  The  termination  is  abrupt ;  probably  the  concluding  parts  of  the  book 
have  been  lost.  The  section  3^-5^  has  been  borrowed  by  the  compiler  from 
some  independent  source  ;  it  describes  how  three  of  the  guards  of  Darius 
agreed  to  test  their  wisdom  by  writing  three  sentences  and  placing  them 
under  Darius'  pillow,  to  be  read  and  adjudicated  on  by  him  in  the  morning. 
One  wrote,  "  Wine  is  the  strongest "  ;  another,  "  The  king  is  the  strongest "  ; 
the  third,  "Women  are  the  strongest;  but,  above  all  things,  truth  beareth 
away  the  victory."  In  the  morning,  each  defends  his  thesis  at  length  before 
the  king  ;  the  conclusion  of  the  third,  whose  name  was  Zorobabel  (4^^),  that 
"truth  endureth,  and  is  strong  for  ever,"  is  greeted  by  the  people  with 
applause.  Darius  bids  him  ask  what  he  will ;  and  he  seizes  the  opportunity 
to  remind  the  king  of  a  vow  made  by  him  at  his  accession  to  restore  the 
Jews.  Darius  thereupon  issues  a  decree,  permitting  the  Jews  to  return 
from  exile,  taking  back  with  them  their  sacred  vessels,  and  to  rebuild  the 
Temple,  and  granting  them  many  other  privileges.  This  representation, 
attributing  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  to  Darius,  is  evidently  in  direct  con- 
flict with  Ezra  i.  The  position  assigned  to  Ezr.  4'''-'*  is  also  thoroughly 
unsuitable.  Different  motives  have  been  assigned  for  the  compilation  :  prob- 
ably the  writer  wished  partly  to  stimulate  his  countrymen  to  a  more  zealotis 
observance  of  the  Law  (note  the  transition  from  Ezr.  10  to  Neh.  ']'''^^-), 
partly  by  the  example  of  the  munificence  of  Cyrus  and  Darius  to  gain  for  them 
the  favour  of  some  foreign  ruler — perhaps  one  of  the  Ptolemies,  f  The  parts 
which  correspond  with  the  Heb.  Ezra  are  translated  in  a  freer  and  more 
flowing  style  than  in  the  LXX  ;  but  the  translation  is  important  for  the 
criticism  of  the  Hebrew  text  of  Ezra,  which  in  some  cases  may  be  restored 
by  its  aid. 

*  So  in  the  English  Apocrypha  ;  in  the  Vulgate  3  Esdras.  (i  Esdras  =  our 
Ezra  ;  2  Esdras  =  Nehemiah  ;  4  Esdras  =  the  Engl.  2  Ezra.) 

t  Comp.  Ewald,  Hist.  v.  p.  126  f.;  Lupton,  in  the  Speaker's  Co  mm.  on 
the  Apocrypha,  i.  p.  10. 


INDEX     I. 


Subjects. 


Alexander    the    Great,    222  f.,   349, 

350  «.,  496,  502,  508. 
Alphabetical  poems,  367  f.,  403,  456  f., 

459 ;  cf.  337,  Pref.  xxr. 
Amorite  (in  E),  119. 
Anthropomorphisms,  g,  120  f.,  129,  140. 
Anliochus    Epiphanes,    362,    491-497, 

509  f.,  512. 
Apocalyptic  literature,  513. 
Arabia  ('Arab)  in  the  OT. ,  217, 
Arabisms,  in  Prov.  30,  402  ;  in  Job,  434. 
Aramaic,   255,   455,    502-505,    546  n., 

548  «.,  549,  550. 

,,      parts  of  the  OT.  written  in  : 
255;  488,  502-505,514;  541, 

548.  550- 

Aramaisms,  156,  383:  in  II  Isa.,  240; 
in  Joel,  313  ;  in  Jonah,  322  ;  in  the 
Psalms,  "374  «.;  in  Pr.  31,  403;  in 
Job,  429,  434 ;  in  the  Song  of  Songs, 
448  f.;  in  Ruth,  455  ;  in  Eccl,  474  f.; 
in  Esth. ,  484 ;  in  the  Heb.  of  Dan. , 
506  f. ;  in  Chr. ,  535  ff. ;  in  Neh. ,  553. 

Archaeology,  in  no  conflict  with  criti- 
cism, Pref.  vr,  xviif.,  3f.,  158  f. 

Archaisms,  imaginary,  125 f.,  531 «. 

Aretas,  504 /i. 

Artaxerxes  III.  (Ochus),  exile  of  Jews 
under,  222 ;  supposed  allusions  to 
events  under,  222  f.,  246,  321,  389, 

Asaph,  Asaphites,  370,  370 «.,  379  w. 

Asaphite  Psalms,  370,  372,  386. 

Atonement,  Day  of,  46  f. 

Authorship  of  the  OT.,  according  to 
the  Jews,  Introd.  vi-x. 


Babylon,  prophecies  relating  to,  211  f., 
216 f.,  221,  230 ff.,  260,  266-268,  273, 
329 f.  (Mic.  4IOI  337-339.  345- 

Bagoses  (Bagoas),  222. 

Ban  (onn),  the,  59«.,  116,  353 «. 

Belshazzar,  inscriptions  naming,  i^8  f. 


Bickell,  G.,  on  metre  in  Heb.  poetry, 
361 ».,  362 «.;  on  Nah.  i,  337;  on 
Sir.  5113-30^  368 «.;  on  Job,  431  ;  on 
Eccl.,  466  n. 

Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of 
Israel,  186-188. 

Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of 
Judah,  186-188. 

Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah, 
527 ff.,  531  f.,  535. 

Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah,  121. 


Caleb  in  JE  and  Dt.,  62  f.,  82,  no. 
Canaan,  oldest  account  of  conquest  of, 

115,  162-163. 
Canaanite(in  J),  119. 
Case-endings,  remains  of,  I2t;. 
Canon  of  the  OT.,  Introd.  i  ff. 
Central  Sanctuary,  Law  of  the,  85  f. , 

93,  137,  138,  200. 
Chaldaeans,  of  the  caste  of  wise  men, 

498. 
Chaldee,  the  term  a  misnomer,  503  n. 
Chronicles,  term  explained,  187  f.,  518. 
,,  sources  of  Book  of,  527  ff. 

,,  historical  view  of,  378,  526, 

532-534,  552  f. 
,,  relation  of,  to  the  Books  of 

Sam.    and    Kings,    107. 
5^9-525,     525-527.    532. 
534- 
relation    of,    to    Us    other 
sources,  527-535. 
,,  literary   style    of,    535-540, 

546  «.,  547,  551 «.,  553"- 
Chronology,  inexact,  Introd.  ii«.,  496«. 
Compilers,  method  of,  4f.,  14  ff.,  20  f., 
47f.,  51  flf.,  63-65,  67,  72.  96f.,  104, 
105  ff.,  117 f.,  162-163,  164 ff.,  175 ff., 
188  ff. ,  227,  <S:c. 
Covenant  (in  the  prophets),  240,   262, 
275- 


556 


556 


INDEX  I 


Covenant,  Book  of  the,  31,  33,  40,  122, 
153  ;  character  of  legisla- 
tion in,  35-37  ;  compared 
with  that  of  Dt.,  73-76. 
,,  Little  Book  of  the,  22,  38  f. 

Critical  view  of  OT.,  not  in  conflict 
with  Christian  faith  or  creed,  Pref. 
vrii-xiii,  xv-xvii,  158. 

increasingly  accepted  within 
recent    years,    Pref.    XV- 

XVII. 

Critics,  conclusions  of,  why  some  less 
certain  than  others,  Pref.  iv-Vi. 
,,  often     misrepresented     by 

their  opponents,  Pref.  Vi, 
XVII  «.,  4,  143. 
,,  not  refu^ijd  by  topography 

or      archaeology,      Pref. 
xi«.,  XVII  f.,  3f.,  158  f. 
Cyrus,   his  conquest  of  Babylon,  212, 
216,  217,  231,  498  f. 


D2,  symbol  explained,  72,  104. 
,,  generalizing  style  of  (in  Josh.),  104, 
108  {ter),  109,  114,  115. 
Daniel,  Book  of,  unhistorical  elements 
in,  498-500 ;   language  of,  501-508  ; 
theology  of,  509  f.;  aim  of,  509-513. 
Darius  the  Mede,  499  f. 
David,  as  musician  and  poet  (in   the 
older  literature),  378 ;   in  the  Books 
of  Kings,  201,  227 ;   in   the  titles  to 
the  Pss. ,  377  ;   Chronicler's  view  of, 
378.  533  f. 
Davidic  Psalms,  74-80. 
Deborah,  Song  of  (Jud.  5),  171. 
Decalogue,  double  text  of,  33  ff. 
Deuteronomic  writers,  72,  94,  95,  97, 
104  ff.,  108  ff.,   113,   ii4f.,    164-168, 
173 «.,    177  f.,    185,    191-194,    198- 
203,  275. 
Deuteronomy,  name  explained,  70,  cf. 
77  n. 

, ,  author  of,  90. 

, ,  compared  with  earlier  books 

of  the  Pent.,  73-77,  80-86. 

,,  date  of,  86-89. 

, ,  influence  of,  on  later  writers, 

102  f.,  104,  164,  185,  274. 

„  relation  of,  to  JE,   73-77, 

80-82,   85,   87    (No.    i), 

91  f.,  99?.;  to  H,  73-75, 

76,  151  f.;  to  the  Priests' 

Code,  73-75,  76,  77,  81, 

82-84, 85. 137-139. 144  f-; 

to    Jeremiah,    87  n.,    88 
(No.  4),  103,  244,  274. 
scope  of,  77-79,  89-93. 
„  style  of,  88,  98  ff. 

Double  narratives,  8,  9,  14,  16,  18  f., 
23-26,  28 f.,  30,  38,  62  f.,  63-65,  105  f., 
171,  175  f.,  179,  181. 


Dramatic  poetry,  360,  411,  441,  443  f. 
Dramatic  style  of  representation,  236, 
241  f.,  331  f. 


E,  symbol  explained,  13. 

,,  characteristics  of,  117-119;  date  of, 
i23f. ;  style  of,  119,  124,  126;  in 
Judges  or  Sam.?  166,  167  «.,  171  f., 
178. 

East,  children  of  the,  287,  393. 

Ecclesiastes,  aim  and  scope  of,  466- 
473 ;  diction  of,  473-475 ;  date  of, 
475-477;  integrity  of,  477  f. 

Edom,  prophecies  directed  against,  or 
relating  to,  217,  225  f.,  236,  265,  287, 
290  f.,  309,  314,  318-321  ;  feehng  of 
Jews  against,  226. 

Egyptian  words  in  the  Pent. ,  125  f. 

Elegy,  form  of  the  Hebrew,  320,  365, 

457-459- 
Elihu-speeches  (Job  32-37),  scope  and 

authorship  of,  424-426,  428-431. 
Elohim  (God),   peculiarities  in  use  of 

term,  10,  13,  16,  18  f.,  20,  21,    119, 

131.  371  f-,  535  (No.  5), 
Elohist,  term  explained,  10. 
Enoch,  Book  of,  513. 
Ephraim,  restoration  of,  291,  349,  355. 
Esther,  Book  of,  historical  character  of, 

481-484;   diction  of,   484  f.;   temper 

and  feeling  of,  485-487. 
Ethan,  370. 
Ezekiel,  relation  of,  to  the   "Law  of 

Holiness,"  49  ff.,    145-151,   298;   to 

the  Priests' Code,  130  ff.,  139  f.,  298. 
Ezra,  memoirs  of,  544  ff,  549,  551  f. 

,,     did  not  close  the  Canon  of  the 
OT.,  Introd.  iv-vi,  x. 

,,     Book  of,  in  the  LXX,  553  f.;  in 
the  Vulg.,  554  «. 


Feasts  ("pilgrimages,"  D'an),  54-56,  68, 

73  ;  agricultural  significance  of,  56. 
Funeral  customs  in  modern  Syria,  458  f. 
Future  life,  Heb.  view  of,  472. 


Genesis,  mode  of  composition  of,  20  f. 

,,         plan  of,  6-8. 
Gnomic  poetry,  360  f. 
Gobryas  (Gubaru),  498  f.,  500. 
Goliath,  179  with  n. 
Greek  influences  in  Eccl.,  476  f. 
Greek  words  in  the  OT.,  449,  450,  502. 
Greeks,  the  ("Javan"),  309,   311,  347, 
349  f.,  502. 


H,  symbol  explained,  48. 
Haggadah,  484  «.,  487  «.  (etymology), 
500  «.,  529,  534  «. 


INDEX  I 


557 


Hagiographa,  Introd.  if.,  359. 

Hannah,  Song  of,  174. 

Hebrew,  dialects  of,  188,  448-450,  455, 
553  «. 
,,  late,  characteristics  of,  156, 
403,  473  f.,  505  f.  ;  idioms 
or^words  of:  in  Josh.  228, 
112  n.;  in  P,  155 «.,  156 «.; 
in  H  Isaiah,  240 ;  in  Joel, 
313 ;  in  Jonah,  322  ;  in 
Malachi,  358  ;  in  Psalms, 
374 «.  (cf.  383«.);  in  Pr. 
30-31,  402  f.;  in  Job,  429, 
434 ;  in  Song  of  Songs, 
448  «.,  449,  450;  m  Ruth, 
455  ;  in  Eccl. ,  466,  473-475  ; 
in  Ben  Sira  (Ecclus. ),  474  n. ; 
in  Esther,  484  f.;  in  Daniel, 
501  n.,  504-508  ;  in  Chron- 
icles, 531  «.,  535-540;  in 
Ezr.,  546,  547,  549  f.  ;  in 
Neh.,  55i>55i«-.  553* 

Heman,  370. 

Hexateuch,  term  explained,  5. 

Hezekiah,  Song  of,  227. 

Historiography,  character  of  Hebrew, 
Pref.  x-xi,  4  f. 

Holiness,     the    Law    ot,     47  ff.,    59, 
145  ff. 

Holy  spirit,  Jehovah's,  391  «. 

"  Higher  criticism,"  term  explained,  3. 

Hommel,    Prof.,    his  Ancient  Hebrew 
Tradition,  Pref.  xvii  n.,  158  f. 

Host  of  heaven  (venerated),  88,  202. 


Incense,  altar  of,  37,  42. 
Inscriptions  quoted  or  referred  to — 

Aramaic,  255/2.,  502 «.,  504,  515, 
546  «.,  548  «. 

Assyrian,    206;?.,    213,   216,   218, 

335  "■•  >  336. 
Babylonian,  231 «.,  498 f.,  501 «. 
Greek,  546. 
Hebrew,  449. 
Moabite,  449  n. 
Persian,  500  «.,  546  «.,  548  «. 
Phoenician,  156  n. 
Inspiration  of  the  OT.,  Pref.  viii-xi. 
Isaiah,  poetical  genius  of,  227-229. 
,,      prophecies  incorrectly  attributed 
to,  211,  216  f.,  219-223,  225  f., 
236  ff. 
,,      literary    and    other    character- 
istics of  c.   40-66  not  those 
of,  236-244. 
,,      historical  writings    referred  to, 
206,  528,  529,  530. 
Israel  (as  name  of  the  patriarch),  9,  17, 
19. 


J,  s)rmbol  explained,  13. 


J,  characteristics  of,  117-121  ;  date  of, 
123  f.;  style  of,  119,  124,  126;  in 
Judges  or  Sam.  ?   171  f.    (cf.  126), 
184  n. 
Jacob,  Blessing  of  (Gen.  49),  19. 
Jashar,  Book  of,  108,  121,  192. 
Javan,  see  Greeks. 
Jehovah  (Yahweh),  usage  of  the  name, 

13,  13  n.,  21,  371  f. 
JE,  symbol  explained,- 13, 
,,    difficulties  in  the  analysis  of,  13, 
14  n.,  15,  16,  17,  19,  26  f.,  39,  67, 
116  f.,  126. 
Jeremiah,  prophecies  doubtfully  or  in- 
correctly attributed  to,  254  f. ,  266  f. ; 
cf.  272  f. 

, ,         double  text  of,  269  f. 

,,         gradual  growth  of  the  Book 

of,  249  f.,  271  f. 
.,        relation   to   the    Psalms    of, 
382  f. 
Jethro,  23,  119. 

Job,  Book  of,  problem  discussed  in, 
409-411,  430  f.;  LXX  text  of,  431  ; 
difficulties  in  c.  27-28,  421-424  ;  date 

of,  431-435- 
Joshua,  Book  of,  character  of  Deutero- 

nomic  elements  of,  104,  114. 
"Journal  theory"  of  the   Hexateuch, 

157  f- 
Jubile,  year  of,  56,  57,  59,  82,  143. 
Judges,  Deuteronomic  standpoint  of  the 

compiler,  163-168,  171. 


Kethubim,  Introd.  i,  359. 

Kingdom,  law  of  the  (Dt.  Jj^*-^),  87 

(No.  2),  92  f. 
Kings,  date  of  Book  of,  198. 

,,       sources  of,  186 ff.,  203,  527 «., 

530 '^• 
,,       Deuteronomic  standpoint  of  the 
compiler,  185, 190-193,  199  ff. 
Korahite  Psalms,  370,  372,  386. 


Laws,  groups  of,  29,  35-37,  40,  47ff., 

73  ff.,  142  f. 

,,     discrepant,  43,  52,  61,  81-86. 
Legislation,    Hebrew,   gradual  growth 

of.  36,  37  f..  55  f-.  57,  58  f..  85,  142  f., 

145,  152-155. 
Levites,  relation    of   to  priests,   82  f., 

137 f-,  139 f-,    153,   154  f-;   period  of 

service  of,  6r. 
Love  to  God  (in  Dt.),  78,  99  (No.  i). 
Lyric  poetry,  360,  390. 

Maccabaean  Psalms,  382,  387-389. 
Maccabees,  age  of  the,  387,  492. 
Marriage-customs    in    modern    Syria, 
452  f. 


558 


INDEX  I 


Mazaeus,  504  ». 

Megilloth,  Introd.  ii,  436. 

"Metre"    in    Hebrew   poetry,    361  f., 

515- 
Midrash,  530  (term  explained),  535. 
Midrash  of  the  Book  of  the  Kings,  527, 

529. 
Midrash    of    the    prophet    Iddo,    528, 

530. 
Mishnah,  language  of,  473  ff-.  485.  S^S- 

508. 
Moab,  language  of,  449. 
Months,  Heb.  names  of,  156  n. 
Moral  problems,  reflected  on  by  Hebrew 

thinkers,  284,  369,  409-411,  433,  471- 

473- 
Moses,  31,  91,  118,  124 «,,  152-154. 
,,      Blessing  of  (Dt.  33),  97  f. 
,,      Song  of  (Ex.  15),  30;  (Dt.  32), 
95-97- 


Nabonidus  (Nabu-nahid),  last  king  of 

Babylon,  498  f. 
Nations  of  Canaan,  lists  of,  119  «. 
Nehemiah,  memoirs  of,  544,  550  ff. 

,,  library  said   to   have    been 

founded  by,  Introd.  iii  f. 
New  Hebrew,  474 «.,  505  with  n.,  539. 
Numbers,  not  represented  anciently  by 

letters,  532  n. 
"  Numerical  "  proverbs,  402. 


Old  Testament,    Christ's  use   of   the, 

Pref.  XII  f. 
Onias  HI.   (high  priest,  murdered  172 

B.C.),  491,  495, 
Order  of  Books  of  the  OT.  according  to 

the  Jews,  Introd.  i-ii. 
Origins,  Book  of,  10. 


P,  symbol  explained,  10. 

Parallel  passages,  difficulty  of  determin- 
ing priority  from,  150,  312  f.,  351, 
383,  434  f.  ' 

Parallelism   in  Hebrew  poetry,  362  ff. , 

397. 
Parenetic  elements  in  JE,   35,  99;   in 

H,  48,  51  ff.,  58,  149-151 ;  in  Dt.,  71, 

77-79,  91,  99- 
Pentateuch,  post-Mosaic  references  in, 

84  f.,  124  «. 
Persian  kings,  official  titles  of,  546. 
Persian  words  in  the  OT. ,  505  :  in  the 

Song  of  Songs,  449,  450 ;  in  Ecclesi- 

astes,  475  ;  in  Esther,  485  ;  in  Daniel, 

501,  506,  507;  in  Chronicles,  539  f.; 

in  Ezr.  Neh. ,  501  n. ,  505. 
Personification,  241,  390,  394,  396. 
Poetry,  Hebrew,  121,  359  ff.;  of  secular 

type,  361. 


Prediction  in  prophecy,  237,  243,  514. 
Priesthood,  stages  in  the  history  of  the, 

82  f.,  137-140.  142,  153-155- 
Priestly    institutions,    allusions    to,    in 

the  older  literature,  143-145  ;  in  Ez., 

146  f. 
Priestly  terminology,  143,  144  f.,  146  f., 

157,  298.  549,  550,  553. 
Priests  Code,  term  explained,  10. 

,,  characteristics  of,  lo,  12, 

115  f.,    125-135,    155- 


68,  116, 


5-135. 
157- 
,,  ideal  features 

128,  142. 
„  relation      of,      to      JE, 

140  f.;  to   Dt.,   73-75, 
76,  81,  82-84,  137-139, 
144-145;      to     Ezek., 
130  ff.,  139 f.,  298. 
,,  probable  date  of,  135  ff. 

,,  synopsis  of,  159. 

Promises  in   Genesis  (JE  and  P),  20, 

129. 
Prophecy,  addressed  primarily  to  con- 
temporaries, 212,  216,  237. 
Prophets,  the  Former,  103. 
Prophets,  the  Latter,  Introd.  ii,  205. 
Prophetical  narrative  of  the  Hexateuch, 

116,  ii7ff. 
Prophetical  narratives  in  the  Book  of 

Kings,  188  f.,  194  f.,  197. 
Prophets,  writings  of,  supposed  to  have 
been  supplemented  or  expanded  by 
later  hands:   (Isaiah)  210 f.,    215  f., 
229  f.;  (Isa.  24-27)  222  f.;  (Deutero- 
Isaiah)  244-246  ;  (Jeremiah)  258,  260, 
262,    266,    272  f.  ;     (Hosea)    306  f.  ; 
(Joel)  311  «.;  (Amos)  318  ;  (Obadiah) 
320  f.;    (Micah)    329  f.,    330,    333; 
(Habakkuk)  338  f.,  339;  (Zephaniah) 
342  f. 
Proverb,  the  Hebrew,  394. 
Proverbs,  Book  of,  component  parts  of, 

394  ff- 
,,        age  and  authorship  of,  403- 
407. 
Psalms,  titles  of,  369-371,  373-381. 
alphabetical,  367  f. 
classification  of,  368  f. 
dates  of,  382-389. 
liturgical,  378 f. 

spoken  by  an  individual,  or  by 
the  community?  389-391. 
Purim,    meaning    of    terra    unknown, 
485- 


Qoh^leth,  term  explained,  466. 


"Recorder,"  the,  183,  187. 
Refrains,   in    Heb.    poetry,   208,   317 
366  with  n. 


INDEX   I 


559 


Remnant,    preservation   of   a  faithful, 

208,  242,  316,  328. 
Restoration-period,  history  of  the,  552. 
"  Royal "  Psalms,  369,  385  with  n. 


Sacred  trees,  118. 

Samuel,  Books  of,  affinity  in  parts  with 
Dt.,  176-178,  183. 

Sanctuaries,  local,  51,  85f.,  93,  117  f. 

Satan,  the  412  «.,  4^4. 

Saul,  double  narrative  of  his  appoint- 
ment as  king,  175-178. 

Sayce,  Prof,  his  Verdict  of  the  Moiiu- 
ments,  3f,  268 «.,  320,  322,  484;?., 
499  «.,  500  «.,  501  w.,  534  «.,  544  «• 

Scipio,  Lucius  Cornelius,  497. 

Scythian  invasion  of  Asia,  252,  291  f , 
342. 

Sephared  (Ob."'^),  320. 

"Servant  of  Jehovah,"  of  Moses,  116  ; 
in  Jer.,  261  ;  in  II  Isa.,  232,  234 
[ter),  242  with;?.,   243  «,,  245,    261, 

391- 

Seventy  weeks,  prophecy  of  the,  495  f. 

Shgma',  the,  78  n. 

Shiloh,  sanctuary  of,  30,  174. 

Singers,  Temple,  370,  378  f.,  534  «. 

Sirach,  Jesus,  son  of  (Ben-Sira),  pro- 
verbs of  (Ecclesiasticus),  Introd.  ii, 
368  «.,  407  «•,  474  «•.  475.  515- 

Slavery,  divergent  laws  of,  82. 

Song  of  Songs,  explanations  of,  437- 
444,   450  f.,   452  f.;   diction  of,  448- 

450- 
Speaker's  Commentary,  inaccuracies  of 
the,    126,    135,   488,    501  «.,   502 «., 
503  «.,  508  «.,  531  n. 


Speeches  often  composed  or  expanded 
by  the  compiler,  Pref.  Xi,  90,  167  n., 
174,  ^77  f-,  191.  192  f.,  194,  196, 
227,  531. 

Strophes,  in  Heb.  poetry,  366  f. 


Tel  el-Amarna  tablets,  158. 

Tent  of  Meeting,   in  JE,   153;   in   P, 

128. 
Tithe,  law  of,  83  with  «.,  cf.  122,  143, 
Torah  (direction,  law),  31,  153  «.,  305, 

3^6,  396. 
Tyre,   prophecies  against,  218  f ,  287- 

289. 


Ummanmanda,    the  (as  destroyers  of 
Nineveh),  336,  340. 


Wisdom-Literature,  392-394,  409,  465 ; 

terms  peculiar  to  the,  403,  404. 
Wisdom,  personification   of,  394,  395, 

396. 
Wise    men    in    ancient     Israel,     393, 

471. 
Writing,  antiquity  of,  158. 


Xerxes,  Persian  and  Aramaic  forms  of 
name,  499  f.,  546  «.,  548. 


Zechariah,  prophecies,  incorrectly  attri- 
buted to,  346-355. 

Zinjirli,  Aramaic  Inscriptions  from, 
255  «.,  504  «. 


INDEX     II, 


Select  list  of  words  or  phrases  commented 
upon  or  cited. 


abominatiotiy  abominable — 

^'Jehovah's  abomination*^  C'  nnyin), 

102,  397,  403. 
abominations  of  the  nations,  202. 
*?»?  (of  stale  sacrificial  meat),  146. 
j'ij-^    {detestation,   of   animals    for- 
bidden as  food),  46,  146. 
O'vip??   {detestable    things,    of   false 

gods,  &c.),  201  No.  19. 
*  *  the      abomination       (detestable 
thing)    that    maketh    desolate," 
491  w. 
after  their  families  (oninstS'D!?),  132. 
and   it  shall  come  to  pass  (introd. 

formula  in  the  prophets),  240  n. 
and  ye  {they,  &c.)  shall  know  that  I 

am  Jehovah,  295,  297  No.  16. 
arm  of  Jehovah,  239  No.  6. 
as  at  this  day  (mn  dv3),  200  No.  11. 
as  Jehovah  liveth  (m.T  'n),  184. 
at  that  time  (in  Dt. ),  84 ;  (in  Kings), 
202,  227. 


bear  sin  or  iniquity,  to,  50,  146. 
behold,  I  am  against  .  .   .  (W  '3:n), 

297  No.  5. 
behold,    I    am    bringing  .    .    .    ('33n 

K'3D),  201  No.  27,  275  No.  13. 
behold,    I   am.    visiting   upon  .    .    . 

(Sy  npis  'jjn),  276  No.  26. 
behold,   days  are  coming,    and  .  .   . 

276  No.  20. 


between  the  two  evenings  (nunyn  pa) 

133  No.  33. 
beyond  Jordan  (in  the  Pent.),  84  f. 
bread  of  God,  50,  146. 


breaker 
327  n. 


up,   the    (pisn,    Mic.    2^^), 


choose,  to  (in  a  theocratic  sense),  100, 

200  No.  13,  201  No.  23,  238. 
cleave,  to  (p3n),  of  devotion  to  God, 

100  No.  15,  202  No.  42. 
congregation  (^^y)  of  Israelites,    133 

No.  32,  134  No.  39,  143  «.»  I44«- 
convocation  (Nnpo),  143. 
create,  creation,  239,  242. 

datighter  of  Zion  {Zidon,  &c.),  241, 

355- 
day  of  Jehovah,  208,  307,  308,  315, 

317,  341. 
devoted  thing  (Qnn),  to  devote  (D'^^n), 

59«.,  106,  116,  353 «. 
dismiss  {cast  away,  &c. )  from  before 

my  face,  to,  201  No.  17. 
do  that  which  is  right  (or  evil)  in  the 

eyes  of  Jehovah,  to,  loi  Nos.  25,  26, 

201  Nos.  20,  24. 

feast    (jn    and    •\]j^n    distinguished), 

54  «. 
ftiish  {exhaust)  fury  upon  ('3  inon  n^a), 

297  No.  II,  463 «. 
560 


INDEX  II 


561 


fire-sacrifices  (m.T  'trx),  143,  144. 
fool  (^nx  and  ^'Dd),  398,  404. 
fountain  of  life  (D"n  mpD),  397,  403. 

gates  (Dnj;B'^  =  «V/<?j,  34,  99,  201. 
God  of  heaven  (post-exilic  title),  322, 

553. 
great  destruction  (Sna  nntf),  275  No. 
10. 

habitation  of  jackals  (D':n  }ij?D),  276. 

hand  of  Jehovah^  the  (as  producing 
prophetic  ecstasy),  280  n. 

hard,  to  be  or  to  make^  of  the  heart 
(pjn,  p?n,  and  n33,  T33n,  as  used  by 
different  writers),  25  with  «.,  28, 

30,  134. 
Horeb  and  Sinai  (as  used  by  different 

writers),  82,  119. 
house  of  bondage  {y\y^  n-a,  lit.  house 

of  slaves),  99. 
humble    oneself,     be    humbled,     esp. 

morally  (J?»3),  536  No.  18. 

''  I  am  Jehovah,^'  49,  51,  52,  148  «. 
incense,  to  burn  (^t5p),  in  idolatrous 

worship,  203  No.  37. 
in  that  day  (in  the  prophets),  240  «., 

354. 
isles  or  coasts  (d"«),  of  distant  regions, 

239. 

Jehovah  God,  2.0. 
Jehovah  of  hosts,  184. 

Kirjath-Arba  (for  Hebron),  135. 

lamp  [y:)  for  David,  a,  201. 
liberty,  to  proclaim  (nm  Knp),  143. 
Lord  Jehovah  (m.T  '|n«),  148  «.,  294, 

297. 
love,  to  (with  God,  as  subj.  or  obj.), 

34,  78,  99. 

Machpelah,  135, 

wa-^g  ^zj  «aw^  /^  </wg//  (pip)  there,  to, 

10 1  No.  35  (cf.  200  No.  14),  549. 
Mazor  (for  Mizraim),  334  «.  • 


most  holy  (D'B'ip  B'lp),  58  «. ,  495. 
»2j/     /<?ra?     ('ji{t,— in     addressing    a 

superior),  385  tu 
my  sabbaths,  50  No.  14. 
my  i^his)  servants,  the  prophets,  202 

No.  39. 

name,   to  be  called  over  a  person  or 

place,  201,  275  No.  16. 
Nebuchadnezzar  (incorrect    spelling), 

272  n. ,  507  n, 
north,    the  (as   quarter  whence  evil 

or  invasion  comes),  275  No.  8. 

observe    to    do^   to    (niryV  -\'Ci&),    loi 

No.  38. 
other  gods,  'j'j,  99. 

Paddan-Aram,  135. 
perfect  (a'?B'),  of  the  heart,  2o-r. 
pillar,  obelisk  (n^^fp),  89,  ii7f. 
''precentor,''  the  (nv^p),  373  «.,  537. 
priests,  the  Levites,  the  (o'lVn  D'3n3n)  = 

the  Levitical  priests,  loi,  107. 
prince  or  leader  (TJi),  177  «.,  184. 
prince    or   ruler  (M'bj),— in    P    and 

Ez.,  134,  298. 
Purim,  485. 

redeem,  redeemer  (^KJ),  239,  418  «. 
,,  ,,       (me,  —  better    ran- 

som), loi  No.  32. 

righteousness,  justice  (npijt,  pnif),  as 
a  principle  of  the  Divine  action, 
239. 

rising  up  early  and  .  .  .  {speaking, 
sending,  &c.),  276. 

sanctified,  to  be,  ^98. 

savour  of  satisfaction  (nin'3  nn),  143. 

scomer  {\h\  404. 

j<f^  vanity  (Nitr  nin),  /(j,  463  «. 

j«/  /iiy  ^ftf  toward  or  against  (D'b 

.  .  .  TJS  ),  297  No.  12. 
settler  or  sojourner  (nnn),    133  No. 

26. 
^'^Ofl^aiz?  ("Almighty"),  127,  455. 
shepherd  (fig.  of  God),  386. 


5^2 


INDEX  II 


shepherds  (o^yn),   fig.   of  rulers,  234, 

27S>  347,  348".,  350,  351  «• 
simple^  the  ('ns),  404. 
sluggard,  the  ^Vi),  404- 
sojournings  (onuD),  133. 
so  may  God  do  {to  me)  and  more  also, 

184,  454  «. 
son  of  man-  (dik  p),  295,  297,  508. 
stand  before,  to  ('JS*?  'V:iV)==wait  upon, 

83  «. 
Steppes  (or  Plains)   of  Moab    (nuny 

aNiD),  135. 
stubbornness  (nnnt?),  275  No.  7. 
swarmy   to,    swarming   things  (ptf), 

45,  131. 

take  heed  to  thyself  {yourselves)  ("iDtyn 

•J*?,  03*?  noBTi),  100  No.  9. 
terror  on  every  side  (3'3DD  ^^JC5),  275 

No.  15,  462. 
then     (m),     introducing     notices     in 

Kings,  202  f. 
these  are  the  generations  of  .  .  .  6  f. , 

7«.,  I2«.,  131. 
Mm<?  {mine)  eye  shall  not  spare  {vh 

ivy  Dinn),  100  No.  17,  297  No.  8. 
^^ this  law,'^  ^^ this  book  of  the  law'''' 

{i.e.  Deuteronomy),  72. 
throughout         your  generations 

(DD'nnn*?),  132  No.  20. 
thus  saith  Jehovah  the  God  of  hosts^ 

276  No.  33. 
trespass    (rj,^),     to    trespass     {W^), 

words   belonging    to    the    priestly 

terminology,  134,  535. 

unto  this  day  (in  Dt.),  84. 

vanities  (D''?3n),  of  false  gods,  202. 
vex  Jehovah,  to  (D'yan),  201  No.  26. 
void  of  heart,  the,  404. 

will  not   go    unpunished    {T\pv  vh), 

403. 
with  all  the  heart  and  with  all  the 
soul,  78,  lOI,  2(X). 

Zin,  the  desert  of ,  135. 


73K  howbeit,  but  (late  sense),  507. 

njK  nut  (Persian),  449  «. 

D'3JN  wings,  298. 

mJN  letter  (Persian,  ultimately  As- 
syrian), 485. 

nnmx  counsellor  (Persian),  501. 

vr\m  certainly  (Persian),  501  n. 

inx  marsh-plant,  125. 

Tn«j,  nmK  holding,  possession,  get 
possessions,  133. 

D'jsmB'nN  ja/m/j  (Persian),  485,  501. 

tynitfnx  A'^rx^j,  548,  of.  499/ 

D'nntrnK  r^T^-a/ steeds  (Persian),  485. 

nz^\<  where?  i88«.,  448«. 

ns'N  ephah,  125. 

tr'it  ty^N  for  whoever,  49. 

cSnT  '3B'n  mm'  e"k,  275  No.  9. 

'n'N  //z^r(?  is  (Aram.),  504. 

rh^  these  (Aram.),  255  w. 

\hv,  behold  {PiX2,m.),  515. 

m'?K  (sing.)  God{^tX..),  539. 

O'V'*?}*  things  of  nought— vain  gods, 
50. 

Tl^i</y^^j^(Aram.),  515. 

Dip"?**  the  people  (Arab.),  402  «. 

}SK  artificer,  448  «. 

*?  TDK  /<?  command,  purpose,  ox  promise, 
that,  506,  537. 

nnnON  j^z^:/^,  19. 

'33K,  'JN  pron.  of  I  ps.  sing,  (as  used 
by  different  writers),  135,  155  «. 

f\'Ayea  (in  II  Isa.),  240. 

'3  f\H  how  much  more  or  less  (in  Pro- 
verbs), 397. 

pSK  palace  (Persian),  501  n.,  507 
No.  24. 

D'p'£3N  water-courses,  297. 

OSN  nought,  239. 

pnBN  palankin  (Sanskrit  or  Greek  ?), 

449,  450. 
nisnN  /^wflff,  297,  536. 
KpnN  (Aram.)  mr/-4  (Jer.  10"),  255  «. 
nK'N  =  'D,  552  «.,  553. 
icx  omitted  in  prose,  537  No.  30. 
na"?  nt^K  (Dan.  i^^)=lest,  506. 
-FIX  w////,  written  -niK,  188 «. 


INDEX  II 


563 


»nK  thou  (fem.),  188  «.,  455. 
h'\'CiT\>^  yesterday,  185. 

nyn  'h'2i  unawares  (in  Dt.),  112. 
hr\'^  to  hasten  (intrans.),  475- 
TAiprey,  507  No.  23. 
ni2K  n'3  fathers'  houses  (  =  families), 

133  No.  30. 
no    rra    house    of   rebelliousness    (of 

Israel),  297. 
}5:{i  /"-^.j/z,  //^z^j-,  475  No.  3. 
S^hi    worthlessness  {sons,    daughter, 

men,  man  of),  184. 
1SD3  =  in  a  book,  122  n. 
mpD,  (')nnN  nyn  /^  extirpate  after,  from 

the  midst  of,  100,  194. 
nyn  in  Nif.  to  be  afraid  (late  usage), 

507. 
13  son  (Aram.),  403. 
r\'"\'2,  Tr\ir\,  ma  to  eat,  to  give  food  to, 

food,  185. 
n^S  h^^.  (Eccl.  8"),  475. 
'D^E>9  (jon.  i'),  322,  cf.  475  «. 

Snj   {to  redeem),   418 «. ;   {^to  defile), 

358  «. 

nma  treasurer  i^),  501  tz. 

yu  /^  expire,  131. 

nn  ^^  decree,  484. 

n'?j'?j  a:  ^(?a^  (lit.  tz  skull),  in  enumera- 
tions, 134. 

|ix  nSa  ^<7  uncover  the  ear,  454  «. 

D^'ri^j  idol-blocks,  147,  202,  297. 

)xa\  papyrus,  125. 

D'D'n  nm  ''Chronicles,''''  187,  518. 

nm  nn  —every  generation,  313,  538. 

fjim,  qmj  =  hastened,  484,  540. 

n  zyA^,  which,  that,  255,  504. 

13  VDi,  50  No.  17. 

nn  Mtj-  (Aram.),  504. 

tym  /^  iv?<?>^  /^,  inquire  of  (God),  in 

gen.  sense  (late  usage),  536. 
m  law  (Persian),  485,  501  n. 
nam    law -bearer,   fudge    (Persian), 

501 «. 

n  for  the  relative,  538.  • 


Vxn  (for  r^\Kr\),  in  the  Pent.,  125. 

n3nn  lawyer  (Persian),  501  n. 

nnn  to  drive  out  (in  Jer.),  203. 

mn  limb  (Persian),  501  n. 

mm  to  give  (priestly)  direction,  see 

mm. 
E'nm  /^  dispossess,  202  No.  32. 
n\nTn  /^  j>^m<?,  507  No.  25. 
pN  ntsn  to  incline  the  ear,  276  No.  19. 
3'B'n    inf.    abs.    used    adverbially  = 

thoroughly,  100  No.  22. 
T'T  /^^w .?  507. 
Syr\  palace,  temple,  375  «. 
pn(inChr.),  536. 
D^yDH  /<?  z/iffjr  [not   "to    provoke    to 

anger'"\  201,  203. 
ion  M^;w  (Aram.),  515. 
jiDn  multitude,  537. 
nniq  (anom.  inf.  Hif.),  484. 
T'Dyn,    in    late    Heb.  =  to    establish, 

appoint,  507  No.  21,  535  No.  4, 

547. 
3't5'pn  /i?  attend  (poet),  539. 
3'mn  /^  confuse,  perturb  (Cant.   6^), 

446  «. 
yv^n  to  act  wickedly  (late  usage),  507. 
^:Knn  to  be  angered,  201  No.  21. 
pinnn  /<?  strengthen  oneself,  536  No.  8. 
T-Dnn  the  continual  burnt-offering,  506 

No.  13. 
3njnn  to  offer  freely,  537,  546. 
ntfynn  to  think  (  =  normal  Heb.  3J5'n), 

322. 

1  of  "  distribution,"  538  No.  35. 

1  of  "equality"  (in  proverbs),  400 w. 

p  nn«  \Ti,  185. 

mSaDi  (order),  506  No.  11,  538  No. 

37. 
\\-  term,  of  2nd  and   3rd   pers.   pi. 
impf.,  125. 

nj  this  (fem.)  for  dni,  i88«.,  475  No. 

15. 
n  Aramaic  relative  particle,  255,  504, 

546  «. 
noi  evil  purpose  (unchastity),  49,  146. 
pi  /m<r,  475  No.  5,  553  n. 


564 


INDEX  II 


|t  kind,  species  (Aram.,  from  Persian), 

374  «.,  soi«.,  S40. 
nai  Aram,  demonstr.  particle,  504. 
niyi  shuddering,  276  No.  28, 
nyt  ra^^  (poet.),  539. 

v\  pilgrimage,  54  «. 

nnn/^^/,  536  No.  17. 

l'?n  =  KtXi/f/a,  504  «. 

7"?n  to  profane,  50  ;  /£»  treat  a  vine- 
yard aj-  common,  i.e.  to  use  its 
fruit,  144. 

pn  pleasure,  of  Jehovah's  purpose, 
238  ;  in  weakened  sense  oi  business, 
matter,  474  No.  9. 

D'nn  nobles,  \\L  free  (Aram.),   188 «., 

474  No.  5,  553  n. 

jUB'n   reckoning,    account,    ** engine,''^ 

475  No.  6. 
{ynN'cn  Xerxes,  546 ;?. 

C3j;c3  in  the  sense  of  decree  (Aram.), 
322 

T*?  T  //a«</  /^  hand,  403. 

0V3  av  =  day  by  day,    537   No.    29, 

547. 
"inr  =■  exceedingly,  475  No.  7. 
E'n'nn,   tyn*  genealogy,  to  be  reckotted 

genealogically,  535. 
T7in,  ^'?',  ^i?  ^^^(?/  (as  used  by  different 

writers),  15,  134  No.  45,  455. 
('d)  nt^N  yn"  forasmuch  as,  203. 
jy'3i  |j;»  because  and  by  the  cause  that, 

147. 

D'niD  n'S'  breathes  forth  lies,  403. 

B''  //^^r^  is  that  .  .  .  (formula  intro- 
ducing a  proverb),  403. 

nnto  together  (lit.  aj  ^w^),  240,  475. 

na  ^(jr^,  i26«.,  454  «. 

l^Dn  tfnn  (order),  506  No.  11. 

*3-  suff.   of  2  ps.  fem.   sing.,   188 «., 

374  «. 
ntpy  nSa  /<?  make  a  full  end,  275  No. 

12. 
033  /^  gather  together,  475  No.  9. 

^y?,  540. 


oya  vexation  (at  unmerited  treatment), 

see  D';;3n. 
•nsD  <5£'w/,  540. 
D3n3   <:(?//^;z   or  y?«^   linen   (Persian), 

485. 
-iB'3  /(?  be  useful,  successful,  jnc^,  475 

No.  10. 
D'3in3     writings     ( "  Hagiographa  "), 

Introd.  if.,  359. 
^r\2  wall  (Aram.  =  Heb.  I'p),  548  n. 

^  uses  of,  in  Chronicles,  537,  538  f., 

539. 
D\n'?«  n"?  not  gods  (poet. ),  537  No.  30. 
\'io  =  without,  539  No.  43, 
\rh  therefore,  455. 
Va"?  flij-  regards  all{=namely,  in  brief), 

132,  539. 
n^yD*?   upwards   {  =  exceedingly),    536 

No.  13. 
ns^  to  turn  about,  455. 
np"?  doctrine,  404. 
f  p"?  <2^  /y^.?  end  (late  use),  553  w. 
^"h  abundantly,  535  No.  2. 

nND  "with  all  thy  might "  (rare  sense), 
200  No.  9. 

nxD  (for  nNp),  131  No.  8. 

P5P,  understanding  (of  tefh^i.  skill), 
536  No.  15. 

niJiJD  precious  things,  546  «. 

J?iO  knowledge  (Aram.),  506  No.  5. 

K-mD  Midrash  (2  Chr.  1322  24^^),  529. 

^'TO,  474  No.  22. 

^1D  over  against,  in  the  forefront  of 
(RV.),  ii3«. 

noiD  correction,  discipline,  404. 

DnyiD  j-Ziz/^^  /m^j-,  set  feasts,  54 ;/. 

np'?nD  division,  technically  of  the 
courses  of  the  priests,  539. 

ntsD  and  123^,  /rz/5^  (as  used  by  differ- 
ent writers),  134  No.  45. 

\'y:)kind,  102,  131. 

n3D  to  sell  (fig.),  nDDnn  sold  himself  to 
do  evil,  164 «.,  177,  202  No.  36. 

ni3^D  kingdom,  506,  536. 

n^D  /i?  prepare,  appoint,  322,  506. 

D'p  /iw^j,  126  «. 


INDEX  II 


S65 


D'oyoy^,  374  ». 

h]}0,  *?yD  a  trespass,  to  trespass,   134 

No.  43,  146,  535  No.  3. 
D'nVjflD  cymbals,  539  No.  46. 
njpD  purchase,  purchased  possession, 

133  No.  24. 
nspD  j^w^  ^,  506. 
anpD  and  imo  /r^w  M^  w/afr/  of,  49, 

146. 
KSTD  healing,  403. 
KB'D  oracle,  or  name  of  country  Massa? 

(Prov.  30^  31^),  402,  403. 
mn'  nm  Nbo  /y^^  oracle  of  JehovaKs 

"^ord,  355. 
naitj'D  turning  back,  backsliding,  275. 
D'mwD  singers  (official  term),  379 «., 

539. 
hvD  proverb,  395  (cf.  337). 
Tpn   pnB'D  =  ^^rj/  man-child,    185, 

194. 

nnjn  dkj,  401  n. 

p3  holder,  shealh  (Persian),  501,  540. 

noj  /<?  keep  (a  vineyard),  r^/a?«  (anger), 

448  «. 
D'oaj  riches,  112  n.,  540. 
l'?Dj  /^  consult,  553  «. 
trsa  j^«/  in  the  sense  oi  person,  132 

No.  19. 
n^j  to  preside  over,   lead  (in  music), 

my^^  precentor,  yizn.,  537. 
morn  npj  /<?  ^<?  expressed  by  name, 

536  No.  12. 
inj  nard  (Indian),  449  n. 
jn  KB'3  /"£>  obtain  favour,  484. 
O'B'J  xtyj  /<?  /fl>^<?  7t;zz/<?j,  455,  537  No. 

25,  553  «. 

rK'G  nm  jnj  /<?  /«/  a;  person's  way  upon 
his  head  {i.e.  to  requite  him),  298. 

'h  3*?  }n3  /£»  i-^/  the  heart  to,  507. 

•JD*?  ]n:  to  set  before  (i.e.  deliver  up  to), 
loi  No.  29. 

D'j:o  deputies    (of    the    magnates  of 

Judah),  553. 
n'jSDiD  =  (ru/A0c«>j'ia,  502. 
110  ^wdf  (Aram. ),  313,  475. 
iVd,  f^Q  perverseness,  to  subvert,  40^3. 


ni'so  j^2^,  322. 

"^^To  ^7j^«  (?),  501  n. 

TO  president  (Persian),  501  n. 

□Nny,  454  «. 

'^  ^y    prep,    until,   unto    (pleonastic 

combination),  538,  547. 
^ny  to  remain  over,  134  No.  37. 
•^ly  iniquity,  144,  146. 
my  /*£>  help  (in  connexion  with  God), 

536  No.  lo. 
^"h^  at  the  direction  of,  Introd.  vii  n. , 

viii«.,538,  547. 
(inoy)  noy  '?y  lit.  on  my  {thy)  standing, 

507. 
3*?  Sy  rh^i  to  come  up  upon  the  heart, 

275  No.  6. 
n'?jD  oy  a  /<?i7/^  of  special  possession, 

99  No.  7a. 
noy  in  late  Heb.  =Dip,  507. 
D'Dy  kinsfolk  133  No.  25,  148  «. 
n^Dy  neighbour,  49,  56,  57,  148  «. 
pjy  trouble,  business,  474. 
aiiyi  ni:£y  'Uhe  fettered  aiui  the  free,'' 

194,  201  No.  28, 
Kinn  DVn  osy  the  self -same  day,  132. 
no  nsy  /^  control  power = to  be  able, 

507. 
py  /^  ^<?  affrighted,  105. 

nxann,    "i«s  /(?  ofe^ri,    to  deck  oneself, 

239  f. 
(pnajDs)  pnnjDS=^aXT7j/)iov,  502. 
n:£3  /^  deliver  (Aram. ),  374  n, 
n^fS  to  break  out  into  singing,  238. 
nms  open  portico  (Persian),  539  bottom. 
DiTS    enclosure,    park,     ^^ paradise'' 

(Zend),  448  «.,  449  «.,  450- 
Tis  rigour,  133  No.  28. 
D'Dms  nobles  (Persian),  485,  501,  506. 
tie's  to  spread  out,  deploy,  185. 
nB'£3  interpretation  ( =  jnns),  474. 
jnns  portion  of  food,  dainty  (Persian), 

501 «. 
Djns  message,  edict,  word  (Persian), 

475  No.  12,  485,  501  n. 
\wx\^  counter-word,  copy  (Persian),  485. 


566 


INDEX  II 


D'NSNi;  offspring,  239. 

niN3:f  hosts   (of   the   Israelites),    133 

No.  31. 
D3X  to  hold  out,  reach,  455  n, 
"I'i  beautyy   the  delightsome  land  (of 

Canaan),  508  w. 
nSjf  to  come  mightily  (of  a  spirit),  184. 
HDJf  /^  shoot  forth  (fig.),  238  No.  3. 

^2p  /(?  receive,  536. 
D'p  /(?  confirm,  455. 
Dnn'p  = /cf^apts,  502. 
HND  '2fiKp  corner-dipt  (of  certain  Arab 

tribes),  276. 
TKi'^^p  a  piece  of  money,  126  n. 

'INT  suitable  (Mishnic  use),  485. 

DJT  and  hpu  to  stone  (as  used  by  differ- 
ent writers),  134  No.  45,  146 
bottom 

y\  secret  (Persian),  501  n. 

V!nr\,  my\  amassed  stibstance,  to  amass, 
132,  537. 

IDT  herd  (of  horses),  stud  (Persian), 
485. 

yi  thought  (Aram.),  374 «. 

DN  pn  if  only,  200  bottom. 

vvr\,  B'T  the  poor,  B'n  poverty,  404. 

r  for  nt^N,  rel.  particle,  188 «.,  322, 
374 «.,  448,  449 «.,  450,  463'^-, 
474  No.  22,  540,  549  f. 

oity,  t3Xy'  contempt,  to  conte?)in,  298. 


"W^v;  fi£sh  =  ftext  of  kin,  49  No.  10. 

n2i>'  /^  >^^^^,  nab'  hope,  455. 

pn3B'  ^,?^/  r<?j-/,  134  No.  40. 

nnrff  error,  inadvertence  (in  P),  1 12. 

Dnyw   gate-keepers,    porters    (official 

term),  539. 
niB'  wa//  (Aram.  =  Heb.  nu\n),  548  «. 
n^'n^  slaying  (form  of  word),  484. 
'hv  {xe\2X.  and  prep.),  188 «.,  448 «., 

449  n.,  475  with  «. 
Torh':/  flame,  448  «. 
n'?ty  weapon,  313,  540. 
Iib'?e7,  a''?B',  a'?B'  /^  rw/^,  ruler,  rule, 

475  No.  13,  553  ;z. 
r\'oS^  for  why  ?=lest,  448  «. 
D'tDSB'  judgments,    133   No.    29,    297 

No.  6. 
psb  /i?  suffice,  188;?. 
B'B'  marble,  448 ;?. ,  449  «. 

T\rh\r\ generations,  ion.,  131  No.  7. 

mn  and  "^in  /^  j/j/  (as  used  by  different 
writers),  1 10,  134  No.  45. 

rr^n  direction,  law,  31,  I53«.,  372. 

n'B'in  sound  wisdom  or  success,  404. 

ni'?unn  «/i>^  guidance  (lit.  steersman- 
ship),  403. 

'n-  term,  of  2nd  fem.  sing,  pf.,  455. 

p:n  reptile,  24  w. 

•^ai?,  463  «. 

f]pn,  ^Ipn  to  be  strong,  prevail,  strength 
(Aram.),*  475  Nos.  24,  14,  507 
No.  22. 


*  See  the  writer's  Hebrew  Tenses  (ed.  3,  1892),  Appendix  III. 
illustrative  of  Hebrew,"  p.  228,  n.  5. 


On  Arabic  as 


INDEX     III. 


Texts,' 


Genesis 

CHAP. 

I.    1—2,  4         . 

I,  5^.  %b  &c. 
I,  6f.,  II  f.,  24 f. 
I,  7.  II 
I,  24     . 

1,  28-30 

2,  4  . 
2,  4  ff.  . 
2,  19     . 

3,15     . 
c.  4  and  5 
4,  23  f. 

4,  25  f. 

5,  6-8,  9-1 1  &c. 
5,29 

6,  5-9,  17 
6,  6f. 
6,  14.  18-20 

6,  22     . 

7,  13-16 
8,5  . 
9,  1-7.  26 

9,5       . 

9,  25-27 
c.  10     . 

10,  5.  20.  31.  32 

11,  5.  7 

12,  1-3 
12,4     . 

12,  6     . 

13,  14-17 

13.  18  . 
c.  14     . 

14.  14  • 

15,  19-21 

16,  12  . 
c.  17     . 


20  f., 


i4i 


PAGE 

8,  9,  140 

.   12  «. 

130  «. 

130  «. 

•       125 

20 

6,  20 

140  f. 

.     8«. 

20 

.     141 

.     361 

14,  21 

.  12  ;z. 

14,  21 

121,  130  «. 

.     12 1 

130  n. 

.  12  «. 

30  «. 

130  «. 

20 

130  «. 

120,  512 

14/.,  21 

12  «.  130  «. 

.     121 

20,  120 

.  12  «. 

19,  124  «. 

20 

.     118 

IS.  159 

I24«. 

119  «. 

120 

.     126 


12  «. 


Genesis 

— con  filmed. 

CHAP.                                                                             PAGE 

17,   I 21.   127  «. 

17,  6-8 

20 

17,  7     . 

.     129 

17,  24.  25 

12  n. 

18,  9-15 

9 

18,  18  f. 

20,  120 

18,  21  . 

.     121 

19,  29  . 

•       15 

19,  31  ff. 

.     120 

20,  I     . 

.     118 

20,  I- I 7 

•       13 

20,  3.  13 

.     119 

20,  7     . 

.     118 

21,  \b  . 

21 

21,  5     . 

12  «. 

21,  6-31 

•       13 

21.  6     . 

.    9«. 

21,  31  . 

16,  118 

22,  1-13 

13 

22,  15-18      . 

16. 

20,  38,  123 

c.  23     . 

.     126 

23,  II-  17-2C 

130  «. 

25,  25ff. 

.     120 

26,  3-5 

16,  20,  123 

26,  33  . 

16,  1x8 

27.  29  . 

20,  120 

27,  46  -  28,  5 

9 

28.3     . 

127  «. 

28,  10-22 

.       16 

28,  13-15 

20 

28,  19  . 

9,  118 

28,  21  f. 

.     122 

30,  16.  18.  20.  23. 

21 

.       16 

30,  25-31,  55 

.    16  f. 

31,  10  f.  24   . 

.     119 

31,  19.  30.  S3 

.     118 

31.  39  • 

.       125 

*  Passages  occurring  in  their  natural  place,  or  in  accordance  with  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  work,  are  not,  as  a  rule,  included  in  the  Index.  The  case  is  the  same 
with  passages  cited  in  the  lists  of  words  and  phrases  characteristic  of  particular 
writers.  • 

667 


568 

INDEX   III 

Genesis 

—continued. 

"Ei^oAviS— continued. 

CHAP. 

PAGE 

CHAP. 

PAGE 

32, 28  . 

9 

r. 

30  f.,  126  «.  130  «.  131  n. 

c.  34     . 

.      17 

16. 1-3.6-24. 1 

131  ff.  Nos.  6,  19,  20, 

34,7    . 

124  «. 

31-36  (p)  1 

32,  33.  35,  36.  37,  38, 

34,  30  . 

390  «• 

I 

39 

35,  2-4 

.     118 

17.  6     .         . 

.     119 

35.  4     . 

.     118 

17.  14  • 

.     122 

35,  7     .         • 

.     119 

c.  18     . 

31,  12.6  n.  153  «. 

35,  8.19  f.     • 

122 

c.  19—24 

32.  39 

35,  lo-  15     • 

9 

19.  3-8 

.         .        .         .99 

35,  "  • 

127  «. 

19,  5  f. 

99  No.  ya,  b,  120,  123 

35.  22   . 

.     120 

20,  1-17 

.    33,  35,  99,  153 

36,6     .        . 

9,  130  «. 

20,  2     . 

•     99  No.  5 

36.31    .        • 

124  n. 

20,  3     . 

.     99  No.  2 

c.  37     . 

.         .   i7f. 

20,  6    . 

.     99  No.  I 

C.38     .        . 

.     122 

20,  10  , 

.     99  No.  6 

c.  40-42.  45 

13,  17-19 

20,  12  . 

99  Nos.  3,  4 

40,  15   • 

124  n. 

20,  I 8-2 I 

32  «. 

44,  r8ff.        . 

.     119 

20,  22—23,  33 

31.  33,  35-37.  40,  58, 

46,  6  f. 

130  «. 

73-75,  75  f..  87,  X53 

47.  5-6 

II  n.  17  «. 

20,  24  , 

36,  51,  85,  138  n.  153 

48,  22  . 

.     119 

21,  6,  22,  8.  9 

36 

c.  49     . 

.       19 

21,  7.  14  &c. 

131  n. 

49,  10  . 

20 

22,  20  . 

.     116 

49.  II   . 

.     125 

22,  21  f. 

100  No.  14 

49.  25   . 

17.7  n. 

23,  10  ff. 

36.  39 

49.  29  f. 

12  ;;.  130  n. 

23.  13  . 

.     99  No.  2 

50,  20  . 

.     119 

23,  14-19      . 

*        •        •       85.153 

E3 

codus. 

23.  19  • 

23.  20-33      . 

36,  99,  390  n.  409 

I,  i-7(P)      .     22 

131  fr.  Nos.  3, 5, 16, 

23,  23.  28      . 

119  «. 

19, 44 

24,  I.  9 

.     153 

3   I-  2.  4       • 

.    119 

29,  43-46      . 

.     129 

3.  8       .         . 

ii9«.  121 

31,  13  f.         -2 

8,  49  f.  Nos.  I,  3,  13,  14 

3.  19     • 

100  No.  10 

59.  151 

4,  4 

•     153 

32,  7.  14       . 

.     123 

4,  22  f. 

.     120 

32,  18.  25 

126  n. 

4,  24     . 

.     121 

33>  7-1 1 

.     38,  128  «.  153 

6,2-7, 13  (P)  i: 

}i  n.  131  ff.  Nos.  I,  jb, 

34,  ia-26      . 

39.  40,  73-75.  99.  122 

8,  II,  13,  21,  29,  30, 

34.  II  • 

100  No.  8,  119  «. 

31.45 

34.  12  . 

.  100  No.  9 

6,3     .      . 

T2jn. 

34.  14  • 

.     99  No.  2 

6,  4.  6  1. 

.     129 

6,6      . 
6.6-8  . 

100  No.  10 
.     151 

1 

-eviticus. 

7,  6.  7. 

12  «. 

0.  1-7         . 

.        43-45,  142,  143  n. 

7,  19     . 

130  «. 

I,  2.  4,  2  &c. 

131  n. 

8,  16  f. 

130  «. 

5,  1-6.  21-24 

59  ». 

9,  14     . 

26  n. 

7.  15-18        . 

.       52 

10,  2     . 

.     174 

7,  22-27 

.       51 

12,  4  8.  18-20 

i3o«. 

10,  iff. 

126  «. 

12,  12  f. 

.     151 

10,  9.  10  f.    . 

45.  151 

12,  28.  50      . 

12  n. 

c.  11—15      . 

45  f.,  142,  143  «. 

13.  3-16        . 

.       75  doUom,  99,  1S3 

II,  2-23 

46,  76,  144 

13.  3-  14       • 

.     99  No.  5 

II,  43-45     • 

.         .         -        59.  151 

13.  5     • 

119  «. 

c.  17—26       47 

ff-.  58  f.,  73-76,  148-152 

13,  9    . 

100  No.  10 

i8,27f.        . 

124  «, 

'4.25^. 

.     390 

c.  23    . 

.         .         .         .       76 

15,  itf. 

.     121 

24,  10-14.  23 

126  n. 

15.  6     .         . 

.     125 

25,  20-22      . 

.       57 

15.  16  . 

.         .         .         .     363 

25.  39-43      • 

.       82 

15,  26  . 

.    99.  loi 

No.  25,  123 

26,  3  ff. 

58,  147- 15 I 

INDE 

X  III 

569 

Numbers. 

Deuteronotny— 

continued. 

CHAP.                                                                          PAGE 

CHAP. 

PAGE 

c.  1—4          .         .     127,  128  w.  130,  155 

I,  22       . 

,            .         84 

I,  20-21.  22-23  &c.       .         .          129  n. 

I,  24-40.  41-46       . 

.            .         81 

2,  2 130;?. 

I,  24.  28.  36 

.     no 

3,  I      . 

.     7«- 

1.36       .            .            .            , 

82 

c.  7      . 

. 

61,  128,  130 

I.  37.  39       .         .         . 

.         .  84«. 

9,  I  ff. 

. 

126  n. 

I,  40.  41        .         .         . 

.  81  n. 

10,  9  f. 

.   59  «. 

2,  1—3,  3      .         .         . 

.       81 

II,  24fr.       . 

.      153 

2,12              .         .         . 

124  n. 

II,  29  . 

.      120 

2,  14-16 

.  94«. 

",  35  • 

.       66 

2,  27-29 

.  8o«.,  390 

12,  4    . 

128  n. 

2,  34-  3.  4  &c.       . 

.         .       84 

c.  13—14      • 

131  n. 

2,  34.  3,  6  &c. 

.         .     116 

13,  1-15        • 

.     127 

3.  8.  14 

.         .       84 

14,  11-23      . 

.     123 

3.  II-  14 

124  ». 

15.  32-36      . 

126  n. 

3.  14-17        .         .        . 

.  94«. 

IS.  37-41 

59.  151 

4,  16.  18.  23 . 

•       75 

c.  16—17 

63-65*  131,  142 

4.  19     . 

.       88 

16,9     . 

83  «. 

4.  41-49 

.     84,  90  «. 

16,  24.  27 

.         .       6s 

4,  44-49 

•         .   93f. 

17,  2.  6 

130  «. 

C.  5 — II 

.         .   77f. 

18,  I.  2 

65  f. 

5.  I       . 

.  9o». 

18,  18   . 

.  83,  130  «. 

5.6-21.        .        .    33- 

-35.  99  Nos.  1-6 

20,  2.  3.  6 

126  n. 

5.  14^  . 

.      75 

20,  18.  19 

.     390 

5.  15     .        .        . 

.     144 

21,  2f.  . 

.     116 

6,  4-9  . 

.        .      78 

21,   12.   13  &C 

.       66 

6,  8. 14.  20  f. 

•      75 

21,   14  f.  17  f. 

.      121,  124 

7.  1-5   .        •        . 

75,  92,  116 

21,  33-35 

.       66 

7.6       .         .        . 

.     75^  99  No.  7a 

c.  22—24 

.         .       98 

7.  7.  8.  13     . 

.        .       78 

22,   I       . 

85,  124  n.,  135 

9,  6 — 10,  11  . 

80  f.,  102,  157 

22,  8f.  20 

.     119 

10,  3.  7.  8     . 

.         .       84 

23.   18.  24,  3. 

15 

.     125 

10,  6     . 

84.  13s.  153 

24,  9     . 

.     120 

10,  19  . 

•       75 

25.  6-9 

126  n. 

11,6              .        . 

82 

26,  I     . 

'     135 

c.  12—26 

.        .         .   78f. 

27,  iff. 

126  n. 

12,  3     . 

•      75 

27,  19.  21 

.     1x6 

12,  5.  14.  18 

.        .        .      8s 

c.  28—29 

.         .       76 

12,  6.  II.  17 

.    14s 

c.  31     • 

.       68,  128 

12,  6.  17  f.     . 

.        .        .      83 

31,  6.  12 

•     135 

12,  12.  18.  19  &c. 

.        .        .      83 

32.  13  . 

loi  No.  26 

12,  16.  23      . 

•       75.  144 

32,  39.  41.  4: 

163  «. 

12,  30  . 

135  «. 

32,  41   • 

124  «. 

14,  2.  21 

.      75 

C.  33.  34 

.     127 

14,  4-20        . 

46.  76,  144,  14s 

34.  15  . 

.  85,  124 «. 

14,  22-29      • 

.        .         76.  83 

34.  17  . 

.     116 

15,  i-ii.  17^ 

.      82 

36.  ifif. 

126  «. 

15,  3.  7  &c.  . 

.     102 

See  also,  on  Genesis  to  Numbers, 

15,  12-18 

57.  82 

pp.  131-135. 

15.  19-23      • 

73.  76 

15,  19  f. 

.      83 

Deuteronomy. 

16,  1-17 

.        .        .      76 

I.  I    4.  40 93  f- 

16,  3.  4.  8.  13.  15 

•      75 

I.  I.  5  . 

.         .        .      84 

16,  3     .         .         • 

.     14s 

I,  1-2.  4-5 

.     90».,  94 

16,  8^    . 

.     144 

I,  2.  6.  19 

119  ». 

16,  II.  14      . 

.        .        .      83 

I.  3  (P) 

.  72,  156 «. 

16,  22  . 

.        .        .      89 

I,  5.  4,  8  &c 

.       72 

17.  I     • 

.     144 

I,  6—3,  22 

80,  102,  IS7 

17.  3     • 

.      88 

I,  7-17 

.       80 

17,  6     . 

•       75 

I,  8 

.     8iw.,82 

17.  9     • 

.  loi  No  27 

1,  19     . 

. 

.         .         ^     63 

17,  II   .         . 

.     154 

570 

INDEX  III 

Deuteronomy — continued. 

lo^wai— continued. 

CHAP.                                                                              PAQB 

CHAP.                                                                               PAGE 

17,  12 83 «. 

9,  27     .        .        .        .         100  No.  II 

17,  14-20 

.     87  f.,  92 

10,  I,  28  &c 

.     116 

18.  1-8 

lly  76 

10,  12-13       .           lOI  > 

\q.  29,  108,  121 

18,  I     . 

82,  lot  No.  27,  144 

10,  40-43-  ".  16-23    • 

.     IIS 

18,  3.  6 

.        .        .      83 

12,  2-6.   13,  8-12   . 

.     104 

18,  4     . 

.     145 

13,   13    • 

115  n.,  163 

18,  6-8 

82,  87 

14,   I       . 

.     116,  135 

18,  7     .         . 

.  83  «. 

14.6       .            .            . 

.     116 

19,  3.  12       . 

.     144 

15,  14-19         . 

no,  115  «.,  163 

19.  15.  2^      • 

•       75 

15,  63.   16,   10 

ii5«.,  163 

20,  6     . 

.     144 

17,  4.  14          . 

.     116 

20,  16-18 

.      92 

17,   11.  12.  16.  17  . 

163  n. 

21,  S     • 

3«. ,  loi  No.  27,  137 

17,   12  f.,   14-18 

115  «.,  163 

22,  9.  II.  23, 

23    . 

.     144 

18,   I        . 

.     115 

24. 8    .    ^^, 

lOI  ] 

Vo.  27,  102,  144,  154 

18,  ^b  . 

.     104 

25, 16  . 

.     144 

19,  47  . 

163  «.,  168 

25. 17-19     • 

.       92 

21.  I    . 

.      116.  135 

26,  6.  8 

.     145 

22, 5    .      .99 

ff.  N 

OS.  I,  15,  28,  38 

26,   12  f. 

.     83,  84  «. 

22,  8     . 

112  «. 

26,  19  . 

•     75.  99  No.  ^b 

22,  13.  30-32 

.     13s 

c.  27     . 

.  74 f.,  94  f. 

c.  23     . 

1133/5 

27,  I.  9.  II  . 

.  90  «. 

23,6     .         .         . 

loi  Nos.  30,  38 

27,  9     . 

loi  No.  27,  1415 

23,  II   . 

99 f.  Nos.  I,  9 

27,  15-25      . 

.         .         .  74f. 

23.  14  • 

loi  No.  28 

c.  28     . 

71,  72,  75,  93,  409 

23,  16  . 

99  f.  Nos.  2,  19 

28,  10  . 

276  No.  16 

c.  24     . 

[i3f.,  115,  177  f. 

28,  30  . 

.     144 

24.  I     . 

.         -       85 

29,  2—30,  20 

•      95 

24,  2.  9.  II.  14 

.     114 

29,  2     . 

.  90«. 

24,  2.  15 

.     118 

29,  6  (Heb.  5 

) 

135  «• 

24,  12  . 

.      114,  119 

29,  13  • 

.        .        .     145 

24,  17  . 

.    99  No.  5 

31.  9.  24 

90) 

«.,  loi  No.  27,  124 «. 

24,  26  . 

x\%bis 

31.  14-30 

.        .        .      96 

24.  30.  32.  33 

.      118,  122 

32,  1-43 

.      95-97.  135  «• 

24.  33  • 

135  ^" 

32.7     . 

538  No.  35 

See  also  pp.  131-135- 

32,  45-47 

.        .        .      96 

32,  48-52  (P)       97,  131  ff.  Nos,  12,  22, 

Judges. 

c.  33     .        .         . 
33,  4-  7-  27.  28     , 
33.  8     . 

25<*,  43,  135  «• 

.   97f. 

.         .         .       98 

143  «• 

I,  I      . 

1. 3      • 

I,  4.  8.  9  &c. 

.     163 
.390 
163  ». 

33,  10  . 
33.  13-16 
33.  16  . 

•     153 
448«. 
.     125 

c.  4-  5  - 

5,  4.  7.  19.  23 

5.  7  {^) 

.  363 

449  «. 

34.  I     • 

I24«. 

5,  15.  19.  29 

.     171 ' 

See  also  pp.  73  f. ,  99-102. 

c.  6-8. 
6,  7-10 

.     171 
167,  178 

Joshua. 

6,  11-24 

.     126 

I.  I      .       .       .       .       .       .116 

7,  12.  8,  26  (b?) 

449  «. 

I.  7 

.  loi  Nos,  30,  38,  118 

10,  6-18 

166,  178 

1.8       . 

.      72 

II,  12-28 

167  «. 

I,  II     . 

102  No.  40 

13,  2-24 

.     126 

2,  10,  II 

104,  105,  116 

13,  4.  5.  7.  16.  17 

.     143 

3.  3 

loi  No.  27 

17.  13   . 

•        •  A«^3 

3,  10     . 

119  «. 

18,  30.  31 

168  «. 

4,  24     . 

100  No.  10,  106 

c.   19    . 

.     126 

8.  17     . 

•     115 

c.  20—21 

-    14: 

f.,  168-170 

8,33     . 

loi  No.  27,  107 

20,  I.  6.  15  . 

143  n. 

9,  I 

119  «. 

20,  23  . 

.     390 

9.  7       . 

.     390 

21,  10.  II.  12, 

143  »• 

9.  10     . 

.     104 

20,  27  . 

169  «. 

INDEX   III 

571 

z  Samuel. 

2  Kings— continued. 

CHAP. 

PAGE 

CHAP.                                                                              PAGE 

I.  9-  3,  IS 

144.  375  «. 

9,    18.  20           .             .             .             .              188 «. 

2,  22       . 

144 

II,   18     . 

100  No.  22 

2.25       • 

36 

13,   12  f. 

.     i86 

5.  lo     • 

390«. 

c.  17     . 

188  «. 

6.3ff.  . 

143 

17,   13-20 

.     203 

7.  9f-  17 

85 

17.   19  f. 

.     198 

9,  12-14.  10,  3.  5.          .        .         85,  86 

18,   14-16 

.      197.  227 

10,  10-13 

180 

19.   15-19 

202  «.,  227 

II.  15   . 

85 

c.  21—25 

i88«. 

12,  9  ff. 

.i64«.,  177.  178 

21,   10-15 

•     «.'.    '98.  203 

14.  32-35 

51.  86 

C.  22 23 

.     86  f.,  198,  203 

14.  35   • 

85,86 

23.  9^    . 

i54«. 

14,  47.  48 

i73«. 

23.  26  f. 

.         .         .         .     198 

c.  17— 18  (LXX)  .         .         .           179  f. 

24,    18—25,  30 

.  198,  264,  268  f. 

20,  6     . 

85 

See  also  pp.  200-203. 

21,6     . 

143 

24.  13  • 

394 

Isaiah. 

30,  22  . 

390/?. 

I,  8 

241 «. 

2  Samuel. 

1.  13     . 

2,  2 

i43«. 
.     352 

z.  18     . 

121 

6.13     . 

.     208,  242 

I,  19-27.  3, 

33f.    .        .        .     361.  378 

8.  II      . 

280  «. 

C.6       . 

136 f..  378.  379  «•.  534 

10.  5-7 

.     512 

12,  28  . 

275  No.  16 

10,  20-22 

242  n. 

12,  31  . 

377«- 

10,  28-32 

.     210 

14.  2fif. 

393 

II,  II   . 

.  239  No.  I 

21,  19    . 

i79«- 

II,  13  • 

.     291 

22,1       . 

.        .        .         .         38o«. 

II,  15  f. 

.     514 

See  also  p.  184  f. 

12,  I.  2 

13,  I— 14,  23 

.        .    390 
211  f.,  312  «. 

1  Kings. 

14,  4-21 

458  with  n. 

1.40       . 

.      ^  379«. 

19,  II.  12 

392  «. 

2.  3-4  . 

190,  199,  200  Nos.  1-9 

19,  16  ff. 

.     514 

4,  20-26 

.     191,  198 

23.4     . 

241  n. 

4.27       . 

191 «. 

23,  17  f- 

.     514 

4.  30.  31 

.        .        .        .          392f. 

25,  I.  26,  9 

.     390 

4.  33     • 

393 

27,  10  € 

.     222,  223 

6,  X       . 

161;?. 

29,  1-6 

241  n. 

6,  11-13 

191  n. 

30,  16.  31,  I 

.         .         .       92 

c.  8       . 

191,  200  f.,  379  «. 

c.  34—35 

.         22Sf.,  3I2«. 

8.  1-5   . 

.      144  with  ».,  191 «. 

34.  12  . 

„     .         .         553«. 

8,  12  f.  . 

192 

37.  15^0.  35 

.36. 

38     .        .        .    227 

8.32     . 

298  No,  23 

37.  22  ff.        . 

•     227,  459 

8,37     . 

.    99  No.  6 

37.  3if. 

.     242 

8.  55-  9,  25 

137 

c.  38—39 

.     227 

9.  1-9  . 

181,  198,  201 

38,  20  . 

227,  373  n. 

10,  I.  3 

392 

c.  40—66 

.       230ff.,3I2«. 

10,  12  . 

379«- 

40,  27   . 

.     230 

".  9-13 

.      193,  198 

41,  2.  25.  26 

243  n. 

13.  30  . 

458«. 

41,8.42,1     100  N 

3.  II,  238  No.  I,  242«. 

14,  8-16 

.      194,  201 

41.  25   . 

231  with  n. 

20,  10.  25.  21,  8    .         .         .          188  «. 

42,  iff. 

232,  242  «.,  243^. 

21,  20-26 

196 

42.6     .         . 
42.  9     • 

.  240  No.  8 
238  No.  3,  243  n. 

2  Kings. 

42,  22.  25      . 

.     237 

I.  IS    . 

188  «. 

43,  28   . 

.     237 

3.  IS     • 

280  «. 

44.  28.  45,  1 

[f.      ! 

243  «. 

4,  2.  16.  28. 

5,  t8           .         .          188 «. 

45,  8     . 

.  238  No.  3 

6,  II  (») 

188  «.,  449  «. 

46.  3f..         . 

390«. 

6,  13.  19-  7, 

12        .             .             .              188  «. 

47.  1-15 

241 «. 

9.  7-10 

.        19^,    196 

47.  6     .         . 

.     230.  237 

572 


INDEX  III 


Isaiah- 


CHAP. 


49,  14.  24     . 

49,  18-23.  51,  17-23 

52.5    .        • 
52,  6     . 
52,  12  . 

52,  13—53.  12 

53.  12  . 
56,  9—57.  13"^ 

58,  12.  61,  4 

59.  3-15,      . 
61,  10  f.  63,  7. 
63,  1-6 
63.  7— 64*  12 
63,  10  f. 

63,  19  • 

64,  10  f. 

65,  24  . 

65.  25  ("in*") 

66,  17  .        . 


ontinued. 

PAGE 
.      230 

241  n. 
.  237 
240  n. 

'     145 

234,  242  «. 

50  No.  20^ 

234  f.,  244,24s 

.     230,  237 

.     244 

•    390 

.     236 

236,  241 «.,  246,  391 ». 

391 «. 

275  No.  16 

223,  237,  245,  246 

2^0  n. 

.  240,  475  No.  8 

146 


On  c.  40 — 66  see  also  pp.  238-240. 


Jeremiah. 


1. 3      • 

X.  14  • 
2. 3      • 

2.8.3^15    . 

2.  20  fit.  3,  I  f. 

3.  x8     .         . 

4.  23  . 
4,  31.  6,  26  . 

6,  28.  9,  3     - 

7,  10.  II 
7,  14     . 
y,  9-10.  16.  18.  20 
10,  II  (Aram.) 
10,  19.  20.  24 

12.  if.  . 

14,  9.  15,  16 

15.  I     • 

IS,  12-14      • 

15.  17  • 

16,  14  f. 

17, 19-27    . 

18,  7f.. 
18,  18  . 
22,  6-7.  21-23 

22.  18  . 

23,  I  . 
23,  3     . 

c.  25  (LXX) 

2S,   11-14.  263 

25,  13* 

25,  iSend     . 

26,  6     . 

c.  27—29  (LXX) 

27,  20  . 

29,  16-20 

30,  10  f. 

30.  21     . 

30,  22.  23-24 

31.  5ff. 


.      271 

275  No.  8 

•  143 
27s  No.  I 

.  283 
.  291 
.  144 
241 «. 

•  143 
27s  No.  16 

174 
458 

255  with  n. ,  504 
.    390 
410.  433 
275,  No.  16 
.     178 
2S7«. 
280  ». 
273,  277 
258,  273 
322,  323.  324 

•  393 
.  458 
458  «. 
386  «. 

•  144 
:.,  270,  273 

260,  273 

.      272 

.      270 

.      174 

272  «.,  273 

553  «. 

273  {l>is) 

261,  265,  273 

143.  385  «• 

273.  277 

.     291 


264 


270, 


Jerttmah— continued. 


CHAP. 

PACB 

31.  29f. 

284.  394.  410 

31.31-34    . 

.   262,  27s 

31.  38  ff. 

•   352 

33.  15  . 

•  345 

33.  16  . 

262  ft. 

33,  i4(i7)--6 

.     262.  273 

33,  18  . 

loi  No.  27 

34,  5  • 

458  «. 

34.  8.  IS.  17 

•  143 

36.  32  .    .    .    . 

.  249 

38,223 

320,  4S8«. 

38,  283—39,  14   • 

.  263  f.,  272 

39.  6  . 

553  «• 

46,  II.  19.  24 

241 «. 

48.40-45   . 

.  273 

49,7-22 

•  319 

SO,  133.  273.  30.  31-32. 

40.  41-43. 

44-46.  SI.  IS -19 

.  277 

SI,  34-  44  • 

•  325 

51.  64  . 

.  268 

See  also  pp.  275-277. 

Ezekiel. 

1. 3   • 

280  «. 

2, 3   . 

13a  No.  12 

4,  14  . 

.   .  146 

4,  17  . 

iSo». 
.  46  No.  7 

S,  6  &c. 

S,  10  &c. 

133  No.  29 

5.  II  &c.    . 

S,  13  .    .   297  N( 

)s.  9,  10,  II,  346 

6,  6.  14    .    . 

134  No.  34 

6,  7.  10  &c.  . 

295  n. 

7.  24  &c.   . 

iSon. 

8.  I   . 

280  n. 

8,  10  . 

.    .  146 

9.  9   . 

132,  No.  16 

12,  23  . 

.  394 

13,  19  . 

.  50  No.  13 

14,  4,  7 

.  49  No.  4,  146 

14,  8  .    .    .4 

9,  Nos.  s.  6,  146 

14,  10  . 

SO  No.  2oa 

14,  13  &c.  . 

134  No.  43 

IS.  4  &c.   . 

.  131  No.  6 

16,  27  &c.   . 

.  49  No.  1 1 

c.  18  . 

.  284,  410 

18.  2  . 

.  284,  394 

18.  6ff. 

.  146.  148 

18.  13  . 

.  so  No.  17 

18,  18  . 

133  No.  2SC 

18,  20.  22   . 

145  f. 

c.  19  . 

296/?.,  458 

20.  sff. 

.    .    .  146 

20,  9.  13  &c. 

.  so  No.  13 

20,  12  . 

.  49  No.  3 

20,  12.  13  &c. 

.SO  No.  14 

20,  38  . 

133  No.  21 

20,  41  . 

298  No.  28 

22,  7.  8.  9  &c. 

.  146 

24,  2  . 

132  No.  12 

26,  i7f.  28.  18  f.  . 

296  «.,  458 

INDEX  in 


573 


Ezekiel — continued. 

CHAP.  PAGE 

32,  17-32      ....         296  w. 

33,  22 280 «. 

34,  4     .         .         .      133  No.  28,  150 «. 

c.  35 226 

36,  II 131  No.  5 

36,  23   .        .        .         .         298  No.  28 

36,  28   .         .         .         .  r3S  No.  45  end 

37,  I 280 «. 

37,  27  f.  .  .  .  298  bottom 
c.  38— 39  •  •  .  29 if.,  310,  353 

38,  16.  23  .  .  .  298  No.  28 
40,  I  .  .  .  132  No.  12,  280 «. 
43>  7*  9  •  •  '291,  298  bottom 

43,  19   .         .         .         .  101  No.  27 

44,  7.  20.  21.  22  &c.  .  .  .  146 
44,  9  ...  .  132  No.  14 
44,  10-16  ....  139  f.,  155 
44,  10.  12     .        .         .         50  No.  20a 

44,  II 83«. 

44,  15  .        .         .       83».,  loi  No.  27 

44,  28  &c.     .        .        .  133  No.  22 

45,  18-20 140 

47,  9.  10        .  .     131  Nos.  3,  2 

See  also  pp.  146,  147,  297  f. 


Hosea. 


I,  7. 1,  10 — 2, 1 

I,  II    . 
2, 7fr.  . 

4,6     . 

6,6  . 
6,9  . 
8,  I.  12.  13 
8,4-6  . 
8,  12  . 
8,14     . 

II,  I      . 
12,  3f.  12  f. 
12,  4^.  12 
12,  14  . 


1,15 

2,  20 

a»32 

3.  16 
3.  17 
3,18 


JoeL 


Amos. 


2,4      . 

2,4-5  . 

2,  6-8   . 

2,  7       . 

2,9 

2,  II  f.  4,4.  5 

2,  13-16  &c. 

4,  13     . 

5.  a      . 
5i5      • 


303,  306,  307 
291,  328 
283  «. 
291,  306 
305,  316 
•    30s 
49  No.  II 
30s,  316 
304  f. 
.    122 
.    306 
390  ». 
.     123 
.     144 
.    118 


.    312 
308,  311 «. 

•    313 
.    312 

309,  3" 
311,  312 


.     316 

.     318 

•     317 

to.  13.  143 


30 


241 


123 

143 
316 

31 
458 

118 


Amos— continued. 

CHAP.  PAGE 

5,  8.  9 318 

5,  18.  20       .  .     208,  317 

S.  21-24 317 

S»  21-27        ....     315,  316 

6>  5 361,  378 

7>  4 144 

7,  14-  15 314 

8,  4-8 317 

9,  S.  6 318 


9.8.9 
9,  8-15 
9,  12     , 


291,  328 
.  318 
316  «, 


Obadiah. 


I,  ja  . 
1,8  . 
I,  10- IC) 

I,  17  . 
I,  20    . 


320 

393 
226 

313 
320 


Jonah. 
I,  7.  10.  4j  10  (^)  ...     322 

1,8.         .         .         .  322,  475  n. 

1,  9 322,  553 

2,  2-9 322,  325 


Micah. 


2,  12  f. . 

3»  II  • 
4,  8.  10 
4,  10.  11-13 

5>3  . 
7,  7-io 
7,  7-20 
7,  12     . 

3,  8-10 


I.  13  f. 
2,4 
c  3 
3,  14 


327  f. 

.  153 
241  n. 

329  f. 
.  291 
.     390 

333  f • 
333«.,334»- 


Nahum. 


335 


Habakkuk. 
410 

337 

•      339»  373«-»  537N0.  21 

390 


Zephaniah. 

3.  14 241 «. 

3,  14-20        .         .         .  334,  342  f. 


Haggai. 


2,7 
2,  S3 


343 
344 


Zechariah. 


3,  I  • 

3,8  . 

6,  13  ' 

9,  I  . 

9.8  . 

9.9  • 
9,  II  f.  13 


412  «.,  434 

•  345 
346  «. 

•  355 
.     355 

241 «.,  349 

.     347,  349 


574 


INDEX  III 


CHAP. 

10,  4     . 

",  1-3 

11,  4-14 

11,  7.  II 

12,  I  . 
12,  2ff. 
12,   7.    10-14 

12,  II  . 
13,7       • 

13,  7-9 
c.  14     . 


I,  I 

I,  3 
1,8 


Zechariah — continued. 

PAGE 

347  with  n. 
347  with  n. 

•  350 
350  ». 

•  355 

•  353 

•  353 

•  352 
49  No.  12 

•  348 
310,  353 


Malachi. 


355,  356 
226,  321 

•     357 


PSALM 

2  . 

3  . 

5-6       .         . 

9 — 10    . 

II.  12.  14.  17 

15 
18 

19 

20.  21   . 

22 

24////^'(LXX) 

25 

26.  28   . 


Psalms. 

369,  385,  386  «. 

•  375 

•  375 
•      367,  375 

•  375 
.       361,  369,  375,  379 

.       369,  379.  380,  385,  388 
367,  368,  369  Nos.  2,  3,  386 

•  369,  376,  385,  388 

•  375,  377,  386,  S9^ 
367,  369  Nos.  I,  2,  379 


27 

29  . 

30  title 
3^ 

33 
34 
35 
37 
38  title  (LXX) 


39 
40 

40,  13-17      . 

41 

42—43  . 

44 

45 

46   .       .         . 

47 

48  title  (LXX) 
48  .         . 


.     371 
>6i,  367.  375,  386 

.  375 
.  367.  375 
•     363,  368 

•  370 
374,  382,  391 

.     386,  388 

368,  375,  386 

374,  375,  376,  382,  391 

361,  368,  375,  386,  410 

.     371 

.     375 
.     434 

•  367,  374,  391 

•  •         -371 

•  375 
.     367,386 

386,  387,  388,  389,  391 
.  369,  385 
382,  386  bis 
386  ter,  388 


49 

51 

52 

S3 

55—59 

60 

62.  64 

63 


.    371 

.     386 

.     410 

377.  381,  386,  391  with  «. 

.     376,  381 

•  371 
.     376 

387  «.,  388,  391 

•  375 

•  377 


Psalms — continued. 


PSALM 
65 

66 

66 — 70 

68 

69 

70 

71 

72 

73 

74-  79 

76 

83 

84—89 

86 

87 
88 

89 
90 

92  title 

93  title  (LXX) 

93 

93.  96 — 100 

94  title  (LXX) 
94 


369 


lOI 

102 
103 
107 
108 
109 
no 

III.  112 

113— 118 

118 

119 

122.  123,  &C 

127 

132 

133 

135—138 

137 

138  . 

139 

144—150 

144 

145  • 

CHAP. 
I,  6 

I,  8 

3.  II 
3. 19  f- 

6,  6ff. 
8,  22  ff. 
8.25 
8,  30 
13.  I 
13.9 
22,  17 

25,  I     . 
25,  3.  20.  23 


PAGE 

375,  377,  391 

•  391 
.     386 

•  375,  377 
376,  377  «•,  382,  391 

•  371 

•  391 
369.  38i«.,  385 

.     410 

380,  382,  385,  387,  388,  389 

380  f.,  382,  385 

.     385.  388 

•  371,  372 
374 '^M  376,377 

.  369  No.  5 

434 

,381,  385,  387  «.,  388,  391 

.     380 

•  370 

•  371 
.  363  No.  4 

383.  385,  388 

•  371 
363  No.  4,  391 

369  No.  7,  379,  384,  388 

377«..  385,  391 
374  «. 

•  434 

•  371,  388 
374  «•-  376 

384  with  «.,  388 

.         .     368 

.     388,  389 

.     382,  391 

.     368,  369 

(t?)  .         .         .     •    374«- 

381  n. 

387  «.,  388 

347  «. 

.     388 

.     226 

•  375 
374  «• 


367.  369.  374  n. 
374«.,  375.  386 


Proverbs. 


24,  2 


25.  25 


.    393 

395,  396 

435  «. 

•  396 
.     393 

•  396 

•  435 

•  394 

•  407 

•  435 
393.  399 

400,  405  «.,  407 
400  n. 


INDEX   III 

575 

Proverbs — continued. 

Dam^l— continued. 

CHAP. 

PAGE 

CHAP.                                                                             PAGE 

25,   12.  26,   I 

400  «. 

2.  18.  19.  37-  44    . 

•  553 

30.   I       . 

. 

.       402 

3,  5.  7.  10.  15 

.   502 

30,   15.  17.  27.  32  . 

. 

402  «. 

5,  2.  II.  13  &c.     . 

.     .     498  W 

30,  24  ff. 

•     393 

5.  7.  25-29 

•    490, 499 

31.   I       • 

•     403 

S.  10    . 

239  «. 

31.   10-31         • 

. 

368  «. 

5.31.6,  Iff. 

499f. 

See  also  p.  403  f. 

7,  8  ff.  20  ff. 
8,9       . 

491 

492,  493,  494.  509 «. 
508  ». 

Job. 

8.  9-14-  23-2 

5       " 

491.  492,  493.  509 

3.  3-10 

.    435 

8.  14  f.  . 

•     494 

5.  17     . 

435  «• 

8,17     . 

497  «•.  507  bottom,  508 

7>^7     ' 

.     435 

9.  I       . 

•        .       499  (/ 
•       500  {g 

12,  17  ff. 

.     433 

9-2^    • 

14,  II   . 

•     435 

9.  4ff.  . 

.     103,  507 

IS.  7-  8 

.     435 

9,  24-27 

.  491,  492,  495  f. 

10,  25-27 

.     418 

10,  6     . 

.        .         508 «. 

21,  17   . 

•     435 

II,  I      . 

.        .       499  (/) 

22,  6  27.  24, 

2 

.     432 

II,  16.  41 

508  n. 

29,  7.  31,  II. 

26-28 

•     432 

II.  21-45      . 

.  491,  492,  496  f. 

40,  IS— 41.  34       . 

.     427 

II.  30-35 

492  ». 

II,  31    • 

491  ». 

Song  of  Songs. 

II.  34  . 

.     492 

I.  7      •       •       •       •        448 

n.  [bis) 

II.  35-  40 

497«..  507 

2, 7      • 

. 

.    445 

c.  12     . 

492.  496,  497,  509 

3.  7 

. 

448  «. 

12,  2f.,  4.  9. 

13 

497«. 

3.  19.  4.  13 

449 

«.,  450 

12,  6f.  . 

5o8«. 

4.6       . 

. 

.     446 

12,    II     . 

49r«.,  494,  497 

6,  4.  5.  12 

.     446 

See  also  pp.  506-508. 

6.  II     . 

7.  9       • 

• 

449  «. 
442  «. 

Ezra. 
I.  I 545  (a) 

Ruth. 

I,  i-3a 

.     231.  525 

I,  4 

.    455 

I,  2-4  . 

•  545 f-.  552 

i>  13     • 

•    455 

I,  5-  6  . 

537  No.  30 

I,  19     . 

454  «. 

2,  55-  57 

466  «. 

2,  8 

454  «. 

2.64^  . 

.     240 

2.  8.  21.  3,  4 

!   18 

•    455 

2,  68  f.  . 

537  No.  23.  546 

3.  3-  4  • 

•    455 

3.  1-4.  5 

.      546.  547.  552 

4.  7 

.    455 

3.  i<^     • 

.     546 

4,  18-22 

, 

455  f. 

3.  7       • 

.        .        .        .     539 

3.  10     . 

•        *        •    ,v-     378 

Lamentations. 

4.  6-23 

.      545W.  S47f- 

c.  1.  2.  3.  4  . 

368  «. 

4.  15^  . 

187  «. 

I,  11-16.  18-22     . 

.    390 

5,  3-  8.  9 

S48«. 

I,  13.  3,  4.  13  &c. 

390  «. 

6,  9.  10.  12 
6,  z^b  . 

.     549 
545«- 

Ecclesiastes. 

6, 16-22 

545.  549  with  «.,  552 

3.  17.  19-21 .... 

•     477 

7,  I       . 

.     541.  544 
•545.  549  f- 

8,  17     .         .         .                  475 

with  n. 

7,  I-IO 

II.  6 240, 475 

7.  12     . 

546«. 

II,  9.  12,  I.  7.  13-14    . 

'A77i' 

7.  13.  i.S  &c. 

.         .         .        .     550 
549f. 

See  also  pp.  474,  475. 

8,  20  (e^) 

8,  35f.  • 

.     550 

Esther. 

See  also  pp 

•  535-540.  547. 

2,  23.  6,  1     . 

3,  7.  9,  26     . 

187  «. 
.     48s 

Nehemiah. 

See  also  p.  484  f. 

1,3 387«- 

I.  45  &c. 

I.  sff-  • 

.    553 

Daniel. 

.     103.  507 

I,  I  f.  4 

.    498 

7.  44     • 

. 

379  «. 

X,  10     . 

475 

nf,  506 

9.6       . 

•543.  SSI  f. 

576 

INDEX  III 

UehenuBh—conttnued. 

2  Chronicles— r^«/m//^d^. 

CHAP.                                                                              PAGE 

CHAP. 

PAGE 

9,  6ff. 103.  507 

3,  14     . 

•       523 

II,  4-190         . 

521,  543  «.,  5S2 

5,  4       • 

.     534 

12,   II.  22        . 

.     545 

5.  ii^-i3a    . 

379  «..  526 

12,  23    . 

.     187.  551 

5.  13  (nn«3)  . 

240,  475  No.  8 

12,  26.  47        . 

•     545.  551 

6,  13     .         .         .         . 

.         .     526 

12,  36    . 

.        .        .     378 

6,  40.  41  f.     . 

.     383.523 

13.  1-3 

552  «. 

7,  I        . 

538  No.  37 

See  also  pp 

535-540.  553. 

7.  6       .         .       373 «., 

378,  379«-.  526 

I  Chronicles. 

7,  9f.     .         .         .         . 

7,   12*-l6<2       . 

•  534 
.      107,  523 

c.  2 520  «• 

7,   12.   16-22  . 

527  «. 

3,  21  ff. 

518.  545  n. 

8.  II*   . 

107,  526 

5.  17     • 

.       527.  528  {m) 

8,  13-1S         . 

.        .     526 

5.  20  («s*) 

'     550 

8.  14     .         .         . 

538  No.  35 

6.  33-47 

•     370 

9,  29     .         .          189 « 

.,  528(/),  S29f. 

9,  I       • 

527  with  «.,  531 

II,  5—12,  I  . 

•       XT   523 

9.  19     . 

•       C.   370 

II,  23   . 

537  No.  25 

9.  22     . 

537  No.  30 

12,  2*-9d! 

.     523 

9.  33     • 

534  »• 

12,  2b.  5-8.    12.    14 

.        .    526 

10,  13  f. 

.        .        .    526 

12,   15    .            .              189;! 

f..528{i^).  S29f- 

11,3     . 

.     539 

13,  3-22 

•        •        XT   523 

12,   18.  13.  2f 

531 «. 

13.  4     . 

537  No.  22 

c.  15—16 

.  S2i,S25«.,  534 

13.  9     • 

537  No.  30 

15,   12  f. 

531  «• 

13,   10  f.   12.   14 

1:26  n. 

15.   12    . 

537  No.  30 

li,  22    .            .        189 «., 

528  (A),  529,  530 

15,  13    • 

526,  537  No.  31 

14,   1-2              ... 

527  «. 

15,  17-21 

370,  373  «• 

14,  6—15,   15 

•       XT    523 

IS,  21     . 

537  No.  21 

14,  10    .            . 

537  No.  30 

IS,  27.  28 

.        .        .     526 

15,  I-X5 

•          X.    52^ 

16,  4-42 

.     S25«mS3^«- 

IS.  2       . 

537  No.  22 

16,  7-36 

.        .        .        .     378 

15,  3     • 

539  No.  43 

16,  27    . 

536  No.  17 

15. 17  • 

527  n. 

16.  39  f. 

.    527 

16,  7-10 

.     523. 526 

i6,4if. 

17,  1^-19 

.     524 

17.  I     • 

156  «. 

17,  8  f.  . 

526  «. 

21,  I     . 

•      4 

[2«.,  434,  507  No.  16 

17,  10  . 

.        .     526 

21.3     . 

536  No.  19 

18,  31*         107,  526  bo 

Uom,  536  No,  10 

21,6     . 

.        .        .        .     526 

19,  1-3 . 

.        .        .    526 

21,  11^. 

X07,  536  No.  II 

19,  1—20,  30 

.     524 

21,  29  f. 

.     527 

19,  6f.  .        .        . 

531  «• 

22,  s     .  531 

«-.5: 

}6  No.  13,  538  No.  40 

20,  5     . 

179  «. 

22,  14  . 

.     534 

20,  14  . 

370  «. 

23.  5     . 

.         .         .         .378 

20.  14-17.  37<i       . 

.        .        .     526 

23,  27  . 

.         .         .       528  («) 

20,  19  . 

370,  525  «• 
537  No.  22 

25,  I  ff. 

370  «.,  378 

20,  20  . 

26,  1-19 

.     370 

20,  31-33^!    . 

527  «. 

26,  13.  28,  1 

538  No.  35 

20,  34  .         .         .  189 

«.,  528(0.  529 f. 

26,  28  . 

538  No.  36 

21,  rob.  12-15 

.        .        .    526 

27,  24  . 

187,  528  (<?) 

21,  10^-19     . 

•    524 

27,  27  (V) 

.    550 

22,  1(2/3.  3*.  4* 

.        .        .     526 

28,  2     . 

537  No.  22 

22,  7.  9 

.        .        .     526 

29.  8.  17 

538  No.  36 

22,  12  . 

21 

29,  29   . 

.      528  M,  529  f. 

c.  23.  24,  4-14      . 

534  w^^h  '^• 

23,  6.  8*.  13.  18  f. 

.     526 

2  Chronicles. 

23.  9     • 

21 

I.  3^-6a 527 

24,  20.  23-25 

•     •    ,:.  526 

I,  4       ...        .         538  No.  36 

24,  27  . 

527  (^).  529 

2,  2.  18  (Heb.  I.  17)     .        .         374 «. 
2,  3-16  (Heb.  2-15)       .        .        .     534 

25,  1-4 

527  n. 

25,  s-ii.  12-16     . 

.     524 

2,  4afi.  b.  6b  (Heb.  3c/3.  b.  ^b)        526  «. 

25.  7-9-  iSf'  20*  • 

.         .         .     526 

2,  8  (Heb.  7 

.    553 

25.  24   . 

.         2Z 

INDEX  III 

577 

2  Chronicles— con/i'mtcd. 

2  Chronicles— con/tntted. 

CHAP. 

PAGE 

CHAP.                                                                                   PAGE 

26,    1-4               ... 

-,27  n. 

32,  22f. 526 

26,  5-20^»      . 

■     524 

32,  32     . 

189//.,  196,  528  (>^),  529 

26,   5.    16-20  . 

.         .     526 

33.7       . 

21 

26,  2I<7/3.   23^/3 

•          .     526 

33.  7-9 

527  »' 

26,  22     .          189  ;i.,   206, 

528  (J),  529,  530 

33.8     . 

.  535  No.  4 

27.  6     . 

.         .     526 

33.  11-13 

.     526 

27,  7     . 

527^.)).  528  «. 

33.  18   . 

•     527  {c),  528  n. 

28,  1-4 

527  «. 

33.  19   . 

528  (/),  529 

28,  s-25 

•         •     524 

34,  3-7 

525  with  11. 

28,  22.  23      . 

•      526,  534 

34.  9-  27 

21 

28,  9-15 

.         .     526 

34.  9-  12-13 

.     526 

28,  II    . 

S37  No.  22 

35.  I  ff. 

526 ;;. 

28,  zya^ 

.         .     526 

35.  15   . 

370«-.  378 

29,  1-2          ... 

527  n. 

35.  21  f. 

.         .         .     526 

29,  3-31.  21 

.     524 

35.  25   . 

.         .        .        528(;>) 

29,  3ff-          •         . 

525  «• 

36,  8     . 

528  «. 

29,  5     . 

537  No.  22 

36,  12^ 

.     526 

29,  n   . 

.  837?. 

36.  23   . 

.     525.  553 

29,  13  f. 

370  «. 

See  also  pp  535  "540,  546  «-,  547.  55^  «• 

29,  26.  27.  30 
29,  36  . 

.        .         .     378 
5:8  No.  36 

Ecclesiasticus, 

30,  i8/'/3-i9  . 

531  «• 

51.  13-30 

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EXISTENTIALISM  FROM 
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What  is  existentialism?  It  is  perhaps  the  most  misunder- 
stood of  modern  philosophic  positions— misunderstood 
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M39     322  pages 

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FREUD  AND  THE  TWENTIETH 
CENTURY 

Edited  by  Benjamin  Nelson 

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Psychiatric  Quarterly 


THE  VARIETIES  OF  HISTORY 

From  Voltaire  to  the  Present 
Edited,  selected,  and  introduced  by  Fritz  Stern 
The  greatest  of  historians,  from  the  time  of  Voltaire, 
approach  the  records  of  the  past  with  definite  convic- 
tions about  their  meaning  and  implication.  As  their 
sense  of  what  is  important  in  history  differed,  so  the 
kinds  of  history  they  wrote  differed.  Represented  in 
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necke,  and  Namier.  Almost  half  the  volume,  including 
a  long  essay  by  Johan  Huizinga,  has  been  translated  for 
the  first  time.  M37     427  pages 

"With  a  masterly  essay,  Professor  Stern  introduces 
selections  from  great  and  other  historians  of  modern 
times  on  the  meaning  and  purposes  of  history.  His  book 
ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  all  graduate  studies  and 
many  of  their  teachers." 

BOYD  c.  SHAFER,  The  American  Historical  Review 
".  .  .  the  best  collection  of  its  sort  I  have  seen,  and 
he  [Professor  Stern]  is  an  excellent  guide." 

GEOFFREY  BARRACLOUGH,  The  Nation 


A  5^1    INTRODUCTION    TO 

THE    LITERATURE    OF 

THE    OLD    TESTAMENT 


S.    R.    DRIVER 


S.  R.  Driver  was  perhaps  the  greatest  Anglo- 
Saxon  expositor  of  the  theories  of  higher  criticism 
of  the  Old  Testament  and  his  Introduction  to 
the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament  is  assuredly 
his  most  important  single  work. 

Beginning  with  a  thorough  discussion  of  the 
origin  of  Hebrew  Scripture  and  the  formation  of 
the  Canon,  Driver  proceeds  to  a  complete  pre- 
sentation and  analysis  of  each  of  the  books  of 
the  Bible,  examining  their  historical  origins, 
investigating  their  language,  interpreting  their 
central  theological  and  religious  ideas. 

An  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old 
Testament,  long  out  of  print  and  unavailable,  is 
indispensable  for  any  student  or  general  reader 
concerned  with  the  foundations  of  Biblical  criti- 
cism and  the  historicity  of  the  Biblical  Canon. 


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